WRA. Water Resources

Abstract David J. Miller (1906-1993) was a Greeley attorney who practiced law for over 50 years. Many of his cases related to water law and particularly to the formation and dissolution of irrigation districts and water conservancy districts. This collection consists of Miller's files from his cases as an attorney; organizational documents, including meeting minutes, agendas, and reports; personal and administrative records, including calendars, appointment books, and financial documents; and...

Abstract William R. Kelly (1883-1980) worked as a lawyer, primarily based in Greeley, Colorado, for more than 60 years and became an authority on water law during that time. He was instrumental in the formation of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District in the 1930s and served as their attorney. The collection consists chiefly of various reminscences and writings by Kelly. Often these are autobiographical or related to water law or projects, though some are about family, friends, or...

Abstract Daphne Illeman (1921-2016) and Robert Illeman (1917-2003), a married couple, worked as civil engineers for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation on multiple projects, including what became the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project in Colorado. The collection includes two sets of reports produced by the Bureau for the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project, a transmountain diversion, along with other reports, maps, and drawings related to water resources development projects and research. The collection also includes...

Abstract Michael A. Stevens (1935–2023) was an associate professor at Colorado State University, engineer, and engineering consultant who worked with government agencies and engineering firms in North and South America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East. His research and projects included work on rivers, irrigation, erosion, geomorphology, hydrology, flood control, drainage, dams, and levees. The collection consists of his publications; correspondence, data, and engineering plans...

Abstract The Federal Land Bank of Wichita was created, along with twelve other banks, by the United States government to provide long-term credit to farmers by the Federal Farm Loan Act of 1916 in response to the unique credit needs of farmers. The collection contains reports and maps relating to ditches, streams, and underground water in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, and Nebraska, as well as similar reports from the Land Bank of Berkeley regarding Utah and Wyoming. A portion of the collection is...

Abstract Dr. Edwin Mogren (1921-2001) was a professor in the College of Forestry at Colorado State University from 1948 to 1986 and upon his retirement was appointed professor emeritus. While teaching at CSU, he also served as a consultant and expert witness on several legal water cases. This collection consists of many of Mogren's field notes, data, maps, graphs, correspondence, photographs, and reports related to the litigation he was involved with during the 1970s and 1980s. A portion of the...

Abstract The North Poudre Irrigation Company has supplied water in northern Colorado for over one hundred years. Incorporated in 1901, the company founded the sugar-beet farming community of Wellington in 1903 and currently manages more than 22 storage reservoirs and approximately 200 miles of ditches. This collection primarily consists of eleven oral histories with company officials. It reflects the history of this local irrigation enterprise and the evolution of agricultural and municipal water use...

Abstract A water program management consultant, Lloyd J. Gronning has worked on projects across the West. He served as the president of Gronning Engineering Company from 1984 to 1996 and as the vice president of Montgomery Watson, Inc. from 1996 to 1999. The collection chiefly contains reports by Gronning Engineering Company related to the Arkansas River, Colorado Springs Utilities, groundwater, and water rights. The collection also contains a statewide water development study as well as documents,...

Abstract Robert K. Davis, now retired from the University of Colorado-Boulder's Environment and Behavior Program, Institute of Behavioral Science, has focused his research on the economics of natural resource management, with emphasis on water resources, hunting, wildlife and wildlife management. Over the years he worked for a number of institutions, including serving as assistant director for economics at the Office of Policy Analysis, U.S. Department of Interior (1976-1985), and as Senior Associate...

Abstract Formed in 1882 in Loveland, Colorado, the Consolidated Home Supply Ditch and Reservoir Company (CHS) delivers water for agricultural purposes through its system of ditches and reservoirs located in Larimer and Weld counties. The company and its system, which draws from the Big Thompson River, are well documented through minute books, water records, and files of recent secretaries. Supplementing these are stock, financial, and legal records, as well as photographs, maps, plans, and drawings....

Abstract Since 1901, the North Poudre Irrigation Company (NPIC) has supplied water to Northern Colorado's Boxelder Creek Valley farmers and ranchers through its system of canals and reservoirs. Today, the company owns nineteen reservoirs and approximately 200 miles of ditches and laterals. The company's activities and system are documented through a variety of material types including annual reports, stock certificates, financial records, legal documents, engineering reports, correspondence, meeting...

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The Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance (DARCA) was created in November 2001 in Silverthorne, Colorado. DARCA is a non-profit trade organization dedicated to assisting Colorado's ditch and reservoir companies, lateral ditch companies, irrigation districts, and all other types of private ditch associations. The collection includes meeting minutes, brochures, convention programs, and newsletters.

Abstract The Records of the Iliff and Platte Valley Ditch Company contains the financial and business records of the company which was established in 1884 and irrigated land in Logan County, Colorado. IPV was typical of many irrigation companies in Colorado and the West in that a group of investors pooled their resources to form the company and raised revenue by selling shares of stock to irrigators. The collection includes several ledger books with articles of incorporation, meeting minutes,...

Abstract The Local Water Resources History Collection is an aggregation of items acquired from many different sources. Combining a wide range of materials including maps, blueprints, brochures, programs, posters, reports, photographs, newsletters, audiotapes, CDs, and DVDs, the collection touches on various topics related to Colorado water issues, people, and organizations. Topics include ditches and irrigation systems, water rights, and drought studies, as well as various rivers and reservoirs. Some...

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Civil engineer William Sayre (1927-1981) contributed significant scientific research about sediment transport and turbulent flows. He spent the majority of his career working for the U.S. Geological Survey as a research hydrologist and the University of Iowa as a professor of hydraulics and water-resources engineering. The collection consists mainly of articles, reports, and handwritten notes, along with correspondence, presentations, teaching materials, and research data.

Abstract Scott Hummer (b. 1959) worked in Colorado water resources administration and management for more than 30 years, with his longest position being as the first full-time water commissioner for the Blue River Basin (Water District 36). This collection primarily documents that work, emphasizing visual depictions of the Blue River, a tributary of the Colorado River. The collection includes photographs of the river and tributaries, reservoirs and tarns, headgates, diversion systems, high-water...

Abstract The Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (CCWCD), established in 1965, aids in the development, management, and protection of water resources within the South Platte Basin of Northeastern Colorado. This collection consists primarily of bound copies of meeting minutes from 1965-1974. Also included are newsletters, an annual report, fact sheets, and bylaws. Subject areas covered include surface and groundwater quality research, groundwater storage projects, irrigation well development,...

Abstract Earl L. Mosley (1883-1966) was an engineer and municipal administrator who worked in Colorado Springs from 1921 to 1947 and in Denver from 1947 until shortly before his death. He prepared a typescript, "History of the Denver Water System," while working for the Denver Water Board. The collection includes a copy of that work, a few newspaper clippings about Mr. Mosley and his work, and a digital copy of the typescript on compact disc. ...

Abstract Since its creation in 1876, the Colorado Office of the Attorney General (CAG) has tried many cases related to water and other natural resources. This collection concerns the precedent-setting case United States v. Colorado (general adjudication case number W-8439-76), in which CAG argued against the United States' filing of an application for rights to instream river flows on federal land on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The United States filed...

Abstract The Irrigation Photograph Collection contains lantern slides and glass plate negatives related primarily to irrigation and agricultural subjects in Colorado and around the world. Colorado locations include the Colorado Agricultural College campus, Long's Peak, the San Luis Valley, and the Eastern Plains. Other countries significantly represented through irrigation or cultural sites include Egypt, Algeria, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Mexico. A portion of the...