One of the nicest things about my present locale is the running water that flows right by, next door. Boulder Creek may well be the center of gravity in town and only a few blocks away – but, hell, we’ve got our own ditch!
This is Anderson Ditch. And here is some information about it: http://bcn.boulder.co.us/basin/ditchproject/?Our_Ditches:Anderson_Ditch. While my family and I look to its waters as a source of entertainment (How deep is it??? Will this stick touch the bottom…??), consternation (Do NOT fall in!), and relaxation (the sound of slowly gurgling water), this is a very real example of the irrigation ditches that helped to make settlement in the western U.S. possible.
And while my neighbors in Boulder relax and live by this seemingly innocuous stream, it also serves a very functional purpose. These waters flow through Boulder County – allowing for farms and communities down-‘ditch’ to exist in places they never would have in the absence of these conveyances.
And here is the guy that originally made the ditch: Jonas Anderson. I’m uncertain whether his glum demeanor is a matter of his missing Sweden – or whether he has just come to terms with John Wesley Powell’s pronouncement that one could use all the western water there is for irrigation, and only a small portion of the west would be made fertile. Nevertheless water remains king out in these here parts. Much to come down the road in that regard.
But in case any of you were wondering, I do indeed consider this to be a Water of the United States… (but then again, perhaps this is why old Jonas is not too happy…)
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