Water in the West-Colorado Submission Topic Examples

Below is a list of topics from Appendix B of the Colorado Statewide Programmatic Agreement on Water Control Features of 2022. Consider the following as a general list of topics appropriate as subjects for content production on Water in the West. Main themes are listed as bold text. Highlighted items are listed as in progress, and linked items show what has already been done under that theme and topic. If a specific topic is highlighted or linked, consider how your content can expand upon what has already been produced or consider using a different theme or topic. If a topic, particularly a very specific one, has not yet been assigned and you would like to claim it, please notify Chris Johnston to mark the item as in progress. Topics and content need to be approved by the Colorado SHPO prior to submission. 

1. Irrigation in Prehistory
   
   1. Nomadic to Settled Life
   2. Horticulture to Agriculture
      
      1. Crops
      2. Activities
   3. Cultivation practices
2. Colorado Prehistory to Proto-History
3. Fur Trade to Pre-Territorial Era
4. Territorial to statehood
   
   1. Acequia development
5. Colorado Statehood to WWI
   
   1. Tribes, Treaties, and Water Rights
      
      1. Treaties between the Federal Government and Tribes
      2. Supreme Court’s 1908 Winters v. United States decision
   2. Federal Acts
      
      1. Homestead Act (1862)
      2. Carey Act (1894)
      3. Reclamation Act (1902) (in progress, Katie Arntzen, BOR, karntzen@usbr.gov)
   3. Colorado Water Administration
      
      1. Water Law and Water Rights
         1. Law of the River/Colorado River Doctrine
      2. “Duty of Water” – 1cfs/70 acres
      3. Social organization, litigation/feuds, and colorful characters
   4. Immigrants to Colorado
      
      1. Knowledge of farming brought with them
      2. Early experiments in Agriculture
         1. Agriculture methods
   5. Building communities through irrigation
      
      1. Early communities
      2. Canal building
         1. Methods, failures, success
         2. Acequias
6. Industrial Irrigation (WWI to ~1960)
   
   1. Irrigation and Government Agencies (e.g., Bureau of Reclamation, CCC, NRCS, SEP, WWDO, New Deal)
      
      1. Purpose, Actions, Methods, Locations
      2. Rise of Irrigation Districts, Canal Companies, Water Districts, and other irrigation entities
   2. Farming in the Industrial Age
      
      1. Improvements, modifications, large-machinery, etc.
      2. Droughts and water banking
      3. Changing trends of agriculture
7. Modern Farming (1960 to 2020+)
   
   1. Changing Irrigation Ideals and Methods/Irrigation Efficiency
      
      1. Canals to Pipe (Water Conservation)
      2. Flood irrigation to Pivot and drip
   2. Changing demographics of farming
      
      1. Family Farm to industrial
      2. Ranching vs Farming
8. Irrigation methods and equipment
   
   1. Early irrigation methods (AD 1800s to 1930)
      
      1. How was a canal sited, dug, and built
      2. Moving water uphill and other challenges
      3. Water Storage and Beneficial Use (Flood Control, Irrigation, Hydroelectric, etc.)
   2. Industrial Irrigation methods
      
      1. Irrigation infrastructure funding, planning, and construction
   3. Modern tools, methods, and challenges
      
      1. Irrigation infrastructure funding, planning, and construction
      2. Environmental laws
      3. Water Availability
      4. Aging Infrastructure
   4. Definitions and examples
      
      1. Major terms
         1. Definition, figures, photos, and videos of use
      2. People’s jobs in irrigation
         1. Definition, figures, photos, and videos of use
         2. Oral interviews
9. Compiling Research on Canals and Irrigation Infrastructure
   
   1. Various site forms, pdfs, other videos, etc.
   2. GIS storymap
   3. Water infrastructure GIS dataset
   4. Histories (e.g., oral, interpretive, or thematic)
   5. School curriculum
   6. Specific examples
10. Local Canal, Canal System, or Regional Irrigation History (could include any of the above topics but focused at a smaller scale on single canals or water control feature systems)
    1. The Grand Tunnel Ditch (5GF2913)
    2. Irrigation Ditches and Canals: Historic Water Management in Colorado 
    3. Kannah Creek Interpretation for the WaterSMART Program's Kannah Creek Project (in progress, Katie Arntzen, BOR, karntzen@usbr.gov)
    4. Short Ditch for the Salinity Program's Short Ditch Project (in progress, Katie Arntzen, BOR, karntzen@usbr.gov)