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the work of a well-digger and a water w itch, and interviewed a bank executive who was <br />30 <br />lending money for irrigation pumps and drilling. For Code, the journey was part of an <br />ongoing ritual – over time, his inventories grew to include thousands of wells, making <br />him the region’s leading scientif ic authority on the subject. <br />But Code was alarmed by trends he sa w in his hydrographic charts. These saw- <br />toothed patterns charted water- level readings at various wells, with each jagged point <br />representing a fluctuat ion in the water table through spik es and troughs. Typically, levels <br />dropped during the irrigation season and recovered as groundwater recharged through <br />precipitation, irrigation seepage, and the South Platte’s flow. But in certain areas, the <br />overall trajectories pointed noticeably dow nward, indicating that groundwater extraction <br />exceeded recharge in those locales. Already, Code had tried to dispel the “unfortunate <br />idea” that groundwater was inexhaustible, wa rning that dropping water tables meant a <br />reduction in well capacities, potentially causing many to go completely dry. At the same <br />time, he was attuned to the considerable investments many farmers had made in <br />groundwater. “An irrigation well is something mo re than a hole in the ground,” he wrote; <br />31 <br />rather, it was a considerable in vestment, often made on credit. Code feared an <br />economic crisis would follow widespread groundwater depletion. <br />To protect both water-tables and investme nts, Code called for legislative action. <br />He pointed to examples of severe groundwater depletions in California and Arizona, <br />32 <br />urging Colorado’s lawmakers to choose a different path. The connection between <br />groundwater and surface water was widely r ecognized. A U.S. Geological Survey report <br />30 <br /> Code recorded his experiences in a 1944 field book entitled “Ground Water Investigations.” Box 8, <br />Groundwater Data Collection, Water Resources Archiv e, Colorado State University (hereafter GDC). <br />31 <br /> W.E. Code, “Pumping Moves Eastward,” Western Farm Life , 1 June 1937. <br />32 <br /> W.E. Code, “Colorado Needs Ground-Water Legislation,” c1954. Box 16, GDC. <br />14 <br />