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<br />Il'JT RODUCTION <br /> <br />Loss of irrigation water, as result of seepage from canals and <br />reservoirs, is a widespread problem in the irrigated areas of the <br />Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District. In some instances. <br />these losses can be tolerated because a part of the seepage water normally <br />returns to the main river. However. in many cases. the seepage water <br />damages valuable land. In addition. in areas or times of extreme water <br />shortage, saving the seepage water becomes important. One direct way of <br />saving the seepage water--for use by those that divert the water--consists <br />of sealing the leaky canals and reservoirs. <br />From a long-range standpoint. the best answers to the seepage loss <br />problem are. in many instances, hard surface linings. such as concrete <br />and asphaltic cement. These linings not only can control seepage but also <br />add advantages related to the control of water weeds and bank erosion. It <br />is emphasized, therefore, that the clay linings being investigated by the <br />Colorado State University Clay Sealing Research Project do not. in a normal <br />sense, compete with or replace the conventional linings . <br />In other words, an annual program of. concrete linings for example, <br />is very desirable for an irrigation district--even if the program includes <br />only a short section each year. Thus, either as a companion development <br />or as a temporary cost-imposed limitation, low-cost linings with locally- <br />available clays do have a place in the seepage control picture--in some <br />instances, this place may be one of providing an immediate method for <br />salvaging seepage water while the future goal is seepage control with <br />conventionaJllinings. <br /> <br />1043 <br />