I'm unclear on the water situation. Is the ditch lining to facilitate water running off your property or to help you collect it? If you can have livestock and may collect the water what about a stock tank?
Hey CO.. This is related to the ditch water rights.. So the ditch in question runs from the divider box on the main canal about 1500' to the property line and is used to get my share of the water from the canal to the field. .. It does this in a packed earth ditch over about a 10 Foot drop ( in other words, its nearly flat) So when you open the gate in the divider box, the water starts flowing into the ditch.. some percentage is lost to seep and evaporation on the journey.. which is slow because it has a quarter mile to cover) replacing the packed earth ditch with a water proof lined one helps greatly with the speed and volume of flow that can be achieved, plus it ensures more of the water actually reaches the intended field. It inhibits plant growth as well - many people do a planned burn on the ditch in the spring to clear it of vegetable matter. . Its also possible to using buried piping etc, but my initial pricing of such options seems to indicate its more expensive.. plus then you run the risk of sediment collecting and blocking the pipe and having to have to clear it by some means or another. (same happens with the ditch, but then you have direct access to it)
I may even be able to get a Federal Grant to do the improvement as a water conservation effort.
