In 1902, the Links Lake Company, founded by Wallis Link and the Akin brothers (Abram, Harris, and Myron), planned to build a series of ditches and reservoirs to divert water from the Laramie River to the Poudre. They surveyed the area in 1903, and later that same year began a collection ditch along Rawah Creek. Wellington Hibbard assisted the company with financing and construction costs.

In 1907, the Links Lake Company merged with the Mitchell Lakes Reservoir Company, forming the Laramie-Poudre Reservoirs and Irrigation Company. On August 22, 1908, the company filed for rights to build a diversion tunnel from the Laramie Valley to the Poudre Valley. Surveying began in 1909 after J. A. McIlwee won the contract. Construction on the tunnel began on Christmas Day, 1909. A workers camp was established in March 1910 at the construction site. At the head of Poudre Falls on the Poudre River, a 10-foot high rock-filled dam was constructed, and the control gate was connected to a 22-inch wooden pipeline, which carried water downstream one and a half miles. The water pressure powered three Pelton water wheels at the powerhouse, which operated the air compressors for the rock drills used to drill out the tunnel. The tunnel was completed on July 27, 1911, and J. A. McIlwee was awarded a $43,000 bonus for finishing the project early. A celebration was held for 60 guests and 65 construction workers, who enjoyed a dinner and a visit to the construction site, power plant, and tunnel.

Because the Laramie River flowers into Wyoming, the State of Wyoming sued the State of Colorado and the Laramie-Poudre Reservoirs and Irrigation Company before any water could be diverted. Wyoming claimed that the tunnel jeopardized the state’s prior rights to the water. While water finally began to flow through the tunnel in 1914, both states remained locked in a long court battle. Finally, on June 5, 1922, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled that both slates were entitled to a share of the water. However, Colorado’s allocation was far below what was needed to fulfill promises to irrigation companies.

Laramie-Poudre Irrigation Company fell into financial difficulty as a result of the court case and lower than expected allocations. Between 1922 and 1933, the company performed rehabilitation and further construction on the tunnel, which deepened the company’s debt. The Great Depression furthered the company’s financial woes, and in 1937, through a series of transactions and a $250,000 acquisition of Laramie-Poudre Irrigation Company properties, Water Supply and Storage Company absorbed the company and became the new owner and operator of the Laramie-Poudre Diversion tunnel and its supply ditches. Water Supply and Storage Company continues to manage the tunnel today.

Citations:

-Stanley R. Case. The Poudre: A Photo History. Bellvue, CO: Stanley R. Case, 1995. pp. 252-262.

-William R. Kelly. Laramie-Poudre Irrigation Co. Poudre Valley Canal. Greeley-Poudre Irrig. District. Greely, CO: July 15, 1964. pp. 2-3, 14-16.

-William R. Kelly. A Compilation and Comment on Fifty Years, 1870-1920: I. Engineers and Ditch Men Developed on the Cache la Poudre, 1870-1920. II. “Ditch Men”, Water Hunters of That Fifty Years, Not Engineers. [n. p.] 1967. pp. 25-26.