E-Newsletter

Preserving the Source
An e-newsletter from the Water Resources Archive
at Colorado State University

March 2007
Issue VII

Keeping Mindful of the Past: Water Archive Materials Used in Water Court

Through collecting and preserving resources that document Colorado's water history, the Water Resources Archive provides an important connection to the past. The primary source materials help to reveal earlier times and are also an integral part of current and future water management.

In February, documents from the Archive were submitted as exhibits at a water court trial. Lawyers for the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District had discovered several documents that related to their case to get the Box Elder Basin classified as non-designated groundwater. Part of the Delph Carpenter Papers, the documents are ninety years old, thus falling under the legal definition of "ancient documents." Archivist Patty Rettig was subpoenaed to court to testify to the authenticity of the items.

"As an archivist, it was pretty exciting to witness some of 'my' documents being submitted at trial and to be cross-examined about them," Rettig commented. "It was also quite extraordinary for me to be explaining who Delph Carpenter was and why the Water Archive has his papers while sitting in his son Donald Carpenter's courtroom."

Perhaps of most use to historians, the Archive is also used by engineers, graduate students, lawyers, teachers, genealogists, and other members of the general public. Looking beyond the standard reports and correspondence the Archive holds, researchers are also using photographs, maps, diaries, data, and videos. Topics vary from the details of family history to the broadness of current water policy.

Though most use of the Archive's documents is not so dramatic, it can often be exciting for the researcher, finding answers here that are available nowhere else. Notes Rettig, "It is that discovery process, enabling existing knowledge to be carried on and new knowledge to be created, that makes the Archive's work rewarding for both donors and patrons."

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Archive Update: New Materials and Finding Aids

The Water Resources Archive continues both to receive donations and to increase accessibility of collections. In February, several historical water-related objects were received, and they were combined into a new collection: the Water Resources Artifacts Collection. These include four water level recorders donated by Dr. Marvin Stone, one of which was "made by students in Mech. Eng. Dept. of C.A.C., May 1900" (CAC being Colorado Agricultural College, now CSU). The other artifact is a Thacher Calculator (1910), transferred from the Engineering Department. The most recent donation, however, is an addition to the Records of GASP (Groundwater Appropriators of the South Platte), containing important information about a crucial topic.

Two collections have new online finding aids: the Records of the American Public Works Association, Colorado Chapter, and the Papers of Robert K. Davis. Dr. Davis is retired from the University of Colorado-Boulder's Environment and Behavior Program, Institute of Behavioral Science. With these two additions, the WRA now has more than thirty finding aids online.

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Looking Forward: Colorado Water Bibliography Coming Soon

Ever wondered where to read more about Colorado's water history? If so, the Water Resources Archive will soon provide you a great starting place. Archivist Patty Rettig and student assistant Nick Kryloff are compiling a bibliography of books written on the history of water in Colorado. So far, a variety of items have been dug up, including biographies of significant water pioneers, weighty tomes on broad water issues, and brief investigations of small development projects. It is anticipated that the bibliography will be completed this summer.

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Support the Archive: Water Tables Raises $11,375

Water Tables 2007 hosts

For a second year in a row, the archival reading room of Morgan Library was alive with the sounds of laughter, debate, and wonderment as a crowd of 130 gathered for Water Tables 2007. A benefit for the Water Resources Archive, the evening offered guests a chance to explore primary source materials documenting landmark achievements in water resource development while engaging with the foremost water experts tackling some of the state's most pressing resource concerns. Sponsors and participants raised $11,375 to help the Archive acquire, preserve, and promote additional and existing collections significant to Colorado's water history.

"As a historian of the environment and the American West, and as a Colorado resident, I have a professional and civic obligation to support and help build the collection," said Mark Fiege, professor of history at Colorado State University and a member of the Water Tables Planning Committee. "The Water Resources Archive distinguishes Colorado State as a top-rank university interested in developing a research collection that reflects the expertise of faculty and alumni and that speaks to the importance of water to all Coloradoans. Our state is the Mother of Waters, but those waters flow through dry landscapes, some of which are filling up with people. Water has never been more important than it is now."

Log on to view photos and learn more about the Water Tables event.

Photo above: The table hosts at Water Tables 2007. Back to Top

Virtual Visit: Explore Five Years of Progress

Few organizations have time to look back at their own history and see how far they have come. The Water Resources Archive seized the opportunity to do this last summer, in celebration of its five-year anniversary. The report by Patty Rettig, "'The Beginning of Everything': A Five-Year Report on the Colorado State University Water Resources Archive," is now available on the Archive's website as a PDF file. Providing a rare look at an archive starting from scratch and its first five years of progress, the report also provides some suggestions on further achievement opportunities.

This quarterly electronic newsletter is designed to keep you informed on the developments with the Water Resources Archive. If you would prefer not to receive further updates, or if you know someone else who would like to receive this, just drop a line to us at development@library.colostate.edu.

This e-newsletter is created by Patty Rettig with the assistance of Judea Franck.