Laterals are small ditches that carry water out of the main ditch and distribute it to the various users. They vary in size, and have headgates, which the ditch rider sets to give each its fair share.

Laterals may have their own organizational structure, with a lateral chairman organizing an annual cleaning and the users' watering schedules.

Right: The headgate valve on the left controls the Super-Phostical Lateral of the Howard Ditch. The other controls the main Howard Ditch. The name "Super-Phostical" probably is a colloquial use of the Latin fossicula, which means "Small Ditch". Frederick Chase probably named the Super-Phostical. He was a Yale University professor and son of George Chase, a Boulder pioneer and first stockholder of the Howard Ditch.