DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

GEORGE OTIS SMITH, DlEEcroE

WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344

DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON 

AND ITS UTILIZATION

BY

F. F. HENSHAW, JOHN H. LEWIS 

AND E. J. McCAUSTLAND

Prepared in cooperation with

THE STATE OF OREGON

John H. Lewis, State Engineer

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1914
CONTENTS.

Page.

Introduction, by N. C. Grover.............................................. 9

General features of Deschutes River basin................................. 11

The river...................r........................................ 11

The tributaries....................................................... 13

Lakes near sources of Deschutes River. ................................. 15

Stream,flow, by P. P. Henshaw. .......................................... 16

Definition of terms.........'.......................................... 16

Convenient equivalents................................................ 17

Accuracy and reliability of field data and comparative results. .......... 19

Gaging stations........................................................ 20

Publications.......................................................... 21

Station records........................................................ 21

Big Marsh outlet near Crescent, Oreg............................... 21

Deschutes River near Lapine, Oreg................................ 22

Deschutes River at Alien's ranch near Lava, Oreg................... 22

Deschutes River at West's ranch and at Benham Falls near Bend, Oreg. 24

Deschutes River at Bend, Oreg.................................... 27

Deschutes River at Laidlaw, Oreg................................. 28

Deschutes River near Cline Palls, Oreg............................. 29

Deschutes River at Mecca, Oreg..................................... 30

Deschutes River at Moody, near Biggs, Oreg ....................... 31

Crescent Lake outlet near Crescent, Oreg........................... 34

East Fork of Deschutes River at Crescent, Oreg...................... 34

West Pork of Deschutes River near Lapine, Oreg.................... 36

West Fork of Deschutes River near Lava, Oreg. .................... 36

Odell Lake outlet near Crescent, Oreg.............................. 38

Tumalo Creek near Laidlaw, Oreg.................................. 38

Tumalo Creek near Bend, Oreg..................................... 40

Squaw Creek near Sisters, Oreg.................................... 41

Crooked River near Post, Oreg.................................... 43

Crooked River at Stearns ranch, near Prineville, Oreg................ 44

Ochoco Creek at Elliott's ranch, near Prineville, Oreg............... 45

Metolius River at Allingham ranger station, near Sisters, Oreg........ 46

Metolius River at Hubbard's ranch, near Grand view, Oreg .......... 47

Metolius River at Riggs ranch, near Sisters, Oreg.................... 47

Lake Creek near Sisters, Oreg...................................... 49

Whitewater Creek at mouth, near Grandview, Oreg.................. 49

Shitike Creek at Warm Spring, Oreg................................ 50

Warm Springs River near Warm Spring, Oreg....................... 51

White River near Tygh Valley, Oreg................................ 51

Tygh Creek at Tygh Valley, Oreg................................... 52

Canal stations..................................................... 53

Central Oregon canal at Bend, Oreg............................ 53

Pilot Butte canal near Bend, Ore;*.............................. 55

Wimer canal near Laidlaw, Oreg................................ 57

Columbia Southern canal near Laidlaw, Oreg ................... 58

McAllister's ditch near Sisters, Oreg............................ 59

3
4 CONTENTS.

Stream flow Continued. Page.

Summaries of discharge for principal stations............................. 60

Duration of low-water period........................................... 65

Comparisons of discharges at adjacent stations........................... 68

Purpose of comparison............................................. 68

Benham Falls and Bend............................................ 68

Bend, Laidlaw, and Cline Falls.................................... 69

Mecca and Moody.................................................. 71

Economic distribution of water of Deschutes Eiver, by John H. Lewis....... 72

Present and prospective use............................................ 72

Power................................................................. 75

Irrigation...:......................................................... 77

Storage................................................................ 81

Domestic supply...................................................... 82

Summary............................................................ 83

Accuracy of irrigation data............................................. 84

Quality of water, by Walton Van Winkle................................... 85

Availability of the water supply, by F. F. Henshaw......................... 86

Evaporation.......................................................... 86

Duty of water........................................................ 89

Return waters........................................................ 89

Possible use of water for irrigation...................................... 91

Above Benham Falls.............................................. 91

Below Benham Falls.............................................. 100

From Tumalo Creek................................................ 105

From Crooked River.............................................. 108

Possible use of water for power development-........................... 109

Conditions of study, j. .............................................. 109

Minimum natural flow available for power........................... 109

Theoretical horsepower............................................. Ill

Water stored at Benham Falls...................................... 113

Effect of future diversion........................................... 113

Power from water used for irrigation ................................ 116

Power from water stored on Crooked River .......................... 117

Developed water powers in the Deschutes drainage basin, by W. B. Heroy.... 120

Bend plant............................................................ 120

Crooked River plant................................................... 121

White River plant.................................................... 121

Undeveloped power sites, by E. J. McCaustland............................ 122

Methods of development............................................... 122

Market for power...................................................... 123

Available flow........................................................ 124

Field studies.......................................................... 124

Sites on Deschutes River.............................................. 124

General conditions................................................ 124

Moody power site.................................................. 125

Lockit power site................................................. 126

Reclamation power site............................................ 126

Sinamox power site............................................... 126

Oak Brook power site.............................................. 126

Sherar Falls power site............................................. 127

Oak Springs power site............................................ 127

Maupin power site.................................................. 127

Frieda power site............................ '. ...................... - 128

White Horse Rapids power site...................................... 128
CONTENTS. O

Undeveloped power sites Continued. Page. 

Sites on Deschutes River Continued.

Coleman power site................................................ 128

Mecca power site.................................................. 128

Pelton power site................................................... 129

Metolius power site................................................. 129

Sites on Metolius River................................................ 129

General conditions................................................ 129

Riggs power site.................................................... 130

Whitewater power site............................................. 130

Jefferson Creek power site........................................... 130

Jacks Creek power site............................................. 131

Summary.............................................................. 131

Water rights and appropriations, by John H. Lewis.......................... 132

Old and new water law of Oregon........................................ 132

Value of the water code................................................ 134

Determination of old rights............................................. 134

Water-right certificate.................................................. 135

The granting of rights................................................... 136

Protection of rights.................................................... 137

Protection of public interest............................................ 138

Riparian rights........................................................ 138

State or national control....................................."........... 139

Land complications.................................................... 142

Federal-control through land ownership.................................. t 142

Indirect control by the United States.................................... 144

State water-power policy................................................ 145

Rights on Deschutes River.............................................. 146

Plan of discussion................................................. 146

Rights under new water code....................................... 147

Old rights determined............................................. 148

Old rights indefinite in scope........................................ 148

Records...................................................... 148

Deschutes River at Bend....................................... 149

Benham Falls segregation...................................... 150

Above Benham Falls.......................................... 150

Power filings................................................... 151

Summary of irrigation rights....................................... 152

Applications pending............................................... 153

New uses for cheap power.............................................. 153

Cooperation....................................................... 154

Methods....................................................... 154

Advantages.................................................... 156

Uniform State laws.................................................... 157

Needed legislation...................................................... 158

The relation of the Federal Government to the development of water power in

the Deschutes basin, by W. B. Heroy .................................... 159

Legal basis for Federal control........................................... 159

Water power withdrawals.............................................. 167

Development of policy............................................ 167

Withdrawals in the Deschutes basin................................. 170

Railroad rights of way............................................... 172

Government permits for power and reservoir sites, by N. C. Grover.......... 175

Classification of lands................................................... 175

Rights of way......................................................... 175
6 . CONTENTS.

Government permits for power and reservoir sites, by N. C, Grover Contd. Page.

Revocable permits.................................................... 176

Departmental regulations relating to permits........................... 176

Final permits......................................................... 177

Forms used....................................................... 177

Permit granted to the Great Falls Power Co., Montana............... 178

Final permit to International Power & Manufacturing Co., of Spokane,

Wash........................................................ ... 187

Index.................................................................... 197

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

PLATE I. Map of Deschutes River basin, showing position of gaging stations... 20

II. Hydrograph comparing flow at stations on Deschutes River, March

1, 1910, to February 28, 1911.................................... 70

III. A-0, Plan and profile of Deschutes River from Columbia River to

Pringle Falls. ...................................... At end of volume.

IV. A-C, Plan and profile of Metolius River, mouth to source. At end of volume.

V. A, Cline Falls on Deschutes River; B, Canyon of Deschutes River in

sec. 16, T. 5S., R. HE........................................ 76

VI. A, Benham Falls on Deschutes Rivet in sec. 9, T. 19 S., R. 11 E.; 

B, Falls on Deschutes River in sec. 27, T. 18 S., R. 11 E., near 

Bend........................................................ 80

VII. Mass curve showing regulation of Deschutes River at proposed Benham Falls reservoir for power development....................... 112

VIII. Power profiles of Metolius and Deschutes rivers.................... 122

I.. Map of Moody power site......................................... 124

X. Map of Lockit power site.......................................... 126

XI. Map of Reclamation power site................................... 126

XII. Map of Sinamox power site...................................... 126

XIII. Map of Oak Brook power site..................................... 126

XIV. Map of Sherar Falls power site.................................... 126

XV. Map of Oak Springs power site................................... 126

XVI. Map of Maupin power site....................................... 126

XVII. Map of Frieda power site........................................ 128

XVIII. Map of Horse Rapids power site.................................. 128

XIX. Map of Coleman power site....................................... 128

XX. Map of Mecca power site......................................... 128

XXI. Map of Pelton power site........................................ 128

XXII. Map of Metolius power site........................................ 128

XXIII. Map of Riggs power site on Metolius River........................ 130

XXIV. Map of Whitewater power site on Metolius River................... 130

XXV. Map of Jacks Creek power site on Metolius River................... 130

XXVI. Map showing lands withdrawn by Federal Government in Tps. 3 N.,

to 7 S., Rs. 9 to 17 E. Willamette meridian ...................... 172

XXVII. Map showing lands withdrawn by Federal Government in Tps. 8 to

17 S., Rs. 9 to 16 E. Willamette meridian....................... 172

XXVIII. Map showing lands withdrawn by Federal Government in Tps. 18 to

27 S., Rs. 6itol3E. Willamette meridian ...................... 172
CONTENTS. 7

Page. 

FIGURE 1. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Deschutes

Kiver at Benham Falls, May 1 to April 30....................... 66

2. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Deschutes 

Kiver at Moro and Moody in the nonirrigating season, October to 

April......................................................... 66

3. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Deschutes

River at Moro and Moody, May 1 to April 30.................... 67

4. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Metolius

River near Sisters for calendar year.............'............... 67

5. Profiles of Deschutes, Metolius, and Crooked rivers compared with

profiles of Columbia and other rivers........................... 74

6. Mass diagram showing possible manipulation of storage in connection

with project on upper Deschutes River......................... 99

7. Curves of area and capacity for suggested reservoir at Benham Falls.. 101

8. Mass diagram showing manipulation of sto"rage in suggested reservoir

at Benham Falls.............................................. 102
DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON, AND ITS UTILIZATION.

By F. F. HENSHAW, JOHN H. LEWIS, and E. J. MCCAUSTLAND.

INTRODUCTION.

By N. C. GEOVEE.

In several respects Deschutes River is unique among rivers of the 

United States. Its natural flow is remarkably constant; its headwaters afford reservoir sites sufficiently large and so distributed that 

the total flow of the river may be utilized both for irrigation and for 

power; the irrigable lands in the valley, aggregating 300,000 to 

500,000 acres, are so situated on a plateau in the upper part of the 

basin that the total flow of the upper river and its principal tributaries may be utilized for irrigation; and below the irrigable area the 

river flows in a deep canyon having a fair slope and affording excellent 

opportunities for power development, a reliable water supply being 

assured by the return waters from the irrigated areas above and by the 

lower tributaries of the river. The future use of this exceptional 

combination of abundant water supply, large area of irrigable land, 

and great water powers will transform the Deschutes Valley into a 

region whose agricultural importance will be enhanced by the many 

hydroelectric plants that will furnish power for local use or for transmission to distant power markets.

 The Deschutes is tributary to the Columbia about 15 miles above 

The Dalles. (See map, PL I, p. 20.) The mouth of the river may 

be reached by boats which navigate the Columbia through the canals 

and locks at The Dalles and the Cascades. The main line of the 

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co. crosses the Deschutes 

near its mouth, and the Oregon Trunk Railway (Spokane, Portland 

& Seattle Railway) and a branch line of the Oregon-Washington 

Railroad & Navigation Co. traverse the canyon and portions of the 

upper valley. Good transportation facilities are assured for the 

principal parts of the basin.

The mouth of the river is about 135 miles from Portland; the shortest distance from Deschutes Canyon to Portland is about 130 miles; 

and from Cline Falls, at the upper end of the canyon, to Portland the 

distance is about 180 miles. A power-transmission line 150 to 160

9
10 DESCHUTES KIVEB, OKEGON.

miles long therefore appears to be necessary to connect a power site 

on Deschutes Kiver with Portland. The length of Deschutes Kiver 

from Cline Falls to the mouth is about 160 miles, so that a transmission line of that length would connect all the power sites on the river.

The investigations made by Prof. McCaustland, who has prepared 

the part of this report that pertains to the possibilities of power 

development on Deschutes Kiver, indicate that, after allowance is 

made for requirements of irrigation, a total of 600,000 horsepower 

may be developed. The utilization of the river for power has on one 

hand been facilitated by the building of the railroads through the 

canyon, and on the other hand has probably been made more expensive by the placing of the tracks at an elevation only a few feet above 

high stage of the river. Such construction has forced on the power 

developments of the future, throughout a large part of the canyon, 

the expense of relocating and reconstructing the railroads to permit 

the construction of high dams, or the necessity of designing plants 

consisrting of low dams and conduits leading therefrom to the power 

houses a type of development that in general is believed not to be 

feasible on the Deschutes, because of the narrow canyon, relatively 

small slope of the river, and the quantity of water to be utilized. 

Except for three power sites in the lower part of the canyon, which 

have been passed by the railroads at sufficient elevation to clear 

proposed dams and flowage, and a section of the upper canyon, which 

is not traversed by the railroads, the cost of future power developments on the river must include large items for the relocation and 

reconstruction of the railroads. To make the statement concrete, 

let us assume that the present roads, where they conflict with power 

development, cost $50,000 a mile and that they could have been built 

on the higher grade for $75,000 a mile. The increased cost to provide 

for power development would then have been $25,000 a mile. Under 

present conditions, however, power construction must be preceded 

by reconstruction of the lines at a cost of $75,000 a mile and the present lines must be abandoned. The economic loss is thus the cost of 

the present lines less the salvage of track. Even assuming that the 

central Oregon country needs two competing lines up Deschutes 

Kiver and that no economic waste is involved in this duplication of 

construction, power development in these sections of the river must 

always bear this double burden.

The retardation of water-power development effected by this 

handicap can not be estimated. The railroads are built and in 

operation. Neither the railroads nor the Federal Government 

realized at the time the roads were projected the economic significance of water power. The relation of the railroads to Deschutes 

River can not now be corrected except at large cost, but the situation
GENERAL FEATURES OP DESCHUTES BASIN. 11

presents a great object lesson of the necessity for the careful study 

of the relation of railroads to waterways and the adjustment of 

transportation and other economic interests in advance of large 

expenditures for construction.

A part of the irrigable land in the basin has already been reclaimed 

under the systems of the companies operating under the Carey Act. 

The settlement of the lands under these systems has, however, progressed slowly until the recent improvement in the transportation facilities afforded by the railroads rendered successful agriculture possible. The agricultural lands are situated at elevations ranging from 

3,000 to more than 4,000 feet above sea level, and consequently the 

crops are limited in general to forage, hardy vegetables, grains, and 

small fruits. The soil is, however, good though shallow and in places 

broken by lava. An abundant water supply makes the prospects of 

irrigation attractive in spite of the limits imposed on agriculture by 

the climate. The United States Reclamation Service has joined the 

State in an investigation of the possibility of irrigating the undeveloped land and in a study of the whole problem of utilizing the river. 

In advance of this investigation it is of course unwise to estimate 

the acreage that may ultimately be irrigated by means of the water 

of the Deschutes.

This report has been prepared in cooperation with the State of 

Oregon, and the sections on economic distribution of water for 

power, irrigation, and domestic supplies and water rights and appropriations have been written by John H. Lewis, State engineer. 

These sections contain statements regarding the present status of 

laws relating to water-power development that represent Mr. Lewis's 

personal views on topics concerning which he is peculiarly fitted to 

speak with authority. His suggestions regarding the policy for 

future legislation indicate a loyalty to both State and Federal institutions but can not be regarded as representing in all respects the 

views of the officers of the Federal Government with whom Mr. 

Lewis is cooperating in this work.

GENERAL FEATURES OF DESCHUTES RIVER BASIN. 1

THE RIVER.

The conspicuously arid and treeless portion of central Oregon 

merges on the west into a less arid region drained by Deschutes River, 

which carries to the Columbia the drainage of an area comprising 

more than 9,000 square miles, of which more than 6,000 square miles 

lie on the eastern slope of the Cascades. The annual rainfall in this 

area ranges from 10 inches along the main course of the stream to

1 Abstracted in large part from Russell, I. C., Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of 

central Oregon: U. S. Geol. Survey Bull. 252,1905.
12 DESCHUTES BIVER, OREGON.

100 inches in the summit of the Cascades near which the river has 

its source in a number of mountain lakes that lie just across the 

divide from the headwaters of Willamette River. The course of the 

river is in general northward to the Columbia, which it enters about 

15 miles above The Dalles. (See map, PI. I, p. 20.)

It is a swift-flowing stream of conspicuously clear, greenish-blue 

water, broken by many rapids and cascades, and is a delight to the 

beholder on account of its beautiful colors, refreshing coolness, and 

the picturesque and impressive scenery of its canyon walls. It is 

also an attraction to the angler, as its waters are abundantly stocked 

with trout. Salmon ascend its lower portion, but on account of the 

falls do not reach its upper course.

The flow of the river is more remarkably uniform than that of any 

other river in the United States comparable with it in size, and its 

economic value is almost incalculable. At the mouth of the stream 

the maximum discharge is only six times the minimum. Ocular 

evidence of this uniformity of flow is presented by the low grass-grown 

banks between which the river flows for much of its course. From 

the mouth of Crooked River upstream to Benham Falls, near Lava 

Butte, a distance of about 50 miles, the variation in the height of the 

river throughout the year is not more than 8 or perhaps 10 inches 

where the width is not abnormally restricted. Wooden bridges 

that cross the river in this part of its course are placed only 2 or 3 

feet above its summer-stage surface, and even the amount of space 

thus afforded beneath their floors,is determined by the height of the 

approaches and not by the fluctuations in the level of the water.

The uniform flow of the stream can not be attributed to forestation, 

for the only timbered portion of the drainage basin is found on the 

eastern slope of the Cascades, and the divide between Crooked River 

and the John Day basin is but sparsely timbered. Indeed the entire 

supply of timber could be removed without in the least affecting the 

flow of the river. The reason for the practically constant volume 

between Benham Falls and the mouth of Crooked River is mainly 

because the river is bordered throughout a part of its course in this 

section by cellular lava which receives the waters that would otherwise cause increase of stage.

Although the winter temperatures are low ice does not affect the 

flow of the streams, for the winter flow is derived largely from springs. 

The high stages usually occur in July and result from the melting of 

snows in the mountains, although occasionally floods are caused by 

chinooks in the early spring or late fall.

The area drained by the Deschutes is rough and mountainous. 

The agricultural lands consist largely of high table-lands cut by deep 

canyons, through which the rivers flow, and small areas of arable 

land that border the streams. The soil is a coarse, disintegrated lava.
GENERAL FEATURES OP DESCHUTES BASIN. 13

The rocks of the entire area are volcanic and are so peculiarly porous 

that the basin has the effect of a huge sponge. Elevations within 

the upper basin of the Deschutes range from 3,600 feet above sea 

level near Bend to about 6,000 feet at the summit of the Cascade 

Mountains. Prineville is 2,868 feet above sea level, and Paulina, 

near the upper part of the Crooked River drainage basin, 3,684 feet.

THE TRIBUTARIES.

The principal tributaries of the Deschutes are White, Warm 

Springs, Metolius, and Crooked rivers and the West Fork of the 

Deschutes.

The tributaries of the Deschutes above the mouth of Crooked River 

come mainly from the west and drain the eastern slope of the Cascade 

Mountains. The most marked exception, in reference to direction of 

flow, is Paulina Creek, which has its source in Paulina Lake, situated 

in the summit of an old and deeply eroded volcanic mountain about 

35 miles east of the crest of the Cascade Mountains. The Walker 

Mountains, also situated well to the east of the Cascades, send some 

tribute to the Deschutes. The streams just referred to, like the tributaries of the main river from the west, flow over a region deeply 

covered with pumice and are clear and cold.

Crooked River is formed by the outflow from a number of copious 

warm springs about 10 miles east of Hampton Butte and flows north 

and west among steep-sided mountains all the way to its junction 

with the Deschutes, a distance of about 115 miles. In its upper 

portion, just after leaving the alkaline marsh in which it rises, it 

receives copious contributions from springs and in its progress rapidly 

increases in volume, even in late summer, when there is no surface 

run-off. It is said to receive contributions from other springs at 

several localities along its course until it nears Prineville. Below 

that town it diminishes in volume, and in late summer its bed near 

Forest, about 12 miles below Prineville, is frequently dry. This 

marked decrease is now due largely to the use of the water of the 

stream for irrigation in the expanded portion of its canyon below 

Prineville, but the stream is known to have shown marked seasonal 

variations even under strictly natural conditions. When the volume 

of the stream diminishes below Prineville it exhibits the characteristics common to many streams that flow from the uplands of arid 

regions and suffer absorption and evaporation as they pass through 

the lower part of their courses where springs are absent. Owing to 

the absence of saturation at any but great depths, percolation is away 

from instead of toward the stream channels, and such flow as persists 

becomes tepid, more or less alkaline, and unwholesome. Another 

and still more remarkable change occurs down the channel of Crooked 

River about 10 miles northwest of Forest, where springs of great
14 DESCHUTES KIVER, OREGON.

volume appear in its bed and along its sides. One of these springs, 

conspicuous on account of its large volume, is known as Opal Spring, 

for the reason that in the sands it brings to the surface are kernels 

and grains of opal derived from the basaltic rock through which its 

supplying conduit passes. Other springs come in near at hand, and 

the river quickly becomes a rushing torrent of clear, cool water. 

This conspicuous instance of copious springs rising in the lower course 

of a river in an arid region finds its explanation in the depth and 

wide extent of the loose volcanic debris through which the river has 

cut its present canyon.

The warm springs feeding Crooked River are of interest not only 

on account of the use that is now being made of their'waters but 

because they supplement other evidence pointing to the probability 

that artesian water can be had over a large part of the basin in 

which they are situated. The springs range in temperature from 

60° to 87° F. and are scattered for about 2 miles along a narrow 

north-south belt. Where the waters of the springs are combined 

at the outlet of the valley, they make a creek of warm water, the 

volume of which, by a rough estimate, is between 20 .and 25 secondfeet. The temperature of the water indicates that it comes from a 

considerable depth, possibly 2,500 feet.

East of Prineville Crooked River flows westward through a rugged 

valley in which outcrops of soft material carrying fossils are reported 

to occur. About 6 miles before reaching the town it traverses a 

narrow canyon with vertical walls of basalt about 650 feet high. 

The basalt is in well-defined layers, with scoriaceous surfaces, and 

at least seven layers are exposed. The stream has not yet cut 

through the pile of basaltic sheets, although a few miles farther up 

its course the underlying rocks are exposed.

Less than a mile above Prineville the canyon of Crooked River 

becomes abruptly wider, and for 6 miles west of that town has a 

width of 4 or 5 miles, this abrupt increase being due to the presence 

of soft material beneath the basalt.

For several miles below the town the stream meanders in sweeping 

curves through the alluvial bottom lands and affords fine illustrations 

of the behavior of an aggrading stream.

Metolius River rises on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, in the western part of Cook County, flows northward 18 miles, 

then turns abruptly southeast and east to its junction with Deschutes 

River, 6 miles northwest of Haystack. Throughout its course the 

stream runs in a deep canyon, and its average fall from its headwaters 

to its confluence with the Deschutes is about 35 feet to the mile. 

Its flow is derived largely from springs and is well maintained throughout the year. Its water is clear, it carries practically no drift, and 

the formation of ice will probably never be a disturbing factor in the
GENERAL FEATURES OF DESCHUTES BASIN. 15

operation of power plants along its course. It is quite unlike 

Deschutes River in its general character and in its possibilities of 

power development, for sites suitable for the construction of dams 

of greater height than 20 to 25 feet are found at only a few places 

along its entire course.

LAKES NEAR SOURCES OF DESCHUTES RIVER.

Near the sources of West Fork of Deschutes River and also at the 

head of the main stem of the river, sometimes designated the Middle 

Fork and also locally called Little River, there are beautiful lakes, 

still surrounded by primeval forests, which furnish instructive examples of water bodies held by dams built by glaciers or formed by lava 

flows.

On West Fork of Deschutes near its source is Davis Lake, which is 

retained by a dam of lava. Lieut. T. W. Symons, who visited it in 

1878, describes it as follows:1

This lake and valley were about 12 by 6 miles in size and took us completely by 

surprise, as they were evidently in the course of our West Fork and were not on any 

map. Beaching it we found at its southern end many acres of rich grass and bunches 

of tall willows. Following around the west shore to the north end we ascertained 

that there was no visible outlet. We saw the watermarks 20 feet above us on the lava 

bluffs of the northern and northwestern shores, and camping beside these in the night 

we heard strange rumblings in the vast pile.

We found the next day that these lava beds formed an impassable barrier extending 

unbroken for about 4 miles to the north, and at their end were again surprised to find, 

foaming out from underneath the giant bowlders, the clear, cold river that we had 

seen lose itself in the lake 15 miles or more to the south.

On the east side of the Cascade Mountains, near their crest, is 

Odell Lake, a sheet of clear, cold water, which receives the water from 

the snow fields on Diamond Peak, the height of which is 8,807 feet.

Situated approximately 4 miles southwest of Odell Lake is Crescent 

Lake, which is larger and in nearly every way finer than its neighboring water body, and like it is surrounded by beautiful scenery and 

magnificent forests. This lake is about 4 miles long and 2 miles 

wide, and its area is not far from 7 square miles. It is retained by a 

strong, well-defined terminal moraine, which sweeps across the valley 

in a graceful curve, presenting its concave side to the west, the direction from which came the glacier that built it. The outlet of Crescent 

Lake is at the north end of the moraine that confines it, where the 

outflowing waters have cut a gorge of the same character as the one 

excavated by the stream flowing from Odell Lake.

The width of the stream is 89 feet, and its average depth on September 4, 1903, as shown by 15 measurements, was nine-tenths of a foot. 

This may safely be taken as its minimum depth during the year.

i TJ. S. Geog. Surveys W. 100th Mer. Ann. Kept., 1879, Appendix B, p. 218,
16 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Crescent Lake, as reported by frontiersmen familiar with it, rises 

in March and April about 10 inches above its lowest stage, which 

occurs in September. These statements are in harmony with the 

evidence furnished by the beaches about the borders of the lake and 

by the downward limit of vegetation on its shores. Not only is 

Crescent Lake larger than Odell Lake, but the area of mountainous 

land draining to it is greater, while the rainfall is essentially the same, 

each lake receiving some of the precipitation falling on Diamond 

Peak, the highest elevation in the region.

STREAM FLOW.

By F. F. HENSHAW. 

DEFINITION OF TEBMS.

The volume of water flowing in a stream the "run-off" or "discharge" is expressed in various terms, each of which has become 

associated with a certain class of work. These terms may be divided 

into two groups: (1) Those which represent a rate of flow, as secondfeet, gallons per minute, miner's inches, and discharge in secondfeet per square mile; and (2) those which represent the actual quantity of water, as run-off in depth in inches, acre-feet, and millions of 

cubic feet. The units used in this report are second-foot, second-feet 

per square mile, run-off in inches, acre-foot, and millions of cubic feet. 

They may be defined as follows:

"Second-foot" is an abbreviation for "cubic foot per second" 

and is a unit for the rate of discharge of water flowing in a stream. 

A second-foot is the rate of discharge of water flowing in a channel of 

rectangular cross section 1 foot wide and 1 foot deep at an average 

velocity of 1 foot a second. It is generally used as a fundamental 

unit from which others are computed by the use of the factors given 

in the tables of convenient equivalents (pp. 17-18).

"Second-foot per square mile" is used as a measure of the average 

number of cubic feet of water flowing per second from each square 

mile of area drained, on the assumption that the run-off is distributed 

uniformly both as regards time and area.

"Run-off (depth in inches)" is the depth to which the drainage 

area would be covered if all the water flowing from it in a given period 

were conserved and uniformly distributed on the surface. It is used 

for comparing run-off with rainfall, which is usually expressed in 

depth in inches.

An "acre-foot" is equivalent to 43,560 cubic feet and is the 

quantity that would be required to cover an acre to the depth of 

1 foot. The term is commonly used in connection with storage for 

irrigation.
STEEAM FLOW. 17

"Millions of cubic feet" is a unit used to express quantities of 

water stored in reservoirs, and is most frequently used in studies of 

flood control.

The following terms used in these reports are not in very common 

use and may be defined as follows:

"Control," "controlling section," and "point of control" are terms 

used to designate that cross section of the stream below the gage 

which controls or regulates the height of the water surface at the gage. 

It should be noted that the control may not be the same cross section 

at all stages.

"Discharge relation" is an abbreviation for the term "relation of 

gage height to discharge."

The "point of zero flow" for a given gaging station is that point 

on the gage the gage height to which the surface of the river would 

fall if there were no flow.

CONVENIENT EQUIVALENTS.

The following tables furnish convenient equivalents for use ha 

hydraulic computations:

Table for converting discharge in second-feet per square mile into run-off in depth in inches

over the area.

Discharge 

in secondfeet per 

square mile.

-1.........

2. ........

3.........

4.........

5.........

6.........

7.........

8.........

9.........

Run-ofl in inches.

Iday.

0.03719 

.07438 

. 11157 

.14876 

.18595 

.22314 

.26033 

.29752 

.33471

28 days.

1.041 

2.083 

3.124 

4.165 

5.207 

6.248 

7.289 

8.331 

9.372

29 days.

1.079 

2.157 

3.236 

4.314 

5.393 

6.471 

7.550 

8.628 

9.707

30 days.

1.116 

2.231

3.347 

4.463 

5.t»78 

6.694 

7.810 

8.926 

10.041

31 days.

1.153 

2.306 

3.459 

4.612 

5.764 

6.917 

8.070 

9.223 

10. 376

NOTE. For part of a month multiply the values for one day by the number of days.

Table for converting discharge in second-feet into run-off in acre-feet.

Discharge 

in secondfeet.

1.. .......

2.........

3.........

4.........

5.........

6.........

7.........

8.........

Run-ofl in acre-feet.

Iday.

1.983 

3.967 

5.950 

7.934 

9.917 

11.90 

13.88 

15.87 

17.85

28 days.

55.54 

111.1 

166.6 

222.1 

277.7 

333.2 

388.8 

444.3 

499.8

29 days.

57.52 

115.0 

172.6 

230.1 

287.6 

345.1 

402.6 

460.2 

517.7

30 days.

59.50 

119.0 

178.5 

238.0 

297.5 

357.0 

416.5 

476.0 

535.5

31 days.

61.49 

123.0 

184.5 

246.0 

307.4 

368.9 

430.4 

491.9 

553.4

NOTE. For part of a month multiply the values for one day by the number of days. 

48348° WSP 344 14 2
18 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Table for converting discharge in second-feet into run-off in millions of cubic feet.

Discharge 

in secondfeet.

1.........

2.........

3.........

4.........

5.........

6.........

7.........

8.........

9.........

Run-ofl in millions of cubic feet.

1 day.

0. 0864 

.1728 

.2592 

.3456 

.4320 

.5184 

.6048 

.6912 

.7776

28 days.

2.419 

4.838 

7.257 

9.676 

12.095 

14.514 

16.933 

19. 352 

21. 771

29 days.

2.506 

5.012 

7.518 

10.024 

12.530 

15. 036 

17. 542 

20.048 

22. 554

30 days.

2.592 

5.184 

7.776 

10.368 

12.960 

15. 552 

18. 144 

20.736 

23.328

31 days.

2.678 

5.356 

8.034 

10. 712 

13.390 

16.068 

18. 746 

21. 424 

24. 102

NOTE. For part of a month multiply the values for 1 day by the number of days.

1 second-foot equals 40 California miner's inches (law of March 23, 1901).

1 second-foot equals 38.4 Colorado miner's inches.

1 second-foot equals 40 Arizona miner's inches.

1 second-foot equals 7.48 United States gallons per second; equals 448.8 gallons per 

minute; equals 646,317 gallons for one day.

1 second-foot for one year covers 1 square mile 1.131 feet or 13.572 inches deep.

1 second-foot for one year equals 31,536,000 cubic feet.

1 second-foot equals about 1 acre-inch per hour.

1 second-foot for one day equals 86,400 cubic feet.

1,000,000,000 (1 United States billion) cubic feet equals 11,570 second-feet for one 

day.

1,000,000,000 cubic feet equals 414 second-feet for one 28-day month.

1,000,000,000 cubic feet equals 399 second-feet for one 29-day month.

1,000,000,000 cubic feet equals 386 second-feet for one 30-day month.

1,000,000,000 cubic feet equals 373 second-feet for one 31-day month.

100 California miner's inches equals 18.7 United States gallons per second.

100 California miner's inches for one day equals 4.96 acre-feet.

100 Colorado miner's inches equals 2.60 second-feet.

100 Colorado miner's inches equals 19.5 United States gallons per second.

100 Colorado miner's inches for one day equals 5.17 acre-feet.

100 United States gallons per minute equals 0.223 second-foot.

100 United States gallons per minute for one day equals 0.442 acre-foot.

1,000,000 United States gallons per day equals 1.55 second-feet.

1,000,000 United States gallons equals 3.07 acre-feet.

1,000,000 cubic feet equals 22.95 acre-feet.

1 acre-foot equals 325,850 gallons.

1 inch deep on 1 square mile equals 2,323,200 cubic feet.

1 inch deep on 1 square mile equals 0.0737 second-foot per year.

1 foot equals 0.3048 meter.

1 mile equals 1.60935 kilometers.

1 mile equals 5,280 feet.

1 acre equals 0.4047 hectare.

1 acre equals 43,560 square feet.

1 acre equals 209 feet square, nearly.

1 square mile equals 2.59 square kilometers.

1 cubic foot equals 0.0283 cubic meter.

1 cubic foot of water weighs 62.5 pounds.

1 cubic meter per minute equals 0.5886 second-foot.

1 horsepower equals 550 foot-pounds per second.

1 horsepower equals 76,0 kilogram-meters per second.
STREAM FLOW. 19

1 horsepower equals 746 watts.

1 horsepower equals 1 second-foot falling 8.80 feet.

1J horsepower equals about 1 kilowatt.

mil, , . ,, Sec.-ft.Xfall in feet . , . To calculate water power quickly: ^ = net horsepower on water

wheel realizing 80 per cent of theoretical power.

ACCURACY AND RELIABILITY OF FIELD DATA AND COMPARATIVE

RESULTS.

The accuracy of stream-flow data depends primarily on the natural 

conditions at the gaging station and on the methods and care with 

which the data are collected. Errors of the first group depend on 

the permanency of channel and on the permanency of the relation 

between discharge and stage. Errors of the second group are due, 

first, to errors in observation of stage; second, to errors in measurements of flow; and, third, to errors due to misinterpretation of stage 

and flow data.

The base data for the tables of monthly discharge presented in this 

report, unless otherwise stated in description of station, have been 

collected by the methods commonly used at current-meter gaging 

stations and described in standard textbooks.

In the table of monthly discharge the column headed "Maximum" 

.gives the mean flow, as determined from the rating table, for the day 

when the mean gage height was highest. As the gage height is the 

mean for the day, it does not indicate correctly the stage when the 

water surface was at crest height and the corresponding discharge 

was consequently larger than given in the maximum column! Likewise, in the column of "Minimum," the quantity given is the mean flow 

for the day when the mean gage height was lowest. The column 

headed "Mean" is the average flow in cubic feet for each second 

during the month.

The accuracy column in the monthly discharge table does not 

apply to the maximum or minimum nor to any individual day, but 

to the monthly mean. It is based on the accuracy of the rating 

curve, the probable reliability of the observer, the number of gage 

readings per day, the range of the fluctuation in stage, and knowledge of local conditions. In this column, A indicates that the mean 

monthly flow is probably accurate within 5 per cent; B, within 10 

per cent; C, within 15 per cent; D, within 25 per cent. Special 

conditions are covered by footnotes.

Even though the monthly means for any station may represent 

with a high degree of accuracy the quantity of water flowing past the 

gage, the figures showing discharge per square mile and depth of runoff in inches may be subject to gross errors which result from including 

in the measured drainage area large noncontributing districts, or 

omitting estimates of water diverted for irrigation or other use. On
20 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

this account the computations of "second-feet per square mile" and 

"run-off (depth in inches)" are not here published. All values of 

"second-feet per square mile" and "run-off (depth in inches)" previously published by the Survey should be used with caution.

In general, the base data collected each year by the Survey engineers are published not only to comply with the law but also to 

afford any engineer the means of examining and adjusting to his 

own needs the results of the computations. The table of monthly 

discharge is so arranged as to give only a general idea of the flow at 

the station and should not be used for other than preliminary estimates. The determinations of daily discharge allow more detailed 

studies of the variation in flow by which the period of deficiency 

may be determined.

It should be borne in mind that the observations in each succeeding 

year may be expected to throw new light on data already collected 

and published, and the engineer who makes use of the figures presented in these papers should verify all ratings and make such adjustments for earlier years as may seem necessary.

GAGING STATIONS.

The following is a list of gaging stations that have been maintained 

in the Deschutes Biver basin by the United States Geological Survey 

and cooperating parties. The stations are arranged in downstream 

order, stations from source to mouth of the main stem of the river 

being first listed and then those on the tributaries from source to 

mouth, the streams in each tributary basin being listed before those 

of the next basin below. The positions of the gaging stations are 

indicated on the map, Plate I.

Big Marsh outlet near Crescent, 1912-

Deschutea River near Lapine, 1910-

Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, near Lava, 1905-

Deschutes River at West's ranch, near Lava, 1906-1909.

Deschutes River at Benham Falls, near' Bend, 1909-

Deschutea River at Bend, 1904-

Deschutes River at Laidlaw, 1909-1912.

Deschutes River near Cline Falls, 1910-

Deschutes River at Mecca, 1911-

Deschutes River near Moro, 1897-1899.

Deschutes River at Moody (Biggs), 1906-

Crescent Lake outlet near Crescent, 1912-

East Fork of Deschutes River near Crescent, 1904-1908; 1910-

West Fork of Deschutes River near Lapine, 1910-

West Fork of Deschutes River near Lava, 1905-1907; 1909- 

Odell Lake outlet near Crescent, 1912-

Tumalo Creek near Laidlaw, 1906-

Tumalo Creek near Bend, 1906-

Squaw Creek near Sisters, 1906-
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY 

GEORGE OT1S SMITH. DIRECTOR WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE I

MAP OF DESCHUTES EIVEE BASIN, SHOWING POSITION OP GAGING STATIONS

Base from one-millionth scale 

.map of United States now in 

preparation

o Gaging station

Scale 1,000,04

10 5 0

. 10 5 0

10

10

20 30 MUes

90 30 Kilometers

L914
STBEAM FLOW. 21

Crooked River near Post, 1908-1911.

Crooked River near Prineville, 1908-

Ochoco Creek near Prineville, 1908-1910.

Metolius River at Allingham ranger station, near Sisters, 1910-

Metolius River at Hubbard's ranch, near Grandview, 1910-

Metolius River at Riggs ranch, near Sisters, 1908-1912. 

Lake Creek near Sisters, 1911- 

Whitewater Creek near Sisters, 1911-

Shitike Creek at Warm Spring, 1911-

Warm Springs River near Warm Spring, 1911-

White River near Tygh Valley, 1911-

Tygh Creek at Tygh Valley, 1911- 

Central Oregon canal near Bend, 1905- 

Pilot Butte canal near Bend, 1905- 

Wimer canal near Sisters, 1906- 

Columbia Southern canal near Sisters, 1906- 

McAllister's ditch near Sisters, 1909-

PTTBLICATIONS.

The results of stream-measurement work in the Deschutes River 

basin have appeared in the following reports of the United States Geological Survey: Nineteenth Annual Report, Part IV; Twentieth 

Annual Report, Part IV; Twenty-first Annual Report, Part IV, 

Water-Supply Papers 16, 28, 38, 39, 51, 66, 75, 85, 100, 135, 178, 214, 

252, 272, 292, 312,1 332,1 362.1

STATION RECORDS.

BIG MAESH OUTLET NEAR CRESCENT, OREG

Location. At Hoey's (formerly Royce's) ranch, known as Dellcrest, one-fourth mile 

above junction with Crescent Lake outlet, 14 miles west of Crescent, Oreg., in 

NE. i sec. 20, T. 24 S., R. 7 E.

Records available. April 8 to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. 50 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff driven into stream bed on right bank.

Channel. Cemented gravel; permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made from private wagon bridge or by wading.

Winter flow. Materially affected by ice for several weeks.

Accuracy. Results uncertain for high stage on account of missing gage readings and 

lack of flood measurements. Low-water estimates are excellent.

Monthly discharge of Big Marsh outlet, near Crescent, Oreg., for 1912.

Month.

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

August ............................................

September. .......................................

October...........................................

December .........................................

The period. .................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

165 

297 

297 

180 

50 

50 

50 

99 

50

Minimum.

97 

170 

186 

50 

35 

35 

28 

35 

35

Mean.

122 

246 

263 

94.2 

44.0 

38.4 

35.5 

68.3 

44.9

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

7,260 

15,100 

15,600 

5,790 

2,710 

2,280 

2,180 

4,060 

2,760

57,700

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B.

Iri preparation as this report goes to press.
22 DESCHUTES BIVEE; OREGON.

DE8CHUTES RIVEE NEAE LAPINE, OEEG.

Location. At the Rosland ranger station, 1J miles below the wagon bridge at Bosland, in sec. 2, T. 22 S., R. 10 E.

Records available. September 22, 1910, to December 31, 1912; incomplete.

Drainage area. Not measured.

Gage. Vertical staff. During 1910 a staff on highway bridge was read.

Channel. Sand and clay; not likely to shift.

Discharge measurements. Made from the downstream rail of the highway bridge 

at Rosland, 1J miles above the gage, or by wading.

Winter flow. Materially affected by ice.

Accuracy. Open-channel curve well defined.

Cooperation. Gage readings have been furnished by the United States Forest 

Service.

Monthly discharge of Destitutes'River, near Lapine, Oreg.,for 1910-1912.

Month.

1910. 

September 22-30. ..................................

1911.

1912.

May...............................................

July...............................................

August. . ..........................................

The period ..................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

131 

192 

330 

386

470 

158

232 

338 

700 

760 

480 

218 

194

Minimum.

112 

113 

114 

165

218 

114

156 

182 

356 

500 

222 

158 

138

Mean.

118 

137

184 

255

301 

130

185 

268 

540 

668 

339 

185 

157

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

2,110 

8,420 

10,900 

15,700

17,900 

7,990

11,400 

15,900 

33,200 

39,700 

20,800 

11,400 

9,340

142,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B.

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

A. 

A.

DESCHUTES EIVEE AT ALLEN S EANCH, NEAE LAVA, OEEG.

Location. In the SW. \ SW. i sec. 8, T. 20 S., R. 11 E., on C. B. Alien's ranch,

about 1 mile north of Lava, Oreg., and about half a mile above the mouth of

West Fork of Deschutes River, 18 miles south of Bend. 

Records available. February 17, 1905, to January 4, 1908; March 1, 1908, to May

4, 1912.

Drainage area. Indeterminate. 

Gage. Inclined staff on east bank of river; datum remained unchanged until 1912;

readings for that year refer to a datum 0.10 foot higher than previously. 

Channel. Clay; considerable growth of weeds during summer months. 

Discharge measurements. Made from a cable about 50 feet below the gage. 

Winter flow. Gage heights are rather seriously affected by ice during the winter

months. 

Accuracy. Records are not so accurate as they should be, owing to weeds that grow

in the river in the vicinity of the station during the summer months, and to

possible shifting of the channel.
STREAM PLOW. 23

Monthly discharge of Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, near Lava, Oreg., for 1905-191%.

Month.

1905.

March ".

April.. ............................................

MOT

July...............................................

1905-6.

July...............................................

1906-7.

May...............................................

July...............................................

1907-8.

March ........ ..........

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

1908-9. 

October............................................

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year .....................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

368 

382 

317 

317 

294 

196 

125 

97

115 

102 

115 

223 

160 

180 

544 

559 

483 

294 

135 

120

559

115

188 

205 

329 

1,890 

513 

770 

810 

676 

410 

252 

223

1,890

173

188 

624

485 

687 

592 

452 

294 

166 

242

340 

262 

214

262 

498 

559 

575 

329 

188 

166

Minimum.

262 

283 

242 

252 

205 

115 

93 

89

97 

79 

82 

120 

97 

106 

147 

329 

294 

141 

106 

102

79

97 

89 

115 

115 

329 

242 

294 

608 

410 

252 

205 

173

89

154

141 

160

154 

223 

283 

262 

180 

125 

120

115 

154 

160

173 

205 

329 

355 

196 

141 

130

Mean.

306 

319 

274 

278 

241 

141 

107 

90.9

100 

90.6 

99.2 

166 

123 

136 

332 

445 

369 

220 

 122 

108

193

103 

137 

144 

220 

793 

345 

570 

696 

558 

330 

227 

196

360

161

157 

287 

o300 

a 170 

271 

407 

416 

339 

254 

139 

141

254

174 

180 

180 

o!50 

o200 

203 

355 

458 

488 

264 

160 

143

246

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

7,280 

19,600 

16,300 

17,100 

14,300 

8,670 

6,580 

5,410

95,200

6,150 

5,390 

6,100 

10,200 

6,830 

8,360 

19,800 

27,400 

22,000 

13,500 

7,500 

6,430

140,000

6,330 

8,150 

8,850 

13,500 

44,000 

21,200 

33,900 

42,800 

33,200 

20,300 

14,000 

11,700

258,000

9,900 

9,340 

17,600 

18,400 

9,780 

16,700 

24,200 

25,600 

20,200 

15,600 

8,550 

8,390

184,000

10,700 

10,700 

11,100 

9,220 

11,100 

12,500 

21,100 

28,200 

29,000 

16,200 

9,840 

8,510

178,000

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C.

C. 

B. 

B. 

D. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C.

c. 

c.

B. 

D. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

D. 

D.

D. 

D. 

D. 

D. 

D. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C.

B. 

B. 

C. 

D. 

D. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

D. 

D. 

D.

a Estimated.
24 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, near Lava, Oreg.,for 1905-1912 

Continued.

Month.

1909-10. 

October............................................

November. ........................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year....... .............................

1910-11.

July...............................................

1911-12. 

October............................................

The period..... . .............................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

141 

2,150 

1,310

1,030 

591 

658 

368 

223 

154 

147

173 

272 

468

196 

410 

528 

559 

382 

141 

160

141 

223 

147 

355 

565 

245 

380

Minimum.

120 

115 

439

528 

468 

382 

223 

160 

135 

125

115 

115 

135

147 

188 

382 

355 

147 

106 

110

106 

97 

97 

108 

195 

152 

165

Mean.

130 

556 

748 

o350 

o350 

712 

502 

516 

289 

185 

142 

132

384

138 

162 

229 

6150 

6170 

174 

256 

416 

487 

226 

125 

128

222

118 

143 

114 

240 

299 

179 

270

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

7,990 

33,100 

46,000 

21,500 

19, 400 

43,800 

29,900 

31,700 

17,200 

11,400 

8,730 

7,860

279,000

8,480 

9,640 

14,100 

9,220 

9,440 

10,700 

15,200 

25,600 

29,000 

13,900 

7,690 

7,620

161,000

7,260 

8,510 

7,010 

14,800 

17,200 

11,000 

16,100

81,900

Accuracy.

D. 

C. 

D. 

D. 

D. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

D. 

D. 

D.

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

D. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

D. 

D.

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B.

o Estimated.

6 Estimated from measurement of Jan. 22 and studies of discharge at other stations.

NOTE. Corrections have been made for effect of ice during the periods Jan. 1 to Feb. 28 and Dec. 23 to 26, 

1909; Jan. 1 to Feb. 28 and Mar. 5,1910; Jan. 1 to Mar. 13 and Dec. 22 to 31, 1911; Jan. 1 to Mar. 7, 1912. 

It is probable that there was considerable ice in 1905 to 1908, but no adequate notes were made as to its 

existence. The estimates for winter periods are vory uncertain, and for the earlier years are undoubtedly 

too high.

DESCHUTES RIVER AT WEST'S RANCH AND AT BENHAM FALLS, NEAR

BEND, OREG.

Location. In the NE. J sec. 16, T. 19 S., R. 11 E., about 250 yards above Benham 

Falls and 14 miles above Bend, above the more important irrigation diversions 

from Deschutes River, and just below the dam site of the proposed Benham 

Falls reservoir, since March 20, 1909.

Records available. July 21, 1906, to December 31, 1912. As this record has been 

used as basis for all studies of the possibilities of power and irrigation development on Deschutes River between West Fork and Crooked and Metolius rivers, 

it has been extended by the aid of the records at Bend and West's ranch and 

made continuous from January 1, 1905, to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. Not measured.
STREAM FLOW. 25

Gage. Vertical staff driven into edge of stream on right bank. Some uncertainty 

at times in regard to the maintenance of the gage datum. July 21, 1906, to February 20, 1909, vertical staff in the SW. \ sec. 31, T. 19 S., R. 11 E., at West's 

ranch, about 7 miles, by river, above Benham Falls.

Channel. Sandy; may shift slightly. Considerable growth of weeds along the right 

bank.

Discharge measurements. Made from standard car and cable.

Winter flow. Not materially affected by ice.

Diversions. The diversion of water by some small ditches that are taken out above 

this station has no appreciable effect on discharge.

Accuracy. Rating curve well denned. Some uncertainty as to effect of weeds.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the Central Oregon Irrigation Co.

Monthly discharge of Destitutes River at Benham Falls, near Bend, Oreg., for 1904-1912.

Month.

1904-5.

January

March.

April..............................................

May...............................................

July.............:.................................

1905-6. 

October............................................

January ...........................................

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

1906-7. 

October. ..........................................

April...................................'...........

May...............................................

July...............................................

1907-8. 

O ct ober ...........................................

December. ........................................

May...............................................

June... ............................................

July...............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

2,700 

2,380 

2,260 

2,260 

2,220 

1,890 

1,750 

1,740 

1,640

1,660 

1,620 

1,370 

1,450 

1,410 

1,550 

1,880 

1,920 

1,920 

1,680 

1,430 

1,400

1,920

1,360 

1,510 

1,510 

1,610 

4,000 

2,060 

2,500 

2,680 

2,540 

2,120 

1,900 

1,850

4,000

1,700 

1,700 

2,560 

2,060 

1,520 

1,960 

2,230 

2,120 

2,180 

2,010 

1,750 

1,660

2,560

Minimum.

2,080 

1,920 

2,080. 

1,920 

1,880 

1,730 

1,630 

1,490 

1,590

1,530

1,470 

1,080 

1,200 

1,240 

1,250 

1,530 

 1,700 

1,650 

1,430 

1,360 

1,360

1,080

1,290 

1,290 

1,320 

1,160 

1,520 

1,610 

1,680 

2,430 

2,120 

1,900 

1,800 

1,700

1,160

1,590 

1,520 

1,480 

1,390 

1,280 

1,350 

1,560 

1,850 

1,850 

1,750 

1,660 

1,560

1,280

Mean.

2,240 

2,160 

2,160 

2,070 

2,010 

1,810 

1,710 

1,620 

1,620

1,620 

1,560 

1,290 

1,360 

1,330 

1,360 

1,710 

1,840 

1,770 

1,560 

1,410 

1,370

1,520

1,320 

1,370 

1,390 

1,390 

2,300 

1,750 

2,170 

2,510 

2,350 

2,020 

1,860 

1,770

1,850

1,630 

1,580 

1, 770 

1,700 

1,440 

1,600 

1,880 

2,030 

2,000 

1,890 

1,680 

1,620

1,740

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

360,000 

138,000 

120,000 

133,000 

123,000 

124,000 

108,000 

105,000 

99,600 

96,400

1,410,000

99,600 

92,800 

79,300 

83,600 

73,900 

83,600 

102,000 

113, 000 

105,000 

95,900 

86,700 

81,500

1,100,000

81,200 

81,500 

85,500 

85,500 

128,000 

108,000 

129,000 

154,000 

140,000 

124,000 

114,000 

105,000

1,340,000

100,000 

94,000 

109,000 

105,000 

82,800 

98,400 

112,000 

125,000 

119,000 

116,000 

103,000 

96,400

1,260,000

Accuracy.

D. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.
26 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge ofDeschutes River at Benham Falls, near Bend, Oreg.,for 1904-191% 

Continued.

Month.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum. Minimum. Mean,

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

1908-9.

October........................................... 1,900

November......................................... 1,700

December......................................... 1,520

January........................................... 2,280

February.......................................... 1,750

March............................................. 1,750

April.............................................. 1,800

May............................................... 1,870

June............................................... 1,870

July............................................... 1,690

August............................................ 1,560

September......................................... 1,560

The year.................................... 2,280

1909-10.

October........................................... 1,530

November......................................... 4,760

December.......................................... 2,610

January........................................... 1,740

February.......................................... 1,880

March............................................. 2,380

April.............................................. 2,020

May............................................... 2,090

June............................................... 1,840

July............................................... 1,670

August............................................ 1,570

September......................................... 1,510

The year.................................... 4,760

1910-11.

October........................................... 1,540

November......................................... 1,600

December......................................... 1,780

January........................................... 1,540

February.......................................... l 420

March............................................. 1,540

April.............................................. 1,670

May............................................... 1,740

June............................................... 1,740

July............................................... 1,600

August............................................ 1,420

September......................................... 1,480

The year..................................... 1,780

1911-12.

October........................................... 1,420

November......................................... l, 480

December......................................... 1,360

January........................................... 1,500

February.......................................... 1,780

March............................................. 1,500

April.............................................. 1,710

May............................................... 2,100

June............................................... 2,260

July............................................... 1,940

August............................................ 1,780

September......................................... 1,710

Theyear.................................... 2,260

1912.

October........................................... 1,640

November......................................... 1,780

December......................................... l, 570

1,560

1,520

1,170

1,280

1,520

1,520

1,590

1,690

1,690

1,530

1,510

1,500

1,660

1,570

1,430

1,650

1,620

1,570

1,720

1,790

1,790

1,600

1,530

1,520

1,170 1,620

1,430

1,400

1,530

1,330

1,420

1,950

1,880

1,840

1,670

1,570

1,510

1,480

1,480

2,040

1,930

1,530

1,590

2,090

1,950

1,980

1,750

1,610

1,540

1,500

1,330 1,750

1,420

1,420

1,420

1,180

1,240

1,240

1,480

1,600

1,600

1,420

1,360

1,360

1,470

1,490

1,560

1,420

1,360

1,400

1,570

1,670

1,710

1,500

1,380

1,390

1,180

1,300

1,300

1,180

1,000

1,430

1,360

1,430

1,710

1,980

1,710

1,640

1,640

1,360

1,380

1,280

1,380

1,560

1,430

1,590

1,890

2,150

1,800

1,690

1,670

1,000

1,570

1,500

1,360

1,600

1,590

1,620

1,500

102,000

93,400

87,900

101,000

90,000

96,500

102,000

110,000

107,000

98,400

94,100

90,400

1,170,000

91,000

121,000

119,000

94,100

88,300

129,000

116,000

122,000

104,000

99,000

94,700

1,270,000

90,400

88,700

95,900

87,300

75,500

86,100

93,400

103,000

102,000

92,200

84,800

1,080,000

83,600

82,100

78,700

84,800

89,700

87,900

94,600

116,000

128,000

111,000

104,000

99,400

1,160,000

97,800

96,400

92,200

NOTE. Monthly discharge for October, November, and December. 1904, estimated at 120,000 acreJieet 

per month. Monthly discharge, January, 1905, to July, 1906, and February and March, 1909, determined 

by adding the discharge of Central Oregon and Pilot Butte canals to that of Deschutes River at Bend.
STREAM FLOW.

DESCHUTES RIVER AT BEND, OREG.

Location. In the NE. J sec. 32, T. 17 S., R. 12 E., just below the power house of 

the Bend Electric Light & Power Co. at city pumping plant, Bend, Oreg., 1 mile 

above the diversion dam of the North canal of the Central Oregon Irrigation Co.

Records available. December 22, 1904, to March 30, 1907, at Sizemore's bridge, 

in sec. 5, T. 18 S., R. 12 E.; April 23, 1907, to October 8, 1910, and April 11 to 

December 31, 1912, at gage below power house; October 1, 1910, to April 10, 

1912, at gage above dam.

Drainage area. Indeterminate.

Gage. Vertical staff nailed to pier of bridge over pond, near right bank, above 

dam, zero level with crest; at pumping plant, vertical staff bolted to a bowlder; 

at Sizemore's bridge (prior to 1907), vertical staff spiked to bent.

Channel. Broad crested weir, actual length 224.6 feet, broken by 19 piers; at 

pumping plant and cable, very rough and rocky but permanent; at Sizemore's 

bridge, wide and shallow, broken by pile bents.

Discharge measurements. April, 1907, to February, 1912, from Staat's bridge, 

three-fourths mile above pumping station and Bend dam; conditions unfavorable. After August, 1912, from cable and car 40 feet above pumping plant gage. 

Prior to 1907 from Sizemore's bridge.

Winter flow. Unaffected by ice.

Diversions. The Pilot Butte and Central Oregon canals of the Central Oregon Irrigation Co. divert water 5 miles by river above the present gage and measuring 

section, and have been operated since 1905. Arnold canal, which takes out at 

the head of Lava Island Falls (PI. VI, B, p. 80), 9 miles above, has been operated 

only during 1912. No other diversions of any consequence. No storage yet developed.

Accuracy. The records covering the period January 1, 1905, to June 30, 1906, and 

January 1, 1909, to December 31, 1912, are good and at times excellent.

Cooperation. Gage heights since 1907 have been furnished gratis by C. A. Stanburrough, engineer of the pumping plant.

Monthly discharge ofDeschutes River at Bend, Oreg., for 1905-1912.

Month.

1905.

Anril

May...............................................

July...............................................

The period. .................................

1905-6.

May...............................................

Discharge in second-test.

Maximum.

2,700 

2.380 

2,220 

2,220 

2,220 

1,780 

1,630 

1,630 

1,490

1,490 

1,490 

1,320 

1,450 

1,320 

1,450 

1,730 

1,740 

1,740

Minimum.

2,080 

1,920 

2,080 

1,920 

1,780 

1,630 

1,630 

1,490 

1,490

1,490 

1,350 

1,070 

1,190 

1,190 

1,190 

1,450 

1,600 

1,460

Moan.

?,240 

2.160 

2,130

2,060 

1,960 

1,720 

1,630 

1,530 

1,490

1,490 

1,430 

1,210 

1,310 

1,270 

1,320 

1,610 

1,700 

1,590

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

138,000 

120,000 

131,000 

123,000 

121,000 

. 102,000 

100,000 

94,100 

88,700

1,020,000

91,600 

85,100 

74,400 

80,600 

70,500 

81,200 

95,800 

105,000 

94,600

779,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B.
28 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge ofDeschutes River at Bend, Oreg.,for 1905-1912 Continued.

Month.

1909.

February. ... ......................................

April..............................................

May...............................................

June.... . ..........................................

July...............................................

1909-10.

November.. . ............................. _\ . .

April..........................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

August........................................ .

September. ........................................

The year ....................................

1910-11. 

October. .....................................

December .......................................

March.. . ..................................... .

AprU...... .................................... . May...............................................

July.. ......................................

August..........................................

September.... . .................................. .

1911-12.

November. ..................................

December .........................................

March........................................... .

May...............................................

June.... ...........................................

July...............................................

August ............................................

September.... .....................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

1,900 

1,720 

1,550 

1,570 

1,600 

1,640 

1,600 

1,230 

1,240

1,340 

4,760 

3,330 

1,810 

1,740 

2,650 

2,100 

2,020 

1,740 

1,230 

1,440 

1,330

4,760

1,240 

1,580 

1,660 

1,440 

1,440 

1,510 

1,510 

1,370 

1,730 

1,170 

1,370 

1,240

1,730

1,240 

1,510 

1,370 

1,660 

1,880 

1,510 

1,730 

1,940 

2,150 

1,730 

1,270 

1,470

2,150

1,480 

1,660 

1,730

Minimum.

1,160 

1,400 

1,380 

1,420 

1,340 

1,260 

1,100 

1,040 

1,120

1,200 

1,330 

1,530 

1,330 

1,440 

2,020 

1,810 

1,490 

1,230 

1,050 

1,050 

1,050

1,050

1,160 

1,170 

1,360 

1,170 

1,240 

1,170 

1,240 

1,170 

1,170 

910 

850 

910

850

975 

1,040 

1,040 

1,150 

1,240 

1,170 

1,270 

1,420 

1,540 

1,190 

1,150 

1,250

975

1,290 

1,370 

1,370

Mean.

1,560 

1,550 

1,440 

1,510 

1,450 

1,420 

1,340 

1,090 

1,180

1,240 

2,070 

2,030 

1,640 

1,590 

2,290 

1,890 

1,720 

1,360 

1,130 

1,210 

1,160

1,610

1,200 

1,420 

1,470 

1,330 

1,330 

1,340 

1,360 

1,310 

1,270 

1,050 

918 

1,050

1,250

1,130 

1,310 

1,260 

1,380 

1,510 

1,360 

1,430 

1,580 

1,690 

1,310 

1,210 

1,400

1,380

1,390 

1,490 

1,570

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

95,900 

86,100 

88,500 

89,800 

89,200 

84,500 

82,400 

67,000 

70,200

754,000

76,200 

123,000 

125,000 

101,000 

88,300 

141,000 

112,000 

106,000 

80,900 

69,500 

74,400 

69,000

1,170,000

73,800 

84,500 

90,400 

81,800 

73,900 

82,400 

80,900 

80,600 

75,600 

64,600 

56,400 

62,500

907,000

69,500 

78,000 

77,500 

84,800 

86,900 

83,600 

85, 100 

97,200 

101,000 

80,600 

74,400 

83,300

1,000,000

85,500 

88,700 

96,500

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B.

B. 

C. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A.

DESCHUTES RIVER AT LAIDLAW, OREG.

Location. In the NE. \ sec. 31, T. 16 S., R. 12 E., at the highway bridge in Laidlaw, 9 miles by river below Bend, 3 miles below Tumalo Creek, and below all 

diversions of any consequence.

Becords available. January 1, 1909, to October 15, 1912. Records prior to July, 

1910, are questionable.
STREAM FLOW. 29

Drainage area. Indeterminate.

Gage. Vertical staff at old highway bridge at Laidlaw.

Channel. Gravel. Permanent control. There are two channels at the gage, about

two-thirds of the flow passing in the right channel, in which the gage is placed.

The channel divides about 200 feet above the bridge. 

Discharge measurements. From wagon bridge, 1| miles above gage in the SE.

i sec. 6, T. 17 S., R. 12 E.

Winter flow. Probably some ice effect in extremely cold weather. 

Diversions. In addition to the diversions above the Bend station, two small canals

divert between Bend and Laldlaw; records not corrected for diversion. 

Accuracy. Fair; measuring conditions unsatisfactory; low-water estimates probably

too high.

Monthly discharge of Deschutes River at Laidlaw, Oreg.,for 1910-1912.

Month.

1910. . 

July 8-31. .........................................

1910-11.

January ...........................................

February. .........................................

April..............................................

Way...............................................

July...............................................

The year....................................

1911-12.

April..............................................

July...............................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

1,270 

1,440 

1,440

1,330 

1,760 

1,830 

1,580 

1,580 

1,730 

1,660 

1,510 

1,890 

1,370 

1,370 

1,170

1,890

1,300 

1,510 

1,510 

1,730 

1,890 

1,580 

1,730 

1,890 

2,060 

1,730 

1,300 

1,440

2,060

1,330

TWim'Trmm ,

1,140 

1,100 

1,140

1,240 

1,270 

1,510 

1,440 

1,370 

1,300 

1,370 

1,330 

1,270 

930 

897 

930

897

1,140 

1,140 

1,240 

1,210 

1,370 

1,300 

1,300 

1,580 

1,660 

1,240 

1,170 

1,270

1,660

1,300

Mean.

1,200 

1,260 

1,240

1,290 

1,550 

1,630 

1,500 

1,470 

1,490 

1,470 

1,420 

1,480 

1,140 

949 

1,080

1,370

1,180 

1,360 

1,390 

1,500 

1,620 

1,470 

1,520 

1,690 

1,870 

1,410 

1,230 

1,360

1,470

1,300

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

57,100 

77,500 

73,800

208,000

79,300 

92,200 

100,000 

92,200 

81,600 

91,600 

87,500 

87,300 

88,100 

69,500 

58,400 

64,300

992,000

72,600 

80,900 

85,500 

92,200 

93,200 

90,400 

90,400 

104,000 

111,000 

86.700 

75,600 

80,900

1,060,000

38,700

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B.

DESCHUTES EIVEE NEAR CLINE FALLS, OEEG.

Location. In sec. 13, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., 12 miles below Laidlaw, about 4 miles 

west of Redmond, and 1J miles southwest of Cline Falls.

Records available. February 15, 1910, to March 4, 1911; February 20 to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. Indeterminate,
30 DESCHTJTES BIVEE, OEEGON.

Gage. Vertical staff on right bank.

Channel. Sand, gravel, and bowlders; some moss grows on the bottom; practically 

permanent.

Winter flow. Not materially affected by ice.

Discharge measurements. Made from a boat which is operated on. a taut wire 

stretched across the stream near the gage.

Diversions. Same as Laidlaw station. Apparent decrease in discharge between the 

two stations may be due to seepage of water into the river bed or to inaccuracies in the Laidlaw record.

Accuracy. A well-developed curve makes the results very reliable.

Monthly discharge ofDeschutes River near Cline Falls, Oreg.,for 1910-1912.

Month.

1910.

July...............................................

1910-11.

1912.

March. . ...........................................

July...............................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

1,600 

2.480 

1,820 

1,900 

1,820 

1,160 

1,270 

1,160

1,110 

1,530 

1,600 

1,330 

1,270

1,670 

1,330 

1,460 

1,740 

1,820 

1,530 

1,160 

1,250

1,250 

1,500 

1,530

Minimum.

1,460 

1,820 

1,670 

1,390 

1,160 

1,020 

974 

974

1,020 

1,060 

1,270 

1,160 

1,110

. *

1,270 

1,060 

1,060 

1,270 

1,530 

1,060 

1,040 

1,140

1,110 

1,220 

1,270

Mean.

1,580 

2,100 

1,740 

1,710 

1,310 

1,090 

1,110 

1,050

1,070 

1,350 

1,380 

1,250 

1,220 

1,190

1,440 

1,200 

1,270 

1,430 

1,670 

1,220 

1,090 

1,200

1,190 

1,330 

1,430

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

43,900 

129,000 

104,000 

105,000 

78,000 

67,000 

68,200 

62,500

658,000

65,800 

80,300 

84,800 

76,900 

67,800 

9,440

385,000

31,300 

73,800 

75,600 

87,900 

99,400 

75,000 

67,000 

71,400

581,000

73,200 

79,100 

87,900

Accuracy.

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A.

A.

DESCHUTES RIVER AT MECCA, OREG.

Location. In the SW. J sec. 20, T. 9 S., R. 13 E., at ferry at Mecca, 1$ miles below 

mouth of Shitike Creek, and 12 miles above mouth of Warm Springs River.

Records available. June 7, 1911, to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. Not measured.

Gage. Vertical staff fastened to tree on right bank, 100 yards above Government 

ferry.

Channel. Rock and heavy gravel; practically permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made from car on ferry cable.

Winter flow. Not affected by ice.
STREAM FLOW. 31

Diversions. The flow at this station is affected by same diversions from upper 

Deschutes River as the Laidlaw and Cline Falls stations. The summer flow of 

Crooked River is practically all diverted.

Accuracy. Results are excellent.

Cooperation. Station is maintained at expense of Office of Indian Affairs.

Monthly discharge of Deschutes River at Mecca, Oreg.,for

Month.

1911. 

June 7-30..........................................

July...............................................

1911-12.

April..............................................

May.....................................:.........

July...............................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

5,260 

4,720 

4,200 

4,200

4,200 

4,540 

4,370 

6,800 

8,490 

5,830 

7,410 

8,270 

6,800 

6,210 

5,080 

4,720

8,490

4,900 

5,260 

5,080

Minimum.

4,540 

4,040 

3,880 

4,040

3,880 

3,880 

4,200 

3,300 

4,900 

4,900 

5,830 

6,400 

5,450 

4,370 

4,370 

4,370

3,300

4,200 

4,370 

4,540

Mean.

4,880 

4,360 

4,050 

4,150

4,090 

4,210 

4,300 

5,050 

5,940 

5,200 

6,460 

7,100 

6,020 

4,850 

4,550 

4,520

5,190

4,390 

4,770 

4,670

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

232,000 

268,000 

249,000 

247,000

251,000 

251,000 

264,000 

311,000 

342,000 

320,000 

384,000 

437,000 

358,000 

298,000 

280,000 

269,000

3,760,000

270,000 

284,000 

287,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A.

DESCHUTES RIVER AT MOODY, NEAR BIGGS, OREG.

Location. In the SB. J sec. 26, T. 2 N., R. 15 E., 1 mile below Moody railroad 

station, 1J miles above the bridge of the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., about 5 miles southwest of Biggs, Oreg., and 1$ miles above the 

mouth of the river.

Records available. Records for 1908 and 1910 somewhat fragmentary; July 7, 

1906, to December 31, 1912; October 19, 1897, to December 31, 1899, for a station 

near Moro, 10 miles above the mouth of the river, in NE. i sec. 5, T. 1 S., R. 

16 E.

Drainage area. About 9,180 square miles; south and east limits of basin poorly 

defined.

Gage. Staff in two sections the lower inclined, the upper vertical. At the Moro 

station the gage was an inclined staff.

Discharge measurements. Made from a cable about 450 feet above the gage. 

At Moro station, made from the "free bridge," 3 miles below the gage.

Diversions. The summer discharge at this station has been progressively reduced 

since about 1904 or 1905 by diversions from the upper river. Some of this water 

returns, but the net reduction during midsummer is now probably 10 or 15 per 

cent.

Accuracy. An excellent rating curve has been developed; records are good except when the gage-height record is fragmentary. During such periods the 

discharge has been estimated from studies of the records.
32 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Deschutes River at Moody, near Biggs, Oreg., for 1897-1899 and

1906-1912.

Month,

1897-98. 

October 19-31... . ..................................

November. .................... ... . ......

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The period ..................................

1898-99.

March. . ...........................................

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year. . ..................................

1899.

1906. 

July 22-31 .........................................

September... . .....................................

1906-7.

April..............................................

May...............................................

June... ...........................................

July...............................................

The year. ...................................

1907-8.

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year. ...................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

6,260 

8,880 

11, 700 

8,320 

10,800 

8,320 

8,880 

7,780 

7,510 

6,740 

5,570 

5,350

5,130 

7, 250 

5,800 

11, 700 

14,400 

16,000 

14,100 

12,600 

11,400 

9,720 

7,250 

7,250

16,000

8,880 

11,700 

11, 700

5,360 

5,360 

5,080

5,850 

12, 200 

9,420 

11, 600 

30,600 

15,500 

14,200 

10,600 

8,000 

6,680 

5,820 

5,660

30,600

5,660 

7,800 

22,200 

8,000 

6,150 

15, 800 

10,100 

8,420

Minimum.

6,030 

6,030 

6,260 

6,260 

6,500 

6,030 

6,030 

6,740 

6,030 

5,350 

5,130 

4,920

4,710 

4,920 

4,100 

4,300 

4J10 

6,740 

7,780 

8,880 

9,720 

7,250 

6,260 

5,800

4,100

5,800 

6,500 

8,880

5,360 

5,360 

5,080

5,080 

5, 220 

5,820 

5,980 

7,040 

7,530 

8,050 

8,100 

6,680 

5,660 

5,660 

5,660

5,080

5,660 

5,660 

6,X)80 

6,150 

5,980 

6,000 

7,420 

6,790

Mean.

6,100 

6,900 

8,090 

6,830 

8,040 

7,130 

7,670 

7,240 

6,680 

5,740 

5,280 

5,170

4,960 

5,680 

5,040 

6,390 

7,720 

8,090 

11,000 

10,600 

10, 700 

8,700 

6,840 

6,500

7,680

6,460 

7,340 

10,000

5,360 

5,360 

5,080

5,180 

7,290 

6,720 

6,720 

13, 900 

9,590 

11,900 

8,950 

7,250 

6,230 

5,670 

5,660

7,920

5,660 

5,980 

8,720 

7,420 

6,110 

8,600 

8,510 

7,340 

6,500 

6,000 

5,400 

5,300

6,800

Bun-ofl 

(total in 

acre-feet).

157,000 

411,000 

497,000 

420,000 

447,000 

438,000 

456,000 

445,000 

397,000 

353,000 

325,000 

308,000

4,650,000

305,000 

338,000 

310,000 

393,000 

429,000 

497,000 

655,000 

652,000 

637,000 

535,000 

421,000 

387,000

5,560,000

397, 000 

437,000 

615,000

106,000 

330,000 

302,000

319,000 

434,000 

413,000 

413,000 

772,000 

590,000 

708,000 

550, 000 

431, 000 

383,000 

349, 000 

337,000

5,700,000

348,000 

356,000 

536, 000 

456,000 

351, 000 

529,000 

506, 000 

451, 000 

387,000 

369,000 

332,000 

315,000

4, 940, 000

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

C. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B.

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

NOTE. Discharges for March, 1908, and June to October, 1908, estimated from comparison with West's 

ranch.
STEEAM FLOW. 33

Monthly- discharge of Deschutes River at Moody, near Biggs, Or eg., for 1897-1899 and

1906-1912 Continued.

Month.

1908-9. 

October. ..........................................

February. .........................................

May...............................................

June. .............................................

July...............................................

1909-10.

April..............................................

May...............................................

June ..............................................

July...............................................

1910-11.

May...............................................

July...............................................

1911-12.

April ..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year. ...................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

5,960 

14,200 

11,700 

10,300 

9,420 

8,000 

8,200 

5,880 

5,510 

5,510

5,570 

26,000 

12,700 

18,400 

15,000 

26,900

7,800 

5,980 

10,300 

10,800 

7,420 

7,040 

5,660 

5,080 

5,080

5,080 

6,680 

5,660 

17,900 

15,200 

7,800 

11,700 

10,800 

10,300 

6,320 

5,660 

5,980

17,900

5,660 

7,040 

7,800

Minimum.

5,510 

5,660 

5,790 

6,680 

7,800 

6,320 

5,870 

5,360 

5,080 

5,080

5,510 

5,570 

8,200 

7,400 

7,040 

9,320

5,360 

5,360 

5,360 

6,320 

6,320 

5,660 

4,820 

4,820 

4,820

4,820 

4,820 

5,080 

4,080 

7,420 

6,320 

7,800 

8,600 

5,660 

5,660 

5,360 

5,360

4,080

5,360 

5,660 

5,660

Mean.

5,300 

5,970 

5,710 

7,470 

7,180 

7,520 

8,390 

7,040 

6,760 

5,580 

5,260 

5,360

6,460

5,540 

9,380 

8,710 

9,420 

8,110 

14,300 

8,740 

7,960 

6,320 

5,400 

5,180 

5,230

7,860

5,290 

6,300 

6,820 

6,350 

5,710 

7,210 

7,450 

6,810 

6,380 

5,260 

4,850 

4,930

6,110

4,990 

5,440 

.5,340 

7,940 

9,720 

6,920 

9,550 

9,770 

7,980 

5,910 

5,390 

5,520

7,040

5,480 

6,030 

6,000

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

326,000- 

355,000 

351,000 

459,000 

399,000 

462,000 

499,000 

433,000 

402,000 

343,000 

323,000 

319,000

4,670,000

341,000 

558,000 

536,000 

579,000 

450,000 

879,000 

520,000 

489,000 

376,000 

332,000 

319,000 

311,000

5,690,000

325,000 

375,000 

419,000 

390,000 

317,000 

443,000 

443,000 

419,000 

380,000 

323,000 

298,000 

293,000

4,420,000

307,000 

324,000 

328,000 

488,000 

559,000 

425,000 

568,000 

601,000 

475,000 

363,000 

331,000 

328,000

5,100,000

337,000 

359,000 

369,000

Accuracy.

B. 

B.

A. 

B.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B.

C.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A.

A.

NOTE. The monthly means for April to December, 1910, were obtained from comparison with the discharges of upper Deschutes River and its tributaries. The results obtained in different ways are so consistent that they can not be much in error.

48348° wsr 344 14 3
34 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

CRESCENT LAKE OUTLET NEAR CRESCENT, OREG.

Location. At highway bridge about 3 miles below the lake and 3 miles above the 

Hoey ranch; until September 30, 1912, at lake outlet, sec. 11, T. 24 S., R. 6 E.

Records available. August 2 to September 6, 1911; January 1 to December 31, 

1912, weekly readings.

Drainage area. 55 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff at both points.

Channel. Gravel; not likely to shift; some drift logs jammed at gage section at 

lake.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading near the gage.

Winter flow. Probably unaffected by ice.

Cooperation. Station has been maintained in cooperation with Hunter Land Co.

Monthly discharge of Crescent Lake outlet near Crescent, Oreg.,for 1912.

Month.

Aprfl.. ............................................

July...............................................

Discharge in second-feet. -

Maximum.

78 

89

45 

124 

181 

149 

119 

73 

78

Minimum.

45 

46

27 

45 

124 

120 

58 

54 

60

Mean.

60.6 

66.9 

35.0 

37.4 

67.6 

153 

134 

77.0 

62.1 

71.7 

78.0 

78.4

76.8

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

3,730 

3,850 

2,150 

2,230 

4,160 

9,100 

8,240 

4,730 

3,700 

4,410 

4,640 

4,820

55,800

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B, 

B. 

B.

EAST FORK OF DESCHUTES RIVER AT CRESCENT, OREG.

Location. In the NE. i SW. I sec. 30, T. 24 S., R. 9 E. Willamette meridian, at

the wagon bridge at Crescent, Oreg., 5 miles above mouth of East Fork. 

Records available. December 25, 1904, to March 31, 1908, and September 25, 1910,

to December 31, 1912. 

Drainage area. 179 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff spiked to a pile supporting the bridge on upstream side. 

Channel. Coarse gravel; practically permanent except at infrequent floods. 

Discharge measurements. Made by wading or from the wagon bridge to which

the gage is nailed.

Winter flow. Stage materially affected by ice.

Accuracy. Results good except during periods of ice and extreme floods. 

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the United States Forest

Service.
STREAM FLOW. 35

Monthly discharge of East Fork of Deschutes River at Crescent, Or eg., for 1905-1912.

Month.

1905.

AprU. .................... .........................

May . ... . ..... . .....

July...............................................

August. . ..........................................

The period ..................................

1905-6.

December. ........................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

1906-7.

April..............................................

July...............................................

1907-8.

1910-11.

May...............................................

July............................:..................

1911-12.

November. ........................................

February 11-29....................................

March... .... ..................................

April..............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

131

104 

92 

81 

92 

76 

76 

36 

31

41 

41 

41 

146 

146 

110 

140 

174 

146 

100 

49 

49

174

60 

76 

68 

174 

395 

174 

245 

245 

216 

110 

56 

42

395

42 

52 

160 

81 

100 

100

56 

121 

110 

76 

81 

121 

90 

133 

188 

81 

37 

40

188

37

122 

54 

127

Minimum.

60 

41 

60 

60 

70 

46 

19 

25 

25

28 

10 

10 

24 

72 

49 

49 

81 

90 

42 

30 

30

10

30 

30 

42 

64. 

110 

90 

81 

146 

90 

49 

42 

42

30

33 

33 

33

46 

52 

36

32 

32 

43 

40 

30 

56 

56 

81 

81 

37 

34 

32

30

34

54 

38 

64

Mean.

76.6 

74.0 

64.7 

65.4 

74.7 

62.8 

35.1 

28.0 

25.5

31.9 

23.7 

23.6 

88.8 

97.3 

80.8 

89.3 

124 

111 

65.2 

37.1 

36.2

67.4

35.4 

52.1 

51.8 

89.7 

183 

104 

184 

195 

151 

76.5 

47.5 

42.0

101

35.5 

35.2 

68.9 

58.1 

70.8 

60.9

35.7 

50.5 

57.0 

51.0 

67.1 

87.1 

74.3 

105 

139 

54.2 

35.8 

34.4

65.9

35.5 

44.3 

35.3

75.6 

46.2 

81.3

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

4,710 

4,110 

3,980 

3,890 

4,590 

3,740 

2,160 

1,720 

1,520

30,400

1,960 

1,410 

1,450 

5,460 

5,400 

4,970 

5,310 

7,620 

6,600 

4,010 

2,280 

2,150

48,600

2,180 

3,100 

3,190 

5,520 

10,200 

6,400 

10, 900 

12,000 

8,980 

4,700 

2,920 

2,500

72,600

2,180 

2,090 

4,240 

3,570 

4,070 

3,740

19,900

2,200 

3,000 

3,500 

3,140 

3,730 

5,360 

4,420 

6,460 

8,270 

3,330 

2,200 

2,050

47, 700

2,180 

2,640 

2,170

2,850 

2,840 

4,840

Accuracy.

C. 

B.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B.

C. 

C.

C. 

B. 

B.
36 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of East Fork of Deschutes River at Crescent, Oreg.,for 1905-1912 

Continued.

Month.

1911-12. 

May...............................................

July...............................................

August. . .........................................

September ........................................

The period ............................ ...

1912. 

October.......................... ...... ...

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

300 

320 

146 

61 

69

50 

69 

43

Minimum.

94 

152 

61 

47 

41

41 

41 

20

Mean.

212 

248 

87.5 

51.8 

46.5

42.1 

47.4 

29.7

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

13.000 

14,800 

5,380 

3.190 

2,770

56,700

2.590 

2,820 

1,830

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

B, 

B. 

B.

B. 

B.

C.

WEST FORK OF DESCHUTES RIVER NEAR LAPINE, OREG.

Location. At Forest Service bridge in the NW. i sec. 26, T. 20 S., R. 10 E., 4 miles 

above mouth, and 11 miles north of Lapine, Oreg.

Records available. September 21 to December 21, 1910; February 18 to November 30, 1912.

Drainage area. About 495 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff nailed to bent of bridge.

Channel. Gravel and sand; probably permanent; tortuous; gradient low.

Discharge measurements. Made from upper side of bridge.

Winter flow. Never affected by ice.

Accuracy. Results excellent.

Cooperation. Gage readings furnished by United States Forest Service.

Monthly discharge of West Fork of Deschutes River near Lapine, Oreg., for 1912.

Month.

April..............................................

July...............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

1,060 

910 

1,030 

1,150 

1,250 

1,200

1,200 

1,200

Minimum.

910 

890 

910 

965 

1,150 

1,150

1,150 

1,100

Mean.

960 

894 

952 

1,060 

1,210 

1,170 

1,200 

1,220 

1,170 

1,140

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

22,800 

55,000 

56, 600 

65,200 

72,000 

71, 900 

73,800 

72,600 

71,900 

67,800

630,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

WEST FORK OF DESCHUTES RIVER NEAR LAVA, OREG.

Location. In the NE. J sec. 24, T. 20 S., R. 10 E., about 1J miles west of the former 

post office of Lava, 1| miles above the junction with Deschutes River, or Little 

River, as it is locally known above the mouth of West Fork.

Records available. February 20, 1905, to April 14, 1907; April 23, 1909, to January 21, 1911; February 23 to May 3, 1912.

Drainage area. About 500 square miles.

Gage. Inclined staff on right bank.
STBEAM FLOW. 37

Channel. Gravel, with some vegetation at the edges; effect not appreciable. Practically permanent, but backwater from the Deschutes may extend up to gage 

when that river is relatively high.

Discharge measurements. Made from cable and car 100 yards below the gage.

Winter flow. Never any ice in this stream.

Accuracy. Results are good, with only slight uncertainties due to effect of backwater.

Monthly discharge of West Fork of Deschutes River near Lava, Oreg.,for 1905-1911.

Month.

1905.

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. ... .....................................

The period ..................................

1905-6. 

October. ..........................................

November. ................ .......................

April..............................................

July...............................................

September... ......................................

The year ....................................

1906-7.

April..............................................

The period ..................................

1909. 

April 23-30 ........................................

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The period. ..................................

1909-10.

April.............................................. m,j... ............................................

July................. ..............................

September. ........................................

1910-11.

November .........................................

December. ...........;............................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

1,130 

1,150 

1,100 

1,080 

1,060 

1,010 

962 

974

962 

904 

916 

916 

847 

858 

916 

960 

996 

950 

950 

962

996

939 

939 

939 

1,060 

1,060 

1,100 

1,080

960 

1,050 

1,080 

1,090 

1,060 

1,070

1,030 

1,700 

1,430

1,060 

1,250 

1,220 

1,280 

1,200 

1,150 

1,130 

1,100

1,060 

1,080 

1,080 

962

Minimum.

1,100 

1,080 

1,060 

1,060 

1,020 

974 

962 

916

916 

870 

836 

814 

803 

781 

870 

890 

910 

939 

928 

916

781

904 

893 

847 

870 

939 

920 

1,020

940 

956 

1,000 

1,040 

1,050 

1,030

1,010 

985 

1,000

1,010 

1,140 

1,160 

1,200 

1,140 

1,130 

1,100 

1,060

996 

985 

963 

939

Mean.

1,120 

1,120 

1,070 

1,060 

1.030 

988 

962 

934

934 

890 

862 

836 

812 

814 

895 

926 

956 

947 

943 

928

895

924 

908 

899 

946 

990 

970 

1,040

950 

985 

1,040 

1,060 

1,060 

1,0501

1,020 

1,160 

1,140 

1,030 

1,020 

1,210 

1,180 

' 1,220 

1,160 

1,140 

1,110 

1,080

1,120

1,030 

1,020 

1,000 

941

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

20,000 

68,900 

63,700 

65,200 

61, 300 

60,800 

59,200 

55,600

" 455,000

57,400 

53,000 

53,000 

51,400 

45,100 

50,100 

53,300 

56,900 

56,900 

58,200 

58,000 

55,200

649,000

56,800 

54, 000 

55, 300 

58,200 

55,000 

59,600 

61,900

401,000

15,100 

60,600 

61,900 

65,200 

65,200 

62,500

330, 000

62,700 

69,000 

70,100 

63,300 

56,600 

74,400 

70,200 

75,000 

69,000 

70,100 

68,200 

64,300

813,000

63,300 

60, 700 

61,500 

39,200

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.
38 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

ODELL LAKE OUTLET NEAR CRESCENT, OREG.

Location. In sec. 26, T. 23 S., R. 6 E., about 18 miles from Crescent and 6 miles

from Hoey's ranch. 

Records available. August 5 to September 18, 1911; January 5 to September 28,

1912; occasional readings. 

Drainage area. 48 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff 500 feet below outlet; datum poorly maintained at times. 

Channel. Clean gravel; practically permanent. 

Discharge measurements. Made by wading near the gage. 

Winter flow. Probably unaffected by ice. 

Accuracy. On account of few gage readings, lack of measurements at high stages,.

and uncertainties of gage datum, results are only approximate. 

Cooperation. Gage readings furnished by United States Forest Service.

Monthly discharge o/Odell Lake outlet near Crescent, Oreg.,for 1912.

Month.

Mean 

discharge 

in secondfeet.

120

160

70

70

1<>ft

240

Run-ofl 

(total in 

acrefeet).

*7 ^Sft

9.200

4,300

4.170

O 99ft

14,300

Month.

July..........................

Mean 

discharge 

in secondfeet.

110

56

70

Run-off 

(total in 

acrefeet).

6,760

3,440

4,170

62,900

TTJMALO CREEK NEAR LAIDLAW, OREG.

Location. In sec. 3, T. 18 S., R. 10 E. WiHamette meridian; 300 feet above intake 

of Wimer ditch, about 1J miles above intake of Columbia Southern canal, and 

15 miles from Laidlaw.

Records available. May 15, 1906, to December 31, 1912, irrigating season only; 

records during winter kept at lower station near Bend.

Drainage area. 48 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff; present gage installed April 20, 1910. During 1906 and 1907 

gage was located in sec. 2, half a mile above headgate of Columbia Southern 

canal and below Wimer canal.

Channel. Gravel and large rocks; fairly permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made from a foot log or by wading.

Winter flow. Practically no records during winter period.

Diversions. Present station is above all diversions; earlier station was below intake 

of Wimer canal, discharge of which has been added to give the total for the creek.

Accuracy. Rating curve well denned; open-channel estimates close.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with Columbia Southern Irrigation Co.
STREAM FLOW. 39 

Monthly discharge of Tumalo Creek near Laidlaw, Oreg.,for 1906-1912.

Month.

1906. 

May 15-31........................... '............ 

July...............................................

The period ..................................

1906-7.

July...............................................

The year ....................................

1907-8.

March........................ ....................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year ....................................

1908-9.

January

March ...... ....

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. .......................................

The year ....................................

1909-10.

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. .......................................

The year. ...................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

450 

393 

424 

91 

108

237 

820 

182

442 

182 

166 

438 

457 

386 

189 

111

100 

86 

142 

152 

163 

132 

203 

192 

462 

400 

110 

84

462

180 

98 

78 

93 

83 

80

277 

440 

226 

108 

118

89

:::.::.:::::

268 

249 

249 

142 

81

Minimum.

140 

136 

103

78 

78

80 

118 

109 

109 

128 

128 

109 

166 

162 

151 

90 

88

80

84 

62 

62 

78 

70 

62 

84 

118 

170 

118 

84 

84

62

84 

50 

62 

68 

75 

73

134

184 

105 

82 

78

78

136 

111 

83 

76

Mean.

218 

244 

210 

82.0 

79.9

102 

242 

145 

120 

206 

151 

141 

271 

313 

265 

112 

98.4-

181

89.0 

74.5 

86.0 

90.1 

97.8 

88.5 

127 

156 

285 

264 

90.1 

84.0

128

94.6 

80.0 

69.7 

78.7 

77.2 

75.9 

91.1 

169 

265 

152 

90.8 

83.3

111

79.5 

240 

177 

115 

97.4 

148 

188 

196 

161 

103 

79.0 

80.0

139

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

7,350 

14,500 

12,900 

5,040 

4,910

44,700

6,270 

14,400 

8,920 

7,380 

11,400 

9,280 

8,390 

16,700 

18,600 

16,300 

6,890 

5,860

130,000

5,470 

4,430 

5,290 

5,540 

5,630 

5,440 

7,560 

9,590 

17,000 

16,200 

5,540 

5,000

92,700

5,820 

4,760 

4,290 

4,840 

4,290 

4,670 

5,420 

10,400 

15,800 

9,350 

5,580 

4,960

80,200

4,890 

14,300 

10,900 

7,070 

5,410 

9,100 

11,200 

12, 100 

9,580 

6,330 

4,860 

4,760

100,000

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C.

B. 

C. 

B. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

C. 

C. 

C.

c. 

c.

B. 

B. 

B.

A. 

A. 

B.
40 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON. 

Monthly discharge of Tumalo Creek near Laidlaw, Oreg.,for 1906-1912 Continued.

Month.

1910-11.

April..............................................

May...............................................

June ..............................................

July...............................................

1911-12.

December .........................................

March.............................................

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year ....................................

1912. 

October ...........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

130 

244 

396 

244 

98 

79

72

106 

88 

88 

298 

468 

244 

244 

119

209

Minimum.

79 

108 

171 

79 

64 

64

64

70 

61 

64 

79 

191 

130 

79 

83

Mean.

92.3

87.0 

111 

82.3 

90.7 

63.0 

95.3 

134 

207 

140 

72.0 

67.9

109

65.0 

62.0 

70.0 

91.9 

85.9 

67.3 

75.8 

165 

294 

174 

99.2 

90.3

112

73.3 

67.0 

91.3

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

5,680 

5,180 

6,820 

5,060 

5,040 

3,870 

5,670 

8,240 

15,900 

8,610 

4,430 

4,040

78,500

4,000 

3,690 

4,300 

5,650 

4,940 

4,140 

4,510 

10, 100 

17,500 

10,700 

6,100 

5,370

81,000

4,510 

3,990 

5,610

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A.

B. 

C. 

C.

TUMALO GREEK NEAR BEND, OEEG.

Location. In the SE. i sec. 23, T. 17 S., R. 11 E. Willamette meridian, half a mile

below highway bridge on Bend-Sisters road, 4 miles above mouth. 

Records available. October 6, 1906, to December 31, 1912 (fragmentary). This

station is maintained in winter months only to insure a year-long record on the

stream. The upper station is somewhat isolated and sometimes inaccessible in

winter.

Drainage area. 57 square miles. 

Gage. Vertical staff, nailed to overhanging stump, since November, 1910; previous

records at different site.

Channel. Rocks and gravel; not liable to shift greatly. 

Discharge measurements. At ordinary stages, made by wading near the gage;

at flood stages, made from the highway bridge, one-half mile above gage. 

Winter flow. Gage heights have been considerably affected by ice during extreme

cold weather. 

Diversions. All the water of this stream diverted above station, making it dry,

except for seepage return, during the irrigation season. 

Accuracy. An accurate open-channel curve has been developed, applicable except

during extreme high stage.
STREAM FLOW.

Monthly discharge of Tumalo Creek near Bend, Oreg.,for 1912.

41

Month.

April...... ..............................................

May.....................................................

June .....................................................

July 1-S.... ..............................................

December 18-31 ..........................................

Discharge hi second-feet.

Maximum.

70 

106 

116 

56 

209 

346 

68 

209

Minimum.

70 

70 

53 

6 

17 

70 

56 

70

Mean.

70.0 

85.9 

70.2 

24.0 

84.6 

166 

62.5 

110

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

555 

4,940 

4,320 

1,430 

5,200 

9,880 

992 

3,050

NOTE. These discharges are published to afford a comparison with Laidlaw station minus diversions. 

Monthly discharges lor other periods are included with those lor Tumalo Creek near Laidlaw.

SQUAW CREEK NEAR SISTERS, OREG.

Location. In sec. 30, T. 15 S., R. 10 E. Willamette meridian, about 4 miles above 

Sisters and above all diversions except McAllister's ditch.

Records available. July 1, 1906, to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. 63 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff.

Channel. Gravel and rock; practically permanent. Backwater from a changeable 

dam reaches the gage and introduces changes in the rating curve.

Discharge measurements. Made from a foot log just above the gage.

Winter flow. Ice tends to jam above the dam, and during extreme cold weather 

effect is very marked.

Diversions. McAllister's ditch heads above this station and its flow is added to 

get the total. The low-water flow of the stream is all diverted by several irrigation ditches below the station.

Accuracy. Records for 1910-1912 are good; those for previous years are subject to 

considerable error.

Monthly discharge of Squaw Creek near Sisters, Oreg.,for 1906-1912.

Month.

1906. 

July...............................................

1906-7.

December a. .......................................

January ». ........................................

March. ............................................

April.. ............................................

May a. ............................................

July...............................................

The year ....................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

458 

185 

207

185 

990

940 

116 

132

320 

290 

195 

130

Minimum.

136 

100 

72

67 

58

90

87 

87

121 

165 

80 

59

Mean.

251 

133 

97.9

88.3 

226 

109 

90.0 

' 220 

92.9 

114 

217 

195 

208 

122 

80.4

147

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

15, 400 

8,200 

5,830

5,400 

13,400 

6,700 

5,530 

12,200 

5,710 

6,780 

13,300 

11,600 

12,800 

7,500 

4,780

106,000

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

C. 

C.

C.

c.

B. 

B. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C.

o Estimated from comparison with Tumalo Creek.
42 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Squaw Creek near Sisters, Oreg.,for 1906-1912 Continued.

Month.

1907-8. 

October. .......................... ...............

February. .........................................

March. . .......................... ...............

July...............................................

August ............................................

The year. ...................................

1908-9. 

October. ..........................................

November. ....................... ...............

January o.. ........ ...... .... . ..

February o.............. ....... ......

March a. .............................. . ........

April.................................... ..........

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The year................... .

1909-10.

December. ........... .....

January.......................... . . . .

March.............. . .......

April. . ............................................

May...............................................

June ....................................... _ ......

July...............................................

August............................ .

The year. ................................

1910-11. 

October. ............................

December. ......................

February. ......................................

March. . .........................

April. . ............................................

July.........................................

August .......................................... .

The year. ................................

1911-12.

December. ........................ .

March. . .........................

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The year. ............................... . .

1912.

December. ........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

86

76 

335

239 

297 

176 

122

378 

118 

63

98 

197 

' 272 

228 

173 

200

82 

1,960 

253 

155 

112 

253 

172 

310 

317 

226 

144 

188

1,960

250 

307 

115 

76 

76 

62 

97 

128 

313 

344 

194 

117

344

65 

65 

60 

186 

130 

56 

84 

261 

395 

261 

336 

152

395

102 

104 

66

Minimum.

59

65 

66

134 

152 

 81 

68

66 

69

74 

101 

173 

129 

99 

68

58 

69 

84 

68 

54 

84 

80 

112 

139 

146 

84 

66

54

57 

41 

62 

50 

47 

42 

49 

80 

144 

163 

97 

65

41

45 

46 

41 

49 

43 

32 

46 

60 

191 

158 

102 

72

32

44

54 

50

Mean.

69.0 

78.2 

64.5 

67.6 

73.2 

104 

102 

125 

168 

213 

133 

90.3

107

86.2 

76.9 

52.6 

59.2 

57.9 

60.7 

78.4 

127 

216 

169 

129 

91.4

100

68.4 

255 

133 

86.3 

73.0 

118 

116 

183 

201 

178 

112 

95.0

135

81.2 

102 

81.6 

61.7 

52.5 

50.4 

68.5 

93.8 

237 

223 

124 

80.4

105

56.8 

58.3 

47.2 

68.8 

64.5 

45.7 

59.5 

131 

249 

202 

168 , 

90.2

103

64.7 

70.6 

55.1

Run-off

(total in 

acre-feet).

4,240 

4,650 

3,970 

4,160 

4,210 

6,400 

6,070 

7,690 

10,000 

13,100 

8,180 

5,370

78,000

5,300 

4,580 

3,230 

3,640 

3,220 

3,730 

4,670 

7,810 

12,900 

10,400 

7,930 

5,440

72,800

4,210 

15,200 

8,180 

5,310 

4,050 

7,260 

6,900 

11,300 

12,000 

10,900 

6,890 

5,650

97,800

4,990 

6,070 

5,020 

3,790 

2,920 

3,100 

4,080 

5,770 

14,100 

13,700 

7,620 

4,780

75,900

3,490 

3,470 

2,900 

4,230 

3,710 

2,810 

3,540 

8,060 

14,800 

12,400 

10,300 

5,370

75,100

3,980 

4,200 

3,390

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A.

B. 

B. 

C.

o Estimated from comparison with Tumalo Creek.
STEEAM FLOW. 43

CROOKED RIVER NEAR POST, OREG.

Location. In sec. 7, T. 17 S., R. 21 E., 12 miles above Post and half a mile below

mouth of North Fork of Crooked River, at a point locally known as Stewarts

Grade, just below dam site of proposed reservoir. 

Records available. November 9, 1908, to August 27, 1911. 

Drainage area. About 1,390 square miles. 

Gage. Combination vertical staff and inclined staff. Vertical staff read at low

water; datum lowered 1 foot October 22, 1909; all gage heights for 1909 reduced

to new datum.

Channel. Rocks and bowlders; probably permanent. 

Discharge measurements. Made from cable and car at gage section; conditions

very poor. 

Winter flow. Stream freezes and water sometimes flows over ice; gage height

affected for two or three months each winter. Estimates of discharge during

such periods have generally been made by comparison with records of the Prineville station. 

Diversions. A considerable and unknown amount of water diverted for irrigation

above station. 

Accuracy. Results only fair on account of unfavorable conditions.

Monthly discharge of Crooked River near Post, Oreg.,for 1908-1911.

Month.

1908-9.

January..

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The period ..................................

1909-10. 

October ...........................................

December. ........................................

April. . ............................................

July...............................................

The year ....................................

1910-11.

January ...

May...............................................

June... ............................................

July...............................................

. Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

113

94 

a 500 

1,300 

1,490 

1,440 

760 

191 

82 

41 

47

57 

2,740

2,040

3,040 

4,540 

940 

415 

31 

41 

15 

46

57

2,200 

2,000 

370 

100 

19 

19

Minimum.

71 

64 

a50 

156 

265 

520 

162 

27 

27 

9 

14

44 

60

240 

800 

235 

36 

8 

13 

8 

10

36

48

94 

385 

114 

19 

6 

6

Mean.

87.4 

80.2 

189 

395 

699 

954 

314 

73.9 

39.8 

18.9 

33.8

56.0 

431 

«214 

351 

690 

1,900 

597 

152 

15.4 

17.3 

10.3 

27.9

372.1

46.2 

102 

274 

146 

174 

1,020 

770 

240 

42.8 

13.1 

12.4

Run-ofl 

(total in 

acre-feet).

3,640 

4,930 

11,600 

21,900 

43,000 

56,800 

19,300 

4,400 

2,450 

1,160 

2,010

171,000

3,440 

25,600 

13,200 

21,600 

38,300 

117,000 

35,500 

9,350 

916 

1,060 

633 

1,660

268,000

2,840 

6,070 

16,800 

8,980 

9,660 

62,700 

45,800 

14,800 

2,550 

806 

762

172,000

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

D. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

D. 

C.

C. 

B. 

D. 

C. 

B. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

B.

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C.

Estimated.
44 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

CEOOKED EIVEE AT STEAENS EANCH, NEAE PEINEVILLE, OEEG.

Location. In sec. 36, T. 15 S., R. 15 E., about 5J miles southeast of Prineville, 

near point from which diversion can be made to Agency Plains, north of lower 

Brooked River.

Records available. October 31, 1908, to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. About 1,990 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff; datum unchanged.

Channel. Sand; somewhat shifting.

Discharge measurements. At ordinary and flood stages made from a flume; at 

low water, by wading above a riffle about half a mile above the gage.

Winter flow. Probably affected by ice during extremely cold weather.

Diversion. A large and undetermined amount of diversion above station for irrigation. No storage developed.

Accuracy. Results good for total run-off, but somewhat uncertain for some lowwater periods.

Monthly discharge of Crooked River near Prineville, Oreg.,for 1908-1912.

Month.

1908-9.

February. ......................... ...............

May...............................................

June............... .. ....... . .

July...............................................

September. ....... ...............

The year. ...................

1909-10.

November. .........................

December.............................. . .. ..

February. .........................................

April................................. .

June. ..............................

July...............................................

September. ........................

The year. .................... . .. .

1910-11.

December. ..................... .

February. .........................................

June................................. .............

July...............................................

The year ....................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

490 

2,350 

1,870 

2,130 

600 

160 

79 

36 

48

59 

4,630 

398 

2,510 

5,110 

9,080 

900 

450 

31 

18 

7.0 

41

9,080

60 

376 

813 

310 

412 

2,980 

2,980 

633 

125 

34 

12 

26

2,980

Minimum.

65 

131 

245 

625 

96 

32 

23 

20 

22

43 

53 

172 

108 

215 

813 

295 

38 

9.4 

6.6 

5.0 

5.0

5.0

35 

44 

120 

109 

79 

60 

449 

136 

12 

4 

7 

7

4

Mean.

40 

65 

65 

205 

421 

764 

1,150 

280 

68.8 

36.7 

26.0 

35.6

261

51.4 

530 

233 

369 

931 

3,260 

628 

187 

14.4 

8.91 

5.65 

18.6

519

45.9 

106 

298 

159 

189 

1,310 

884 

296 

44.6 

17.5 

9.3 

18.1

282

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

' 2,460 

3,870 

4,000 

12,600 

23,400 

47,000 

68,000 

17,200 

4,090 

2,260 

1,600 

2,120

189,000

3,160 

31,500 

14, 300 

22,700 

51,700 

200,000 

37,400 

11,500 

857 

548 

347 

1,110

375,000

2,820 

6,310 

18,300 

9,780 

10,500 

80,600 

52,600 

18,200 

2,650 

1,080 

572 

1,080

204,000

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

C. 

D.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

C. 

B.

A. 

C. 

C. 

D. 

D. 

D. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

C. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.
STREAM FLOW. 45

Monthly discharge of Crooked River near Prineville, Oreg.,for 1908-191% Continued.

Month.

1911-12.

November. ..................................... .

March........

April..............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The year ....................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

"Mfpriimrm103 

103 

227 

1,760 

2,320 

948 

3,000 

2,520 

 870 

148 

' 60 

55

3,000

72 

103 

242

Minimum.

34 

47 

40 

63 

250 

193 

930 

678 

34 

24 

20 

11

11

15 

63 

82

Mean.

50.8 

66.7 

80.6 

354 

682 

361 

1,600 

1,490 

299 

67.0 

33.2 

34.3

424

49.1 

85.5 

124

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

3,120 

3,970 

4,960 

21,800 

39,200 

22,200 

95,200 

91,600 

17, 800 

4,120 

2,040 

2,040

308,000

3,020 

5,090 

7,620

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A.

OCHOCO CREEK AT ELLIOTT'S RANCH, NEAR PRINEVILLE, OREG.

Location. In the NE. J sec. 5, T. 15 S., R. 17 E., at Elliott's ranch, 6 miles east of 

Prineville, Oreg., on the dam site of a reservoir proposed in connection with the 

development of the Ochoco irrigation project by the United States Reclamation 

Service.

Records available. October 29, 1908, to April 30, 1910.

Drainage area. 300 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff. No change in gage datum since July 15, 1909, when the gage 

was lowered 0.75 foot.

Channel. Gravel.

Discharge measurements. Made from a cable near the gage.

Diversions. Elliott's ditch diverts water from the left bank of the creek about 

1,000 feet above the gaging station. Records of the flow of the ditch are kept in 

order to determine the total flow of the creek. There are other diversions for 

irrigation farther up the creek.

Winter now. Gage heights not seriously affected by ice.

Accuracy. Rating curve good. Records considered good.

Monthly discharge of Ochoco Creek near Prineville, Oreg., for 1908-1910.

Month.

1908-9.

March. . ...........................................

May...... .........................................

July...............................................

The period............ ......................

1909-10. 

October ...........................................

March.

April..............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

22 

32 

306 

440 

276 

248 

170 

75 

17 

1.5 

1.5

.5 

1,050 

387 

422 

387 

608 

234

Minimum.

0

6 

60 

45 

148 

45 

18 

0 

0 

0

0 

0 

83 

38 

52 

262 

67

Mean.

10.0 

10.3 

107 

113 

135 

181 

97.5 

32.0 

5.4 

.87 

.45

.13

109 

158 

143 

110 

431 

148

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

595 

633 

6,580 

6,280 

8,300 

10,800 

6,000 

1,900 

332 

53.5 

26.8

41,500

8.0 

6,490 

9,720 

8,790 

6,110 

26,500 

8,810

66,400

Accuracy.

C. 

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

C. 

C. 

D.

D. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.
46 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

METOLIUS RIVER AT ALLINGHAM RANGER STATION, NEAR SISTERS,

OREG.

Location. In sec. 3,T. 13S.,R.9E., about 17 miles northwest of Sisters, at Ailingham ranger station, 3 miles below head of river- and 1J miles below mouth of 

Lake Creek.

Records available. September 15, 1910, to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. 50 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff on left bank, 100 yards below ranger station.

Channel. Rock and gravel; practically permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading a short distance below the gage.

Winter flow. No effect of ice.

Diversions. None.

Accuracy. Records excellent.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the United States Forest 

Service.

Monthly discharge of Metolius River at Allingham ranger station, near Sisters, Oreg.,for

1910-1912.

Month.

1910. 

September 15-30. ..................................

1910-11.

December. ........................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year. . . ................................

1911-12.

March. . ...........................................

April. .............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

1912.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

356

361 

438 

465 

406 

381 

376

454 

427 

361 

333 

333

329 

347 

336 

449 

566 

462 

411 

471 

517 

361 

352 

352

352

Minimum.

347

352 

352 

381 

366 

361 

366

411 

371 

329 

324 

329

311 

318 

311 

307 

406 

381 

371 

3% 

361 

329 

329 

324

324

Mean.

350

356 

377 

415 

381 

370 

372 

391 

' 434 

406 

346 

329 

331

376

320 

337 

324 

392 

478 

407 

378 

426 

458 

338 

330 

330

376

333

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

11,100

21,900 

22,400 

25,500 

23,400 

20,500 

22,900 

23,300 

26,700 

. 24,200 

21,300 

20,200 

19,700

272,000

19,700 

20,100 

19,900 

24,100 

27,500 

25,000 

22,500 

26,200 

27,300 

20,800 

20,300 

' 19,600

273,000

20,500

Accuracy.

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. A:

A. 

A.

A.
STEEAM FLOW. 47

METOLITJS RIVER AT HUBBARD's RANCH, NEAR GRANDVIEW, 1 OREG.

Location. In sec. 34, T. 10 S., R. 10 E., about 20 miles from Grandview, 35 miles 

from Sisters, and 16 miles above the mouth of the river, -9 miles above the station 

at Eiggs ranch, and 2 miles below Whitewater Creek, the lowest large tributary.

Records available. April 24, 1910, to December 31, 1912.

Drainage area. 299 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff on right bank.

Channel. Gravel and bowlders; possibly shifting. Two channels below gage. 

Right channel carries about 10 second-feet.

Discharge measurements. Made from a standard car and cable half a mile below 

the gage.

Winter flow. No material effect of ice.

Diversions. A few small private irrigation ditches take out above the station.

Accuracy. The measurements made do not cover the range of stage.

Cooperation. Gage heights furnished without cost to the Survey by C. T. Hubbard.

Monthly discharge of Metolius River at Hubbard's ranch, near Grandview, Oreg.,for 1912.

Month.

May...............................................

July...............................................

Discharge In second-feet.

Maximum.

1,610 

1,610 

1,700 

1,880 

1,610 

1,610 

1,530 

1,450 

1,700 

1,530

Minimum.

1,450 

1,450 

1,450 

1,610 

1,530 

1,450 

1,370 

1,370 

1,370 

1,370

Mean.

1,510 

,500 

,580 

,670 

,540 

,490 

,420 

,400 

,470 

1,380

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

92,800 

89,300 

97,200 

99,400 

94,700 

91,600 

84,500 

86, 100 

87,500 

84,800

908,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A.

METOLIUS RIVER AT RIGGS RANCH, NEAR SISTERS, OREG.

Location. In the NE. J sec. 28, T. 11 S., R. 11 E., about 26 miles north of Sisters

and 7 miles above the mouth of the river. 

Records available. October 22, 1908, to October 21, 1912. 

Drainage area. 347 square miles. 

Gage. Vertical staff.

Channel. Gravel and bowlders; practically permanent. 

Discharge measurements. Made from a standard car and cable 50 feet above the

Winter flow. Probably not affected by ice, as stream is fed almost entirely by

springs. 

Diversions. A few small private irrigation ditches divert water from this river

above the station. 

Storage. No storage developed. 

Accuracy. Permanent rating curve developed, probably very close.

1 Described in previous reports as "near Sisters."
48 DESCHUTES KIVEK, OKEGON.

Monthly discharge of Metolius River at Riggs ranch, near Sisters, Oreg., for 1908-1912.

Month.

1908-9.

April..............................................

July...............................................

September. ........................................

The period ..................................

1909-10.

July...............................................

The year ....................................

1910-11.

December. .................................. ....

February. .........................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. ........................... .....

1911-12. 

October. ................................... ....

December. ...................... ^...

April......................... .....

May........ .......................................

July...............................................

September.. . ......................................

1912. 

October 1-21 ......................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

1,740 

1,650 

1,570 

2,320 

1,830 

1,650 

1,650 

1,740 

1,830 

1,650 

1,650 

1,530

1,490 

3,890 

2,020 

1,880 

1,920 

2,770 

1,830 

1,920 

1,740 

1,610 

1,570 

1,530

3,890

1,830 

1,920 

1,830 

1,650 

1,490 

1,650 

1,570 

1,650 

1,830 

1,650 

1,570 

1,570

1,920

1,490 

1,570 

1,490 

2,020 

2,430 

1,830 

1,740 

2,020 

2,120 

1,740 

1,830 

1,650

2,430

1,490

Minimum.

1,490 

1,490 

1,410 

1,410 

1,570 

1,570 

1,570 

1,570 

1,650 

1,570 

1,490 

1,410

1,410 

1,410 

1,570 

1,530 

1,570 

1,780 

1,700 

1,700 

1,610 

1,570 

1,490 

1,450

1,410

1,450 

1,450 

1,530 

1,490 

1,410 

1,410 

1,490 

1,570 

1,650 

1,570 

1,490 

1,490

1,410

1,410 

1,410 

1,410 

1,330 

1,650 

1,650 

1,650 

1,650 

1,740 

1,650 

1,650 

1,490

1,330

1,490

Mean.

1,550 

1,510 

1,470 

1,650 

1,640 

1,620 

1,610 

1,640 

1,710 

1,610 

1,530 

1,470

1,450 

1,870 

1,730 

1,610 

1,610 

2,090 

1,750 

1,740 

1,650 

1,600 

1,540 

1,490

1,680

1,490 

1,580 

1,610 

1,520 

1,490 

1,490 

1,550 

1,610 

1,670 

1,620 

1,500 

1,490

1,550

1,440 

1,470 

1,420 

1,590 

1,860 

1,680 

1,660 

1,760 

1,890 

1,660 

1,660 

1,580

1,640

1,490

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

30,700 

89,800 

90,400 

101,000 

91,100 

99,600 

95,800 

101,000 

102,000 

99,000 

94, 100 

87,500

1,080,000

89,200 

111,000 

106,000 

99,000 

89,400 

129,000 

104,000 

107,000 

98,200 

98,400 

94,700 

88,700

1,210,000

91,600 

94,000 

99,000 

93,500 

82,800 

91,600 

92,200 

99,000 

99,400 

99,600 

92,200 

88,700

1,120,000

88,500 

87,500 

87,300 

97,800 

107,000 

103,000 

98,800 

108,000 

112,000 

102,000 

102,000 

94,000

1,190,000

62,100

Accuracy.

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A.
STREAM FLOW. 49

LAKE CEEEK NEAR SISTERS, OREG.

Location. In the SE. J sec. 24, T. 13 S., R. 8 E., one-fourth mile below outlet of 

Suttle Lake and 6 miles from Allingham ranger station, 6 miles above mouth, 

19 miles northwest of Sisters.

Records available. May to November, 1911; March to September, 1912; occasional 

readings.

Drainage area. 20.5 square miles.

Gage. Vertical staff spiked to an alder on right bank.

Channel. Gravel; practically permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading at different sections.

Winter flow. No winter records yet; probably not materially affected by ice.

Diversions. None.

Accuracy. Estimates roughly approximate.

Cooperation. Gage readings furnished by Perry A. South and L. D. Weist.

Monthly discharge of Lake Creek near Sisters, Oreg.,for 1911-12,

Month.

1911.

July..........................

1911-12.

Mean 

discharge 

in secondfeet.

69

43

37

33

30

42

Run-off 

(total 

in acrefeet).

4,110

2,640

2,280

1,960

1,840

2,500

Month.

1911-12.

April.........................

May.........................

July.........................

Mean 

discharge 

in 

secondfeet.

<;a

V)

75

OQ

49

41

38

Run-off 

(total 

in acrefeet).

3

COA

3,090

4,610

S Oflfl

3,010

2,520

2,260

WHITEWATER CREEK AT MOUTH, NEAR GRAND VIEW, OREG.

Location. In sec. 28, T. 10 S., R. 10 E., one-fourth mile above the mouth of creek, 

15 miles northwest of Grand view and 27 miles north of Sisters by road.

Records available. May 28, 1911, to December 31, 1912. Gage read about once a 

week.

Dra-nage area. Not measured.

Gage. Vertical staff secured to alder on right bank; prior to September 18, 1911, 

vertical staff at about same location and datum.

Channel. Gravel and small bowlders. Control formed by a fallen tree.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading.

Winter flow. Little if any affected by ice, at least in the afternoon when the gage 

is usually read.

Diurnal fluctuation. Considerable at times of rapid melting of snow.

Accuracy. Records good for low water, when the stream is steady, but only approximate at high water.

Cooperation. Maintained in cooperation with the Office of Indian Affairs. 

48348° WSP 344 14 4
50 DESOHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Whitewater Creek near Grandview, Oreg.,for 1911-12.

Month.

1911.

July...............................................

September. ........................................

1911-12.

April..............................................

July...............................................

1912.

December. ........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

201 

183 

117 

71

57 

66 

63 

802 

370 

108 

91 

259 

394 

177 

325 

129

802

88 

239 

122

Minimum

123

118 

71 

48

46 

48 

41 

46 

91 

58 

58 

88 

152 

127 

74 

49

41

45 

54 

46

Mean.

152 

140 

84.3 

62.9

47.7 

58.6 

51.4 

134 

145 

76.5 

76.6 

163 

221 

151 

119 

71.0

110

55.8 

92.2 

57.2

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

8,740 

8,610 

5,180 

3,740

2,930 

3,490 

3,160 

8,240 

8,340 

4,700 

4,560 

10,000 

. 13,200 

9,280 

7,320 

4,220

79,400

3,430 

5,490 

3.520

Accuracy.

WWOOOWWOOWWW WWWOOO

SHITIKE CREEK AT WARM SPRING, OREG.

Location. In the NE. \ sec. 26, T. 9 S., R. 12 E., at Warm Spring, about 2 miles

above the mouth of the creek and below all tributaries. 

Records available. June 11, 1911, to December 31, 1912. 

Drainage area. Not measured. 

Gage. Vertical staff on left bank opposite store. 

Channel. Gravel and sand; liable to shift somewhat. 

Discharge measurements. Made by wading or from footbridge. 

Winter flow. Apparently unaffected by ice. 

Diversion. Probably no diversion above the station. 

Accuracy. Results for -1911 and 1912 good except for high water and for certain

periods not covered by measurements, during which channel may have shifted. 

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the Office of Indian Affairs.

Monthly discharge ofShitike Creek at Warm Spring, Oreg.,for 1911-12.

Month.

1911.

July...................... ........................

September. ........................................

1911-12.

May...............................................

July...............................................

September. ........................................

1912.

December .........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

248 

134 

75 

86

66 

147 

75 

593 

383 

265 

190 

296 

338 

161 

102 

112

593

73 

112 

135

Minimum.

120 

66 

50 

50

57 

57 

57 

57 

112 

190 

102 

112 

148 

102 

66 

58

57

58 

66 

73

Mean.

151 

93.2 

59.8 

61.9

57.3 

72.9 

63.6 

172 

195 

212 

135 

188 

200 

125 

80.2 

67.2

131

62.5 

83.9 

82.8

Run-off 

(in acrefeet).

5,970 

5,730 

3,680 

3,680

3,520 

4,340 

3,910 

10,600 

11,200 

13,000 

8,030 

11,600 

11,900 

7,690 

4,930 

4,000

94,700

3,840 

4,990 

5.090

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

B.
STEEAM FLOW. 51

WARM SPRINGS RIVER NEAR WARM SPRING, OREG.

Location. In the NE. \ sec. 19, T. 8 S., R. 13 E., at bridge on road between Warm 

Spring and Simnasho, 9 miles from the former and 15 miles from the latter.

Records available. July 29, 1911, to December 31, 1912, fragmentary.

Drainage area. Not measured.

Gage. Vertical staff spiked to pier of old bridge.

Channel. Gravel; practically permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made from stringer of old bridge or by wading.

Winter flow. River probably never freezes.

Diversions. None.

Accuracy. Rating curve good; accuracy depends on gage readings which well cover 

the low water. Results for high water only approximate.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the Office of Indian Affairs.

Monthly discharge of Warm Springs River near Warm Spring, Oreg.,for 1911-12.

Month.

1911.

September. ..........

October..............

December............

1912.. 

July.................

Mean 

discharge 

in secondfeet.

268

266

266

292

890

345

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

16,500

15,800

16,400

17,400

24,000

90,100

91 9fln

Accuracy.

B.

B.

B.

C.

B.

B.

Month.

1912.

Mean 

discharge 

in secondfeet.

289

302

295

342

323

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

17,800

18,000

18,100

20,400

19,900

115,000

Accuracy.

B.

B.

B.

A.

B.

WHITE RIVER NEAR TYGH VALLEY, OREG.

Location. In sec. 10, T. 4 S., R. 13 E., 1 mile south of Tygh Valley, 1 mile above

mouth of Tygh Creek, and 4 miles above the White River Falls plant of the Pacific

Power & Light Co.

Records available. June 18, 1911, to December 31, 1912. 

Drainage area. Not measured.

Gage. Vertical staff on lower corner of left pier of highway bridge. 

Channel. Gravel and sand; shifting. White River carries a heavy load of glacial

sediment at times.

Discharge measurements. Made from lower side of highway bridge. 

Winter flow. Affected by ice; ice jams occasionally form during extremely cold

weather. 

Diversions. Probably no diversion from White River above the station, although

diversion of water for irrigation lands south of lower White River is doubtless

feasible. 

Accuracy. Results good during low water, but somewhat uncertain at other times,

as not enough measurements have been made to determine possible shifts.
52 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of White River near Tygh Valley, Oreg.,for 1911-12.

Month.

1911. 

June 18-30 .........................................

July...............................................

August. .'. .........................................

October ...........................................

The period ..................................

1912. 

January 13-31.....................................

February. .........................................

April ..............................................

May...............................................

June. .......................'......................

July...............................................

August ............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

378 

259 

139 

244 

189 

498

1,520 

485 

845 

1,120 

670 

320 

210 

252 

228 

360 

510

Minimum.

263 

127 

102 

102 

127 

127

sio

300 

410 

560 

320 

180 

150 

150 

156 

156 

174

Mean.

302 

179 

112 

143 

139 

245

1,370 

918 

361 

562 

768 

491 

233 

167 

170 

175 

236 

201

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

7,780 

11,000 

6,890 

8,510 

8,550 

7,290

50,000

51,600 

52,800 

22,200 

33,400 

47,200 

29,200 

14,300 

10,300 

10, 100 

10,800 

14,000 

12,400

308,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B.

C. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B.

TTGH CREEK AT TYGH VALLEY, OREG.

Location. In Bee. 3, T. 4 S., R. 13 E., about one-fourth mile north of the Tygh

Valley post offio, 100 feet below the wagon bridge, and about 1 mile above mouth

of river.

Records available. June 9 to September 30, 1911; March 8 to October 15, 1912. 

Drainage area. Not measured. 

Gage. Vertical staff.

Channel. Gravel and sand; shifts somewhat. 

Discharge measurements. Made from downstream rail of the highway bridge at

Tygh Valley, or by wading.

Winter flow. Materially affected by ice; no records obtained during the winter. 

Accuracy. Results good during low water; uncertain at higher stages on account of

possible shifts.

Monthly discharge of Tygh Creek at Tygh Valley, Oreg.,for 1911-12.

Month.

1911.

July...............................................

1912.

April..............................................

July...............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

130 

63 

16 

74 

30

196 

282 

282 

200 

85 

34 

44 

32

Minimum.

66 

14 

11 

11 

22

94 

150 

150 

85 

32 

23 

23 

25

Mean.

92.3 

30.0 

14.9 

31.1 

25.8

121 

179 

216 

155 

48.0 

27.7 

28.7 

29.5

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

3,660 

1,840 

916 

1,850 

1,590

9..860

5,500 

10, 700 

13, 300 

9,220 

2,950 

1,700 

1,710 

878

46,000

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

B.

B. 

C. 

C. 

B.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.
STREAM FLOW. 53

CANAL STATIONS. 

CENTRAL OREGON CANAL AT BEND, ORE6.

Location. In sec. 7, T. 18 S., R. 12 E. Willamette meridian, at a flume section 

1 mile below the division point where the waters in the main diversion canal 

are divided between this canal and the Pilot Butte canal, about 2 miles south 

of Bend, Oreg.

Records available. May 11, 1905, to December 31, 1912.

Gage. A vertical staff consisting of a painted strip of galvanized iron nailed to 

the inside of flume on right side.

Channel. A plank flume of rectangular cross section provided with batting on 

bottom cracks. Flume rather unstable, but the rating appears not to change.

Discharge measurements. Made from yoke of flume at gage section.

Winter flow. Canal operated almost continuously. The flow in winter is small 

in volume. The fall through the section of the gage is sufficient to maintain 

open channel at all times.

Accuracy. Records accurate. Earlier records of discharge of over 100 second-feet 

subject to revision on account of measurements made at depth giving erroneous 

results.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the Central Oregon Irrigation Co.

Monthly discharge of Central Oregon canal near Bend^ Oreg., for 1905-1912.

Month.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum. Minimum. Mean

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

Accuracy.

1905. 

March 11-17..................

June.........................

July..........................

August.......................

September...................

1905-6. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

January......................

February.....................

March........................

April.........................

May..........................

June.........................

July..........................

August.......................

September...................

The year...............

1906-7. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

January......................

February.....................

March........................

April.........................

May..........................

June.........................

July..........................

August.......................

September...................

The year...............

105

82

94

96

105

74

70

74

97

138

138

138

138

133

114

100

65

97

96

112

146

182

187

194

134

0

16

0

0

0

0

12

0

70

103

124

130

118

0

47

0

0

34

94

98

128

0

112

92

14.9

36.6

19.5

26.8

43.4

45.9

65.6

54.8

35.2

26.2

28.0

49.6

58.0

86.5

118

131

134

69.4

128

48.5

73.8

17.7

50.0

83.5

100

126

148

121

156

118

207

2,180

1,200

1,650

2,580

2,820

3,900

3,370

2,160

1,460

1,720

2,950

3,570

5,150

7,260

7,970

50,400

7,870

2,890

4,540

1,090

2,780

5,130

5,950

7,750

8,810

7,440

9,590

7,020

194 97.5 70,900
54 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Central Oregon canal near Bend, Oreg., for 1905-1912 Contd.

Month.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum. Minimum. Mean,

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

1907-8. 

October......................

November...................

December...................

January.....................

February....................

March.......................

April........................

May.........................

June.........................

July.........................

August.......................

September...................

The year...............

1908-9. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

January......................

February.....................

March........................

April.........................

May..........................

June.........................

July..........................

August.......................

September...................

The year...............

1909-10. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

January......................

February.....................

March........................

April.........................

May..........................

June.........................

July..........................

August.......................

September...................

The year...............

1910-11. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

January......................

February.....................

March........................

April.........................

May..........................

June..........................

July..........................

August.......................

September....................

The year...............

1911-12. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

January......................

February.....................

March........................

April.........................

May..........................

June..........................

July..........................

August.......................

September....................

The year...............

1912. 

October......................

November....................

December....................

134

118

118

102

100

118

112

146

170

207

226

194

226

176

107

128

97

97

97

164

214

240

256

246

200

256

152

123

102

170

246

252

272

272

233

272

182

158

123

146

123

107

182

207

272

272

272

233

272

158

134

134

92

123

123

123

246

272

272

246

233

272

194

158

112

0

41

0

0

0

0

57

112

146

170

194

176

104

104

69.3

32.0

15.7

23.3

86.4

136

158

201

205

185

110

107

35

0

0

0

32

88

164

25

0

172

146

141

56.1

43.1

9.71

39.1

72.6

128

194

191

144

224

172

118

112

0

0

0

0

0

83

0

8

214

0

38

122

21.7

9.10

17.2

25.3

46.4

124

160

208

258

132

192

110

158

0

12

0

8

0

74

182

9

170

22

152

170

47.8

69.7

27.1

25.0

43.3

130

195

226

250

250

184

135

123

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

158

133

41.4

19.0

15.3

23.6

42.1

60.2

172

248

239

241

180

118

146

0

0

174

132

22.9

6,400

6,190

4,260

1,970

903

I,430

5,140

8,360

9,400

12,400

12,600

II,000

80,100

8,670

3,340

2,650

597

2,170

4,460

7,620

11,900

11,400

8,850

13,800

10,200

85,700

7,500

1,290

560

1,060

1,410

2,850

7,380

9,840

12,400

15,900

8,120

11,400

79,700

10,500

2,840

4,290

1,670

1,390

2,660

7,740

12,000

13,400

15,400

15,400

10,900

98,200

8,180

2,460

1,170

941

1,360

2,590

3,580

10,600

14,800

14,700

14,800

10,700

85,900

10,700

7,860

1,410
STBEAM FLOW. 55

PILOT BTJTTE CANAL NEAR BEND, OREG.

Location. In sec. 7, T. 18 S., R. 12 E., at a point in the canal directly opposite the 

gaging station on Central Oregon canal, about 2 miles south of Bend and 1 mile 

below the division point where the waters are divided between this canal and 

the Central Oregon canal.

Records available. March 6, 1905, to December 31, 1912.

Gage. Vertical staff on right bank directly opposite the gage in flume of Central 

Oregon canal.

Channel. Gage section is in rock and is permanent.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading at the gage or from a highway bridge 

halt a mile below the gage.

Winter flow. Operated intermittently during the frozen season to provide water 

for stock and domestic purposes. No ice effect.

Accuracy. Conditions favorable; results excellent.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the Central Oregon Irrigation Co.

Monthly discharge of Pilot Butte canal near Bend, Oreg.,for 1905-1912.

Month.

1905. 

March 6-31..... ...................................

April l-5».........................................

July...............................................

August ............................................

September. ........................................

1905-6.

January. . .........................................

March. . ...........................................

April..............................................

July...............................................

The year. ...................................

1906-7. 

October ...........................................

March .............................................

April. . ............................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

The year. ;..................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

49 

41 

68.6 

89.9 

85.7 

111

88 

60 

48 

48 

48 

48 

119 

111 

117 

144 

148 

121

148

121 

89 

44 

12 

53 

39 

95 

127 

162 

166 

162 

144

166

Minimum.

8 

29 

12.6 

0 

0 

73

5 

36 

0 

0 

0 

0 

16 

31 

73 

103 

0 

92

0

22 

0 

11 

0 

0 

39 

39 

95 

103 

0 

98 

73

0

Mean.

27.2 

31.4

55.7 

56.3 

66.8 

88.6

76.5 

56.7 

26.1 

10.8 

31.4 

16.6 

52.9 

79.7 

97.0 

136 

129 

120

69.4

108 

20.6 

31.4 

3.0 

26.2 

39.0 

71.4 

110 

151 

118 

148 

108

77.8

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

1,400 

311 

3,310 

3,460 

4,110 

5,270

4,700 

3.370 

1,610 

, 664 

1,740 

1,020 

3,150 

4,900 

5,770 

8,360 

7,930 

7,140

50,400

6,640 

1,230 

1,930 

184 

1,460 

2,400 

4,250 

6,7^9 

8,980 

7,260 

9,100 

6,430

56,600

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

a Water was turned out of canal April 6, and for a month or more all the water was in the river. There 

was some diversion in latter part of May.
56 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Pilot Butte canal near Bend, Oreg., for 1905-1912 Continued.

Month.

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum. Minimum. Mean.

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

1907-8.

October........................................... 144

November......................................... 136

December......................................... 162

January........................................... 66

February.......................................... 80

March............................................. 80

April.............................................. 127

May............................................... 127

June...............;............................... 172

July............................................... 212

August............................................ 218

September......................................... 182

The year.................................... 218

1908-9. =

October........................................... 136

November......................................... Ill

December......................................... 60

January...................................... .... 42

February.......................................... 60

March............................................. 73

April.................................... . . ... Ill

May............................................... 172

June............................................... 182

July............................................... 212

August............................................ 202

September......................................... 144

The year.................................... 212

1909-10. =

October........................................... Ill

November......................................... 66

December......................................... 38

January........................................... 42

February.......................................... 53

March............................................. 66

April.............................................. 144

May............................................... 172

June............................................... 192

July............................................... 202

August............................................ 202

September......................................... 172

The year.................................... 202

1910-11. -

October........................................... 130

November......................................... Ill

December.......................................... 88

January........................................... 77

February.......................................... 53

March............................................. 73

April.............................................. 144

May............................................... 162

June............................................... 192

July............................................... 212

August............................................ 202

September......................................... 192

The year.................................... 212

1911-12. =

October........................................... Ill

November......................................... 95

December......................................... 66

January........................................... 60

February.......................................... 66

March............................................. 73

April.............................................. 80

May............................................... 182

June............................................... 202

July............................................... 226

August...................................... 1..... 233

September......................................... 180

The year.................................... 233

1912. =

October........................................... 162

November......................................... 95

December......................................... 83

1

0

0

0

0

0

66

0

127

182

182

91

99.5

66.1

24.1

19.4

24.8

61.4

96.6

114

150

204

204

148

101

95

0

0

0

0

17

73

111

153

0

108

108

0

0

0

0

0

0

73

0

136

192

148

92

111

0

0

0

0

0

0

60

2

182

9

111

83

0

0

0

0

0

0

80

24

178

182

127

123

31.8

13.4

1.4

22.0

52.7

93.4

150

176

128

182

131 .

92.1

91.4

15.2

1.7

4.0

11.0

29.6

91.8

121

185

197

189

145

90.1

118

34.9

24.0

11.5

3.4

18.1

80.7

143

175

196

182

138

93.7

105

56.0

9.2

10.3

12.0

23.3

43.8

134

185

212

214

146

117

75.4

6,120

3,930

1,480

1,190

1,430

3,780

5,750

7,010

8,930

12,500

12,500

8,810

73,400

7,560

1,890

1,220

3,240

5,560

9,220

10,500

7,870

11,200

7,800

67,000

5,620

904

105

246

611

1,820

5,460

7,440

11,000

12,100

11,600

8,630

65,500

7,260

2,080

1,480

707

189

I,110 

4,800 

8,790 

10,400 

12,100

II,200 

8,210

6,460

3,330

566

633

690

1,430

2,610

8,240

11,000

13,000

13,200

8,690

7,190

4,490

590
STREAM FLOW. 57

WIMER CANAL NEAR LAIDLAW, OREG.

Location. In sec. 2, T. 18 S., R. 10 E., about 15 miles from Laidlaw, half a mile 

below the intake and below controlling spillway.

Records available. 1906 to 1912. Observations in 1906-7 taken just below intake 

and above controlling spillway.

Gage. Vertical staff; no change in datum since April 1, 1908.

Channel. Flume.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading or from yoke of flume.

Winter flow. Not operated during season of ice.

Accuracy. Good except in 1911 and 1912, during which time sufficient measurements have not been made to determine possible changes in rating.

Cooperation. Station maintained in cooperation with the Columbia Southern 

Irrigation Co.

Monthly discharge of Wimer canal near Laidlaw, Oreg.,for 1906-1912.

Month.

1906.

July...............................................

The period ..................................

1907. 

April 19-30.... ....................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

1908. 

April. .............................................

July...............................................

1909. 

April 19-30...... ..................................

May...............................................

July...............................................

August ............................................

October. ........................ ...............

The period. .................................

1910. 

April 11-30.... ............... .....................

Hay...............................................

July 1-9... ........................................

1911. 

April 7-30. ........................................

July...............................................

October. ..........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

49 

50 

18 

24 

35

24 

45 

48 

. 39 

34 

27 

27

14.2 

16.8 

27.0 

30.0 

30.0 

21.0 

21.0

13.3 

16.4 

29.3 

34.4 

31.3 

22.0 

21.4

27 

30 

30 

33

22 

24 

26 

32 

26 

18 

18

Minimum.

42 

19 

16 

16 

0

22 

23 

18 

30

27 

24 

0

0 

13.0 

16.8 

25.5 

19.6 

15.5 

10.7

9.1 

0 

15.9 

22.9 

20.0 

18.6 

20.8

12

24 

21 

27

11 

15 

0

24 

18 

18 

9

Mean.

44.5 

34.5 

16.5 

16.4 

17.0

23.0 

31.9 

31.8 

34.7 

30.2 

25.6 

23.0

10.3 

14.7 

22.4 

28.8 

26.0 

20.6 

15.6

10.7 

12.3 

18.2 

30.7 

29.8 

19.9 

21.2

22.6 

24.9 

24.8 

28.4

16.2 

21.5 

19.2 

27.9 

20.3 

18.0 

12.7

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

1,320 

2,120 

1,010 

976 

1,050

6,480

548 

1,960 

1,890 

2,130 

1,860 

1,520 

1,410

11,300

613 

904 

1,330 

1,770 

1,600 

1,230 

959

8,410

255 

756 

1,080 

1,890 

1,830 

1,180 

1,300

8,290

897 

1,530 

1,480 

507

771 

1,320 

1,140 

1,720 

1,250 

1,070 

781

8,050

Accuracy.

B.

C. 

C.

c. 

c.

c.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A.

A. 

A.

A. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.
58 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of Wimer canal near Laidlaw, Or eg., for 1906-1912 Continued.

Month.

1912.

June ...............................................

July...............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

12.4 

19.0 

23.7 

25.0 

21.1 

16.0 

8.0

Minimum.

0

8.0 

19.8 

17.2 

12.4 

8.0 

0

Mean.

8.78 

13.9 

22.4 

23.4 

14.9 

9.38 

3.87

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

522 

855 

1,330 

1,440 

916 

558 

238

5,860

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

COLUMBIA SOUTHERN CANAL NEAR LAIDLAW, OREG.

Location. In sec. 2, T. 18 S., R. 10 E., about 15 miles from Laidlaw and one-fourth

mile below head gate.

Records available. 1906 to 1912, irrigating season. 

Gage. Vertical staff on the upstream side of a wasteway flume, about one-fourth

mile below intake. 

Channel. Flume.

Discharge measurements. Made by wading or from a foot log at the gage. 

Winter flow. Canal not operated during season of ice. 

Accuracy. Rating curve well determined for unobstructed channel. Records for

1911-12 somewhat uncertain on account of insufficient measurements to detect

possible changes in channel. 

Cooperation. Gage readings furnished by the Columbia Southern Irrigation Co.

Monthly discharge of Columbia Southern canal near Laidlaw, Oreg.,for 1906-1912.

Month.

1906. 

May 15-31... ......................................

July...............................................

The period ..................................

1907. 

April................................ ...

May...............................................

June...............................................

July................................................

October. ..........................................

1908.

May ...............................................

July...............................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

69 

82 

114 

69 

64 

64

45 

79 

112 

126 

126 

73 

63

50 

73 

98 

112 

85 

63 

58

Minimum.

64 

60 

74 

64 

62 

55

27 

41 

79 

98 

63 

63 

58

0 

37

73 

85 

58 

58 

54

Mean.

67.2 

66.6 

91.7 

66.3 

62.4 

61.3

40.0 

66.9 

99.1 

116 

77.8 

66.8 

60.7

33.1

54.9 

88.4 

109 

63.7 

- 58.3 

54.8

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

2,260 

3,960 

5,640 

4,080 

3,710 

3,770

23,400

2,380 

4,110 

5,900 

7,130 

4,780 

3,970 

3,730

32,000

1,970 

3,380 

5,260 

6,700 

3,920 

3,470 

3,370

28,100

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.
STREAM PLOW. 59

Monthly discharge of Columbia Southern canal near Laidlaw, Oreg., for 1906-1912 

Continued.

Month.

1909. 

April 6-30. ........................................

July...............................................

1910.

May...............................................

July...............................................

The period........ ..........................

1911.

May... ............................................

July...............................................

The period..................................

1912.

July...............................................

Discharge in second-ifeet.

Maximum.

64 

104 

114 

117 

73 

64 

54

64 

111 

118 

91 

59 

64

62 

91 

119 

119 

49 

63 

45

34 

0 

54 

91 

118 

118 

91 

71 

59

Minimum.

2 

64 

104

74 

47 

50 

46

38 

64 

85 

54 

50 

59

0 

61 

98 

49 

41 

41 

28

0

0 

0

38 

91 

91 

52 

50 

50

Mean.

43.6 

88.3 

106 

103 

55.3 

53.4 

48.4

47.9 

77.3 

105 

74.4 

55.6 

59.5

1

38.6 

78.2 

106 

92.8 

45.3 

45.6 

37.4

5.3 

0 

37.7 

64.6 

101 

111 

«6.1 

55.7 

53.0

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

2,160 

5,430 

6,310 

6,330 

3,400 

3,180 

2,980

29,800

2,850 

4,750 

6,250 

4,570 

3,420 

1,300

23,100

2,300 

4,810 

6,310 

5,710 

2,790 

2,710 

2,300

26,900

305 

0 

2,240 

3,970 

6,010 

6,820 

4,060 

3,310 

1,580

28,300

Accuracy.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B. 

B 

B 

B.

B.

B. 

B. 

A. 

A. 

B. 

B. 

B.

McALLISTER'S DITCH NEAR SISTERS, OREG.

Location. About 100 yards below intake, in the SW. % sec. SO, T. 15 S., R. 10 E., 

below first spillway.

Records available. May 2 to November 22, 1909 (from 1909 to 1911, inclusive, 

station was above spillway); June 29, 1910, to December 31, 1912.

Gage. Plug above weir at mean level of crest on which heights of water are measured. 

Gage used, 1909-1911, was vertical staff in side of ditch.

Channel. Sharp-crested Cippoletti weir 5 feet long; no Velocity of approach; 

formerly earth section of canal.

Discharge measurements. From cross piece of waste gate or by wading. . Winter flow. Water shut off in freezing weather.

Accuracy. Results, 1909-1911, are subject to much uncertaint^ because of infrequent 

measurements and changes in conditions. Gage heights also were liable to be 

affected by changes in the wasteway just below the station! Records for 1912 are 

not directly comparable with those for previous years, as there is some water wasted 

from the spillway which would pass old gage but not the Weir.
60 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Monthly discharge of McAllister's ditch near Sisters, Oreg.,for 1909-1912.

Month.

1909. 

May 2-31... ........ ...............................

July...............................................

August. . ..........................................

September ........................................

The period ..................................

1909-10.

July...............................................

September ........................................

1910-11. 

October ...........................................

May. ........................... .....

July...........................................

September .......................................

The year. ...................................

1911-12.

March .......................... ........ ........

July...............................................

August. ...........................................

The year ....................................

1912.

December .........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

22

27 

20 

17 

15

11

25 

18 

12.5 

14

11.5 

6.6 

3.1 

5.3

3.6 

4.2 

6.0 

18 

13 

14 

6.6

5.3 

5.3

2.7 

5.6 

10.3 

8.2

7.8 

7.4 

8.8

2.7 

4.3 

2.5

Minimum.

13

17 

13 

11

8.4

7.6 

0 

14 

7.6 

5.9

3.1 

2.2 

2.2 

0

0 

2.2 

3.6

8.1 

7.4 

4.2 

1.0

4.2 

0

0

2.8 

3.9 

43 

0 

0 

0

1.5 

1.3 

0

Mean.

15.4 

21.6 

16.8 

13.1 

10.4

8.15 

8.18 

15.1 

10.5 

8.07

4.49 

3.42 

2.25 

1.16 

0 

1.28 

2.72 

4.29 

13.2 

9.57 

5.76 

5.63

4.48

5.26 

4.32 

0 

0 

0 

.65 

3.80 

6.42 

5.79 

4.71 

3.67 

4.27

1.93 

2.17

.87

Run-off 

(total in 

acre-feet).

916 

1,290 

 1.030 

806 

619

4,660

501

487 

928 

646 

480

276 

204 

138 

71 

0 

 79 

162 

264 

786 

588 

. 354 

335

3,260

323 

257 

0 

0 

0 

40 

226 

395 

345 

290 

226 

254

2,360

119 

129 

53

Accuracy.

B. 

B. 

B. 

B.

C.

C. 

C. 

B. 

B. 

B.

B. 

B.

C. 

C.

c. 

c. 

c.

B. 

B. 

B. 

C.

C. 

C.

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A. 

A.

A. 

A. 

A.

SUMMARIES OF DISCHARGE FOB PRINCIPAL STATIONS.

In order to bring the large number of stream-flow records available 

on Deschutes River into convenient form for comparison and use, 

tables have been prepared summarizing the yearly maximum, minimum, and mean discharge and totals in acre-feet for all stations for 

which the records cover four or more continuous years. These 

summaries, like the estimates of monthly discharge, have been made 

out for the climatologic year beginning October 1 and ending September 30.

The irrigation season in many localities, especially in northerly 

latitudes, closes with September, and the climatologic year thus 

includes one period of storage and one of growth. At the beginning
STREAM FLOW. 61

of the year ground storage is usually at a minimum; there is no snow 

on the ground, practically no water is held over, and the run-off 

recorded for the period constitutes an actual year's supply that 

should be directly comparable with the rainfall, if such a relation may 

be assumed to exist.

Yearly discharge of Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, near Lava, Oreg., 1905-1912.

Year.

1905 (Feb. 17-Sept. 30) ........................

1905-6 .........................................

1906-7.........................................

1907-8.........................................

1908-9.........................................

1909-10 ........................................

1910-11 ........................................

1911-12 ........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

382 

559 

1,890 

687 

575 

2,150 

559 

760

Minimum.

89 

79 

89 

120 

115 

115 

106 

97

Mean.

212 

193 

356 

254 

246 

385 

222 

271

275

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

95,200 

139,000 

258,000 

184,000 

178,000 

279,000 

161,000 

197,000

199,000

Per cent 

of mean.

70 

130 

92 

89 

140 

81 

99

Yearly discharge of Deschutes River at Benham Falls, Oreg., 1904-1912.

Year.

1904-5o........................................

1905-6 .........................................

1906-7.........................................

1907-8 .........................................

1908-9 .........................................

1909-10. .......................................

1910-11 ........................................

1911-12. .......................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

2,700 

1,920 

4,000 

2,560 

2,280 

4,760 

1,780 

2,260

Minimum.

1,490 

1,080 

1,160 

1,280 

1,170 

1,330 

1,180 

1,000

Mean.

1,950 

1,520 

1,840 

1,740 

1,620 

1.750 

1,490 

1,590

1,690

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

1,410,000 

1,100,000 

1,340,000 

1,260,000 

1,170,000 

1,270,000 

1,080,000 

1,160,000

Per cent 

of mean.

116 

90 

110 

103 

96 

104 

89 

95

a Mean for October-December, 1904, estimated 2,000 second-feet. 

Yearly discharge of Deschutes River at Moody, Oreg., 1897-1899,1906-1912.

Year.

1897-98 a. ......................................

1898-99 ........................................

1906-7.........................................

1907-8 .........................................

1908-9.... .................................... .

1909-10........................................

1910-11........................................

1911-12........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

11,700 

16,000 

30,600 

22,200 

14,200 

26,900 

10,800 

17, 900

Minimum.

4,920 

4,100 

5,080

5,080

4,820 

4,080

Mean.

6,720 

7,670 

7,870 

6,800 

6,450 

7,860 

6,110 

7,080

7,070

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

4,870,000 

5,560,000 

5,700,000 

4,940,000 

4,670,000 

5,690,000 

4,420,000 

5,100,000

5,120,000

Per cent 

of mean.

95 

109 

111 

96 

91 

111 

86 

100

o October, 1897, estimated 6,000 second-feet.
62 DESCHUTES EIVER, OREGON.

Yearly discharge of Tumalo Greek near Laidlaw, Oreg., 1906-1912.

Year.

1906-7..........................................

1907-8.........................................

1908-9.........................................

1909-10........................................

1910-11........................................

1911-12........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

820 

462 

440

396 

468

Minimum.

80 

62 

50

61

Mean.

180 

128 

111 

139 

109 

112

130

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

130,000 

92,700 

80,000 

101,000 

78,500 

81,000

93,900

Per cent 

of mean.

138 

99 

85 

108 

84 

86

Yearly discharge of Squaw Creek near Sisters, Oreg., 1906-1912.

Year.

1906-7.........................................

1907-8.........................................

1908-9.........................................

1909-10........................................

1S10-11.... ....................................

1911-12........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

990 

335 

378 

1,960 

344 

395

Minimum.

58 

59

54 

42 

32

Mean.

147 

108 

99.9 

135 

105 

104

116

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

106,000 

78,000 

72,800 

97,800 

75,900 

75,100

84,300

Per cent 

of mean.

126 

93 

86 

116 

90 

89

Yearly discharge of Crooked River near Prineville, Oreg., 1908-1912.

Year.

1908-9o.......................................

1909-10........................................

1910-11........................................

1911-12........................................

Mean ...................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

2,350 

9,080 

2,980 

3,000

Minimum.

20 

5.0 

4.0 

11

Mean.

261 

519 

282 

424

372

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

189,000 

375,000 

204, 000 

308,000

269, 000

Per cent 

of mean.

70 

139 

76 

114

a October, 1908, estimated 40 second-feet. 

Yearly discharge of Metolius River near Sisters, Oreg., 1908-1912.

Year.

1908-9o........................................

1909-10.........................................

1910-11.........................................

1911-12.........................................

Discharge in second-feet.

Maximum.

2,320 

3,890 

1.920 

2,430

Minimum.

1,410 

1,410 

1,410 

1,330

1

Mean.

1,580 

1,670 

1,550 

1,640

1,610

Run-off.

Acre-feet.

1. 140, 000 

1,210,000 

1,120,000 

1, 190, 000

1,160,000

Per cent 

of mean.

98 

104 

97 

103

o October, 1908, estimated 1,500 second-feet.

The following tables show the minimum flow, with dates, at stations on Deschutes River and its principal western tributaries, but 

the period selected for study of minimum flow, or duration of low
STREAM PLOW. 63

water, is that between successive annual spring floods. The minima 

for two successive calendar years may occur in the same low water 

period, only a few days or weeks apart, and this is even more likely 

to occur where a climatologic year is used extending from low water 

to low water. On the upper part of Deschutes Kiver, the month of 

greatest flow, taking the mean of the 8 years, is May, with June a 

close second. The division of the year for the computation of the 

minimum has accordingly been made between May 31 and June 1.

Minimum discharge of Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, near Lava, Oreg., 1905-1912.

T>A7*inH

June-May.

1905-6..........

1906-7..........

1907-8..........

1908-9..........

1909-10.........

1910-11.........

1911-12.........

Minimum for one day

Date.

Nov.15. ...................

Nov.13. ...................

Nov.18-19. ................

Oct. 8-10..... ..............

Nov.14. ...................

Oct. 28-Nov. 6... ..........

Nov. 1-4, Dec. 21...........

Discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

79

89

141

115

115

115

97

107

Lowest week.

m Date.

Nov. 10-16 ..................

Oct. 26-Nov. 1 ..............

Nov. 13-19 ..................

Oct. 6-12. ...................

Oct. 4-20. ...................

Oct. 31-Nov. 6 ..............

Nov. l-7o... ................

Mean 

daily discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

85.6

97.0

145

118

124

115

100

112

Ratio of 

mean for

week to 

mean for 

periods.

0.76

.87

1.30

1.05

1.11

1.03

.89

o May have been lower during period of ice. 

Minimum discharge of Deschutes River at Benham Falls, Oreg., 1905-1912.

Year.

1905-6..........

1906-7..........

1907-8..........

IQftft-Q

1909-10.........

1910-11.........

1011 19

Mean.....

Minimum for one day

Date.

Dec. 23.. ...................

Jan. 15.. ...................

Feb. 1.... ..................

Dec. 18.. ...................

Jan. 23.. ...................

Discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

1 080 I'leo

1,280

1,170

1,330

1,180

1,000

1,170

Lowest week.

Date.

Dec. 19-25...................

Oct. 29-Nov.4. .............

Mar. 4-10.................. .

Feb. 27-Mar. 5..........

Mean 

daily discharge.

Sec.-ft. i 040

1,380

1 ^IQfi

1,420

1,280

1,180

1,300

Ratio of 

mean for

week to 

mean for 

periods.

n Q5

QQ

1.06

1.02

1 09

.98

Q1

Minimum discharge of Deschutes River at Moro and Moody, Oreg., 1897-1899, 1906-1912.

Year.

1897-8..........

1898-9..........

1906-7..........

1907-8..........

1908-9..........

1909-10.........

1910-11.........

1911-12.........

Minimum for one day

Date.

April. 

Dec. 16-18..................

Sept. 30. ...................

Aug. 24-31..... ....... ......

July 27.. ...................

Jan. 5-7......... ...........

Discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

6,030

4,100

5,080

5,660

05,280

5,080

o5,170

4,080

5,060

Lowest week.

Date.

Oct. 24-30...................

July 27- Aug. 23, etc........

Aug. 24-30...................

Mean 

daily discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

6,030

4,240

5,080

5,660

5,360

5,080

5,180

4,470

5,130

Ratio of 

mean for

week to 

mean for 

1906-1911.

1.18

.83

.99

1.10

1.03

.99

1.01

.87

« Readings fragmentary. & Estimated.
64 DESCHUTES RIVEE, OREGON". 

Minimum discharge of Metolius River at Riggs ranch, near Sisters, Oreg., 1908-191%.

Year.

1908-9..........

1909-10.........

1910-11.........

1911-12.........

Minimum for one day

Date.

T*iv> 1 9 9ft Tern 1 1 1 5

Feb. 28-Mar. 10. ...........

Discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

1,410

1,410

1,330

Lowest week.

Date.

Dec. 14-20...................

Oct. 24-30...................

Feb. 28-Mar. 10.............

Mean 

daily discharge

Sec. ft.

1,420

1,410

1,330

1,390

Ratio of

week to 

mean for 

periods.

1.01

1.02

1.01

.96

An examination of the yearly means and minima and their relation 

to the mean for the period shows in a striking manner the remarkable 

constancy of flow of the Deschutes, particularly in the upper section, 

compared with most streams. Thus at Benham Falls the highest 

year is only 15 per cent above and the lowest 11 per cent below the 

8-year mean. At Moody, the variation is about the same, +11 and 

 14. Deschutes (Little) River at Alien's ranch, which receives 

relatively less of its water from springs, shows maximum variations 

of +40 and -19; Tumalo Creek, +38 and -15; Squaw Creek, +26 

and 14; and Crooked River, +26 and 23.

None of the records on tributaries cover 1904, which was in general 

the year of greatest flow in the last 10 in central Oregon, or 1905, 

which was in many localities the lowest. Thus it can not be safely 

assumed that either extreme of run-off has yet been reached or even 

closely approached. It will be noted that the highest year at Benham 

Falls was 1904-5, which in many localities was one of extreme drought, 

whereas 1912, elsewhere generally high, was here below the mean. 

This was caused by and aptly illustrates the long-delayed effect of 

rainfall on run-off in the Deschutes River basin. The extremely high 

snowfall and rainfall of 1904 filled up the deep springs which continued to discharge large volumes of water well into 1905. The 

longest period of deficient run-off began in the early summer of 1910 

and culminated in January, 1912. The snow melted and ran off 

early in 1910, the summer of that year was very dry, the following 

winter was one of very deficient snowfall; there were few rains in the 

fall of 1911, and the snows of 1911-12 came rather later than usual. 

The springs seemed to run steadily lower and then the flow suddenly 

decreased during the extreme cold snap in the first week in January, 

1912, when nearly all records of low water were broken. Then came 

a thaw which caused the rapid melting of snow, apparently affecting 

all streams except Squaw Creek. That stream reached its minimum 

in March, after all the others had shown a considerable recovery from 

these extreme low points.
STEEAM FLOW. 65

For about 8 miles below Black Butte a large amount of water 

enters Metolius River from springs in the side of the stream. They 

are very noticeable, but pnly one is so situated that its discharge can 

be measured. This spring, known as the Heisings, enters Jacks 

Creek, a second tributary on the west. A number of tributary 

streams enter the Metolius Lake, Jacks, Canyon, Cabot, Jefferson, 

and Whitewater all from the west side and from the east slope of 

the Cascades. *

The following table, showing the minimum flow of Metolius River 

in different sections, is based on records of the gaging stations that 

have been maintained below Lake Creek and at two points below 

Whitewater Creek, and miscellaneous measurements of all the tributaries and of the river below Canyon Creek.

Low-water discharge in second-feet of Metolius River and tributaries.

Metolius River above Lake Creek............................... 100

Metolius River at Allingham ranger station...................... 325

Jacks Creek, including Heisityg's spring.................... 175

Canyon Creek............................................ 70

Springs between Allingham and Alien's ranch.............. 290

Metolius River at Alien's ranch, sec. 11, T. 12 S., R. 9 E......... 860

Cabot Creek............................................... 70

Jefferson Creek............................................ 70

Whitewater.............................................. 40

Springs, Alien's ranch to Hubbard's ranch................. 130

Metolius River at Hubbard's ranch............................ 1,170

Metolius River at Riggs and mouth............................. 1,330

DURATION OF LOW-WATER PERIOD.

The water-power value of any stream or power site and the size 

of feasible development depend fully as much on the length of the 

low-water period as on its maximum intensity. The length of the 

period in each year for which the discharge is less than any given 

quantity is shown for Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, Benham 

Falls, Moody, and Moro, East Fork near Crescent and Metolius 

River near Sisters, by tables which were prepared by counting the 

number of discharges in the year that fall below a given discharge, 

usually that for the lowest even tenth of gage height, and then, for 

increasing discharges until the average period of deficiency is equal 

to about half the year, sometimes a little greater on a stream as steady 

as the Deschutes.

For Benham Falls and Moro the year has been studied in two 

periods the irrigating season, May to September, and the nonirrigating season, October to April. These two periods have then been 

combined to a climatologic year May to April, because May usually 

falls in a period of high water and the year thus contains only one

48348° WSP 344 14 5
66 DBSCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

2,400

200 

DAYS OF DEFICIENCY

300

FIGTTIUB 1. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Deschutes River at Benham Falls,

May 1 to April 30.

50 100 150 200

DAYS OF DEFICIENCY

FIGXJBE 2. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Deschutes River at Moro and Moody, 

in the aonirrigating season, October to April.
STBEAM FLOW. 67

9,0)0

(-8,000 

tu

07,000 

ui

4,000'

200 

DAYS OF DEFICIENCY

300

FIGUEE 3. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Deschutes River at Moro and Moody

May 1 to April 30.

0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 300 

DAYS OF DEFICIENCY

FIGUBB 4. Diagram showing number of days deficient discharge on Metolius Biver near Sisters, for

calendar year.
68 DESCHUTES EIVER, OREGON.

season of low discharge, instead of parts of two as would be the case 

if the calendar year were used or a period beginning October 1 to 

November 1.

The calendar year is the period used for Little River at Alien's 

ranch, East Fork and the Metolius, largely as a matter of convenience. Metolius River is so steady that it is almost immaterial what 

period is selected.

The tables have been reduced to graphic form by plotting the discharges and days of deficiency for each year as coordinates and drawing the curves through the points (figs. 1-4). These curves represent 

approximately those that would be obtained if the daily discharges 

for the year were plotted in order of magnitude. They show at a 

glance the relative characteristics of flow of the several years, but 

they fail in one important particular, in. that they do not show whether 

the low-water period is continuous or broken by a rise of more orless 

duration. This information can be derived only from a study of the 

daily discharges.

One notable feature of nearly all the curves is that they tend to 

dip down on the left, showing a decreased discharge for a relatively 

short period. This seems to be the result of special conditions not 

fully understood which retard the flow for a short period.

COMPARISONS OF DISCHARGES AT ADJACENT STATIONS. 

PURPOSE OF COMPARISON.

Comparisons of recorded discharges at different stations on the 

same stream may serve three purposes the detection of errors, the 

determination of inflow or losses in the stream, and the determination 

of a basis for extending a short record from a longer one.

BENHAM FALLS AND BEND.

Within a stretch of 36 miles, from Benham Falls to Cline Falls, 

four gaging stations have been maintained on Deschutes River, with 

intermediate stations at Bend and Laidlaw, and records of the only 

important diversions the Central Oregon and Pilot Butte canals. 

The sum of discharges at Bend and of the two canals should be 

directly comparable with the discharge at Benham Falls. That it is 

comparable is indicated by the fact that the yearly means do not 

differ more than 3 per cent. The discharge at Benham Falls in 1910 

was 3 per cent less than the total, most of the difference coming in 

January to April. There was probably some actual inflow into the 

river during these months, as the snowfall of the winter was heavy, 

extending down into the lower levels, and it ran off quickly without 

sinking into the ground as much as usual, especially in March, which 

shows the greatest gain in discharge, 12 per cent. The comparisons 

appear to indicate that all the records are fairly reliable.
STREAM FLOW.

Comparison of discharges, in second-feet, of Deschutes River and canals near Bend, Oreg., 

with Deschutes River at Benham Folk, 1909-191%.

Month.

1909.

March ....................................

May......................................

July......................................

December. ................................

1910. 

January.. . ................................

March. ...................................

April......................................

July......................................

1911. 

January ...................................

March. ....................................

May......................................

July......................................

September. ...............................

November. ...............................

December. ................................

The year. ...........................

1912.

April...... ...............................

TOfa-rr

June......................................

July. ...............................

September. ...............................

December. ................................

Deschutes at 

Bend.

1,560

i f^ft

1 440

L510

1.450

1,420

1,090

1,180

1 o^n

2,030

1,490

1,640

i tiQfl

2 9ofi

1,890

1,720

1 360

l'l30

1,160

1 200

1,420

1,470

1,510

1,330

1 9.°.ft

1,340

1,310

1,270

918

1,050

1,130

1,310

1,260

1,220

1,380

1,510

i °.fin

1,430

1,580

1,310

1,210

1,400

1 3Qft

1,490

1,570

1,440

Pilot 

Butte 

canal.

1.4

00 ft

co 7

QO A

1 Kft

176

f 00

182

01 i

15.2

1.7

07 Q

4.0

11.0

29 6

01 R

1QK

1Q7

IRQ

 MK

lift

Qd Q

Oft 9

11.5

3 A

18.1 80 7

143

175

1Ofi

1QO

138

105

9.2

QO C.

to Q

00 0

43 8

185

212

146

117

9.6

Q8 Q

Central 

Oregon 

canal.

» 7

3Q 1

72.6

128

224

172

199

91 7

9 1

17.2

OK O

46 4

124

208

o CQ

192

170

47.8

fiQ 7

OK f\

AO 0

10ft

1QK.

99A

250

OCA

184

1°.°.

41.4

19.0

it; ^

00 fi

42.1

fift 9

179

248

OOQ

241

180

174

22.9

129

Total.

1,570

1,610

1,570

1,730

i 7on

1 7Qft

1,610

1,500

1 480

l'450

2,110

2,040

1,700

1,660

1,630

2,370

2,100

2,000

1,750

1,580

1.530

1 Kftft

1,490

1,500

1,560

1 

' 730

1,370

1 360

l'400

1,560

1,650

1,670

1,500

1 °.PIft

1,370

1,370

1,410

1,290

1,440

1 550

1,430

1,530

2,120

1,760

1,660

1,730

1,680

1,700

1,600

1,670

Deschutes at 

Benham 

Falls.

1,620

1,570

1,720

1 7on

1,790

1,600

1,530

1,480

2,040

1,930

1 J 690

1,530

1,590

2,090

1,950

1 980

l'750

1,610

1,540

1,500

1,470

1,490

1,560

1,670

1,420

1 360

1,410

1,570

1,670

1,710

1,500

1,380

1,390

1,360

1,380

1,280

1,450

1,380

1,560

1,430

1,590

1,890

2,150

1,800

1,690

1,670

1,590

1,620

1,500

1,660

Difference per 

cent.

+ 5

0

0

0

0

0

0

+ 2

+ o

+ O

- 3

- 1

- 8

- 2

-12

- 7

0

+ 2

0

0

- 1

0

0

- 3

+ 4

0

+ 1

+ 1

+ 1

+ 2

0

+ 2

+ 1

- 1

- 2

- 1

+ 1

- 2

+ 1

0

+ 4

0

+ 1

+ 2

+ 2

+ 4

- 5

- 5

- 6

- 1

NOTE. Percentages based on Bend plus canals. 

BEND, LAIDLAW, AND CLINE FALLS.

Between Bend and Cline Falls there is no appreciable surface inflow 

except Tumalo Creek, the discharge of which has been included in 

making the comparisons. The records at the three points apparently show a gain between Bend and Laidlaw and a loss between
70 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Laidlaw and Cline Falls. The mean gain is within the probable 

error of the record at either station, especially Laidlaw, which may 

be somewhat too high on account of the indifferent conditions for 

measurements. The loss might be accounted for by the fact that 

the ground water in the porous lava rock over which the river flows 

is far below the river level; the current is swift, and the water, mostly 

from large springs, carries little sediment, so that there is little tendency for the cracks or crevices to silt up, even in long periods. 

It is, however, entirely possible that the loss is more apparent than 

real. Possible loss or gain below Cline Falls is immaterial, as it is 

very unlikely that there will be any permanent flow below Cline 

Falls after the river is fully utilized for irrigation.

Comparison of discharge, in second-feet, of Deschutes River at Bend, Laidlaw, and Cline

Falls, Oreg., 1910-1912.

Month.

1910. 

Marcb ....................................

April.....................................

May......................................

July......................................

October ...................................

1911.

May......................................

July......................................

1912.

May......................................

July......................................

Mean...............................

Discharge.

Bend 

plus 

Tumalo 

Creek at 

mouth.

2,440 

2,050

1,810

,390

,130

,210 

,170 

,280 

,510 

,580

1.410 

1,420 

1,400 

1,400 

1,340 

1,410 

1,070 

924 

1,050 

1,140 

1,370 

1,330

1,450 

1,600 

,430 

,450 

,660 

,860 

,350 

,230 

1,430 

1,430 

1,560 

1,660

Laidlaw.o

1,260 

1,240 

1,290 

1,550 

1,630

1,500 

1,470 

1,490 

1,470 

1,420 

1,480 

1,140 

949 

1,080 

1,180 

1,360 

1,390

1,500 

1,620 

1,470 

1,520 

1,690 

1,870 

1,410 

1,230 

1,360

Cline 

Falls.

2,100

1.740 

I,/ 10 

1,310

1,090 

1,110 

1,050 

1,070 

1,350 

1,380

1,250 

1,220

1,200 

1,270 

1,430 

1,670 

1,220 

1,090 

1,200 

1,190

1,330 

1,430

Increase or decrease.

Bend to 

Laidlaw.

+50 

+70 

+10 

+40 

+50

+90 

+50 

+90 

+70 

+80 

+70 

+70 

+25 

+30 

+40 

+10 

+60

+50 

+20 

+40 

+70 

+30 

+10 

+60

-70

+43

Laidlaw 

to Cline

Falls.

-150 

-190 

-220 

-200 

-250

-250 -250

-270 

-250 

-260 

-200 

-19O 

-140 -160

-213

Bend to 

Cline

Falls.

-340 

-310 

-100 

- 80 

- 40 

-100 

-120 

-210 

-160 

-200

-160 

-200

-230 

-180 

-230 

-190 

-130 

-140 

-230 

-240 

-230 

-230

6-184

» Diversions in two small canals not included. See p. 29.

6 Later measurements indicate the probability of no loss between Bend and Cline Falls.

The results of the comparison are also indicated in the diagram 

forming Plate II.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE II

3,000 I I 

Deschutes River at Bend

 Deschutes River at Cline Falls

 Deschutes River near Laidlaw

 Deschutes River at Bend -f Tumalo Creek

o o o

g

___AA___

o

"o

10 20 

March

10 20 

April

10 20 

May

10 20 

June

10 20 0 10 20 0 10 20 0

July August September

HYDROGRAPH COMPARING FLOW AT STATIONS ON DESCHUTES RIVER.

10 20 

October

10 20 

November

10 20 

December

10 20 

January

10 20 

February
STREAM FLOW. 71

MECCA AND MOODY.

The inflow between Mecca and Moody comes from Warm Springs 

and White rivers from the west, Trout Creek from the east, and a 

number of small streams from both sides. I

Trout Creek and the small creeks are probably intermittent. 

Warm Springs and White rivers have a large perennial flow. Records of discharge are available on Warm Springs River below all 

tributaries and on White River and Tygh Creek just above their 

junction, thus accounting for practically all the inflow from tributaries except during the winter and spring, when there is run-off 

from rains and melting snow.

There remain^ an inflow of more than 400 second-feet at low water, 

which must enter from springs at various points, and of 1,000 to 

3,000 second-feet during the winter. There are springs at a number 

of points in this stretch of river and numerous tributaries, but as 

their contributions have never been measured or estimated, the distribution of the inflow can be made only approximately. (See 

p. 116.) As the total inflow at low water amounts to only about 10 

per cent of the flow at Mecca, no material error is introduced if it 

is assumed that the unmeasured inflow is equally distributed between 

the mouth of Warm Springs and White rivers.

Comparison of discharge, in second-feet, of Deschutes River at Mecca and Moody, and

inflow, 1911-1912.

Month.

1911. 

June 7-30............

July.................

1912. 

January

March

May.................

July.................

October..............

Deschutes 

Kiver 

at Mecca.

4,890

4,360

4,050

4,150

4,090

4,210

4,300

5,050

5,940

5,200

6,460

7,100

6,020

4,850

4,550

4,520

4,390

4,770

4,670

Warm 

River.

o656

1406

268

266

266

292 <ton

o748

0847

»922

0587

804

o870

345

289

302

295

342

323

White 

Eiver.

302

179

112

143

139

245

192

688

918

361

562

768

491

233

167

170

175

236

201

Tygh 

Creek.

92

30

15

31

26

90

300

121

179

216

155

48

28

29

30

670

660

Total discharge.

5,930

4,975

4,445

4,590

4,521

4,831

4,882

6,486

8,005

6,604

7,788

8,888

7,536

5,476

5,034

5,021

4,890

5,418

5,254

Deschutes 

at Moody.

6,340

5,260

4,850

4,930

4,990

5,440

5,340

7,940

9,720

6,920

9,550

9,770

7,980

5,910

5,390

5,520

5,480

6,030

6,000

Difference 

between 

total discharge 

and discharge 

at Moody.

410

285

405

340

469

603

458

1,454

1,715

316

1.762

882

444

434

356

499

590

612

746

Difference 

between discharge at 

Mecca 

and 

Moody.

1,460

900

CA|\

780

QIYl

1,230 i run

9 RQfl

3,780

1,720

3,090

2,670

1,960

1,060

840

1,000

1,090

1,260

1,330

Estimated from comparisons with Shittke Creek. 6 Estimated.

NOTE. Mean difference between total discharge and discharge at Moody for low-water months, August 

to October, 1911, and March, 1912, and June-October, 1912, 428 second-feet.
72 DESCHUTES BIVEE, OEEGON.

ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OP WATER OP DESCHTJTES

RIVER.

By JOHN H. LEWIS, State engineer of .Oregon. 

PRESENT AND PROSPECTIVE USE.

The waters of Deschutes River and its tributaries have three 

principal fields of utility for domestic supply, for irrigation, and for 

power development. It is important to the future prosperity of the 

State that these waters be put to the highest use. To accomplish 

this, and in order that the greatest good may come to the greatest 

number, it appears advisable that a comprehensive plan of development be presented and discussed.

Domestic use is the highest use to which water can -be put, as water 

is absolutely necessary for the maintenance of life. Irrigation comes 

next, as in the arid region the meager rainfall must be supplemented 

by water diverted from streams to produce ordinary agricultural 

crops. Under such conditions irrigation therefore affects the production of food supplies. The use of water for power development 

is less important than either of the other uses, as power can be 

obtained from many other sources than from falling water.

Development in the arid States depends largely on the diversion 

and use of water. To facilitate diversion many States have declared 

the beneficial use of water to be a public use and necessity, in order 

that the power of eminent domain may be extended to make easy the 

acquirement of necessary rights of way. Certain of these beneficial 

or public uses are of a higher order than others, and these States have 

later, by statutes, fixed the order of preference, so that water which 

has been applied to a lower use may be taken by process of law 

upon due compensation and may be applied to the higher use. 

Public necessity through increased population makes such transfers 

necessary.

As early as 1893 (session laws, p. 150) the State of Oregon provided 

that "When the waters of any natural stream are not sufficient for 

the service of all those desiring the use of the same, those using the 

water for domestic purposes shall, subject to such limitations as may 

be prescribed by law, have the preference over those claiming such 

water for any other purpose, and those using the water for agricultural purposes shall have the preference over those using the same 

for manufacturing purposes." Though this section has not yet been 

passed upon by the courts, it is believed that it authorizes the condemnation of the lower use only, in favor of application to a higher 

use.

It is believed to be poor public policy for a State to permit the construction of water-power plants on that portion of a stream where 

it is apparent that in a few years the water should and probably will
ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. 73

be diverted for irrigation. It is likewise poor policy to permit the 

diversion of water from one drainage basin where it can be used for 

both power and irrigation to another basin where it can be used for 

power only and where irrigation is not absolutely necessary. Especially is this true when it is known that on other streams in the 

vicinity of such proposed power projects there is far more undeveloped power than can be put to use in many years and where the 

cost of development will be little, if any, greater.

It is not deemed necessary, under present conditions, to enter into 

any great degree of refinement in justifying a State policy of withholding water from one use for application to another. It is estimated by the Oregon Conservation Commission that there is in 

Oregon more than 3,300,000 undeveloped horsepower which is running to waste. Not one-tenth of this amount is developed at the 

present time. The same authority, in its report for 1912, states 

that the mean yearly run-off from 36 streams, which have been 

measured for a number of years by the United States Geological 

Survey in cooperation with the State, amounts to 39,996,000 acrefeet, only one-fourth of which is capable of ever being utilized for 

irrigation. 1

It can be stated on fairly good authority that there are in Oregon at least 2,000,000 

acres which can be irrigated at a cost which is fully warranted under present-day 

conditions, say from $30 to $60 per acre. This land, now largely in private ownership, 

is worth perhaps $5 to $30 per acre; it supports at most one family for each 320 acres. 

Irrigated and improved the same lands would be worth from $100 to $200 per acre and 

would support six to t£n times the present population.2

With almost unlimited water-power resources and with limited 

possibilities for irrigation development, it appears to be a wise public 

policy to prevent water-right complications by restricting power 

development along streams where storage or diversion of water for 

irrigation is possible. Furthermore, with irrigation on the upper 

portion of a stream, the water powers on the lower portion may be 

improved rather than injured, as a result of uniformity of flow from 

return seepage.

If Deschutes River were an isolated stream (see comparative profiles, fig. 5, p. 74) with a prospective demand for full development of its 

possibilities for water power and irrigation, it would be necessary to 

balance the necessities and values of one use against those of the 

other, but electric power can now be transmitted from 200 to 300 

miles, if necessary, to replace any power destroyed by irrigation.

By thus analyzing present and prospective uses and following a 

preconceived plan for the highest development of the waters of each 

stream basin, the State can avoid future complications, encourage 

irrigation development, and prevent the destruction of property

i Oregon Conservation Commission Kept. 1912, p. 36. * Idem, p. 45.
DESCHUTES RIVER,, OREGON.

necessary in applying water to one use in order to put the water to^a 

higher use, a needless waste which is often found essential under the 

old method of proceeding without a comprehensive plan.

Owing to the peculiarities of climate, soil, topography, and geology, 

which prevail in different parts of the Deschutes basin, there can be 

but little difference in opinion as to what the ultimate distribution 

of the available water supply should be.

The drainage basin is 170 miles long and 125 miles wide at its 

widest point (see PL I, p. 20), and varies in elevation from about 130 

feet at the mouth of the river to over 11,000 feet above sea level at

4,000

4,200

4,000

3,000

2,000

1,000

760 700 650 600 550 500 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 

MILES FROM MOUTH OF COLUMBIA RIVER

FJGUBE 5. Profiles of Deschutes, Metolius, and Crooked rivers compared with profiles of Columbia and

other rivers.

the summit of Mount Hood. It is comparatively undeveloped but 

is rich in agricultural, timber, mineral, and water resources. Deschutes River flows northward through the center of this area, approximately parallel to and 90 miles east of Willamette River, which also 

flows northward and through one of the largest, most fertile, and 

prosperous valleys in the State. About 62 per cent of the total 

population of the State is located in the Willamette Valley. Both 

valleys are supplied with competing transcontinental railway lines, 

and the navigable Columbia River lies on the north. The high 

Cascade Range, averaging from 5,000 to 7,000 feet in elevation, 

broken by 10 towering snow-clad peaks, separates these two valleys.
ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OF WATEB. 75

This range is covered with a dense forest growth and serves to cool 

to the precipitation point the moisture-laden winds that blow in 

from the Pacific. The combination of heavy precipitation with the 

rapid descent of the mountains to sea level gives to Oregon her 

enormous water-power resources. The surface formation of pumiceous sand underlain with lava, and the numerous lakes in the upper 

part of the Deschutes basin serve to equalize the flow throughout the 

year, thus producing one of the most remarkable power streams in 

the world.

This power is within easy transmission distance from tidewater, is 

adjacent to the most populous district hi the State, is surrounded 

by innumerable raw resources, and needs only the magic touch of 

capital intelligently applied to produce enormous wealth for shipment 

over existing rail and water lines to the markets of the world.

The distribution of water in the Deschutes basin can best be discussed under three heads power, irrigation, and storage.

Power development should be restricted to the lower Deschutes, 

irrigation to the central stretch between the towns of Bend, Prineville, Madras, and Sisters, and storage to that part of the basin to the 

south, east, and west of the irrigation district.

POWER.

Power should be developed only on lower Deschutes and Metolius 

rivers or on those tributaries of the Deschutes on which the water can 

be used for power above the points of possible diversion for irrigation, 

such as Tumalo Creek.

Though it is impossible to predict with certainty the time or 

amount of return seepage from an extensive irrigation project such 

as is possible in the central part of the Deschutes basin, it is believed 

that the fullest use of the upper Deschutes River for irrigation will 

not seriously impair possibilities for power development on the lower 

river, and in fact may even be a benefit, as a part of the return water 

will doubtless reach the river during the winter months, which 

usually constitute the low-water season.

Practically all seepage water will probably return above the mouth 

of Metolius River, which is 111 miles from and 1,400 feet above the 

mouth of the Deschutes. Though the average fall in this lower section of Deschutes River is only about 13 feet to the mile (see PL III, at 

end of volume), good dam sites are numerous and almost every foot of 

available fall can be utilized, as shown elsewhere in this report. 

With 50,000 acre-feet of storage on the headwaters of Crooked River 

to supplement the low-water flow for power development, 4,500 cubic 

feet a second can probably be depended on for power at the mouth of 

the Deschutes, with all waters of Deschutes River at Bend, of Tumalo 

and Squaw creeks, and 150,000 acre-feet of the flow of Crooked
76 DESCHUTES BIVEK, OEEGON.

River fully utilized for irrigation. At the 14 dam sites selected over 

504,000 brake horsepower can be developed.

Metolius River has an average fall of 39.5 feet to the mile in the 48 

miles from Blue Lake to its mouth (PL IV, at end of volume). Within a 

few miles from its source this stream is augmented by short creeks 

that carry large quantities of water from the high snow-clad mountains 

to the west, so that in volume the lower half of Metolius River compares favorably with Deschutes River at Bend. At the four power 

sites selected on this stream approximately 100,000 brake horsepower can be developed, as shown elsewhere.

Crooked River from about 7 miles below Prineville to its mouth, 

a distance of about 30 miles, has a fall approximating that of lower 

Metolius River but only a small water supply. During the irrigation 

season no water passes Prineville, and only a small amount of seepage 

water enters the canyon below. About 7 miles above its mouth this 

flow is materially increased by the flow of Opal Springs, in sec. 33, 

T. 12 S., R. 12 E. Much of the fall in lower Crooked River will, however, be destroyed by the suggested dam in the Deschutes just below 

the junction of the two streams. From Prineville to Paulina, a distance of 78 miles measured along the stream, Crooked River has an 

average fall of approximately 10.5 feet to the mile.

From Cline Falls (PI. V, A) to Columbia River, a distance of 144 

miles, Deschutes River flows through a deep rock-walled canyon 

(PI. V, B), which has been gradually cut by the action of water 

through layer after layer of basaltic rock to a depth of 500 to 2,000 

feet or more. This canyon winds through a broad, rolling plateau 

covered with a scattering growth of sagebrush and juniper which 

gradually changes to a straggly pine and later to a dense pine timber 

as the mountains are approached on either side. The soil is a fine 

volcanic ash, light in color when dry and rich brown when wet, and 

under irrigation would doubtless be found very fertile. The precipitation on this plateau in Sherman County and the north half of 

Wasco County ranges from 12 to 15 inches a year. This, with the 

favorable moisture-retaining character of the soil, makes an ideal dryfarm wheat-producing district. The Deschutes Canyon is not discernible to one looking across this plateau when standing in these wheat 

fields a mile or so from its edge.

A very small amount of water can be diverted on this plateau from 

the tributaries of the lower river, and the valleys along such streams 

as White, Warm Springs, and other rivers and creeks on the Warm 

Springs Indian reservation, and along Trout and Willow creeks on 

the opposite side of the Deschutes, are so small or the water supply 

is so meager as to make extensive irrigation impracticable. These 

creeks in general flow in canyons from 100 to 1,000 feet deep. The 

annual rainfall seems to diminish as one goes south, thus making dry 

farming more hazardous.
U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE V

A. CLINE FALLS, DESCHUTES RIVER.

B. CANYON OF DESCHUTES RIVER IN SEC. 16, T. 5 S., R. 11 E.
ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OF WATEE. 77

The east half of the Indian reservation is a gently rolling prairie 

about 300,000 acres in extent, averaging 2,600 feet in elevation, with 

a gradual slope east to the Deschutes Canyon. A layer of soil 6 

inches to 2 feet thick rests on lava rock, which in many places protrudes above the surface, and much of the apparently good soil is 

covered with, lava bowlders, thus making the whole area appear very 

unattractive for agriculture.

IRRIGATION.

Across the river from the Indian reservation a plateau known as 

Agency Plain and the Haystack country extends from Crooked River 

nearly to Trout Creek in a broad, rolling prairie about 150,000 acres 

in extent. This land is almost exclusively in private ownership, 

having been entered in 1903 and 1904, when it was discovered that 

grain crops could be grown with some success. The district is free 

from surface rock and is largely in cultivation. As in most of the 

plateau wheat districts of Oregon, domestic and stock water must be 

hauled many miles. This discourages intensive agriculture and 

favors the growth of large individual or company holdings. A preliminary examination of this tract indicates that about 100,000 acres 

may be irrigated from Deschutes River.

Metolius River breaks forth suddenly as a large spring at the base 

of Black Butte, an extinct volcano, which rises several thousand feet 

above the surrounding plateau. It flows northward to the Indian reservation, where it has cut a deep canyon through the narrow precipitous ridge which extends northward from the base of Black Butte. 

By constructing an expensive dam and a long canal leading from the 

big bend in this stream where it breaks through this ridge, it may be 

possible to divert water upon 30,000 to 50,000 acres of land lying east 

of the ridge and south of Metolius River. It is believed, however, 

that present conditions will not justify the cost of construction of such 

a gravity project.

It is doubtful if water can be pumped to any great extent from 

Metolius River or if it can be carried through an inverted rock tunnel 

siphon for irrigation on the opposite side of Deschutes River.

A good dam site apparently exists at the outlet of Suttle Lake. A 

dam at this point more than 18 feet high will back water up over Blue 

Lake, thus giving sufficient storage to control the drainage into both 

these lakes. This drainage may possibly be augmented by canals 

crossing through a saddle from the west side of the Cascade Range, 

thus collecting the drainage from both sides of Mount Washington 

and Three Fingered Jack, according to the topographic maps accompanying Professional Paper 9 of the United States Geological Survey. 

It is believed that water stored in these lakes can at moderate expense 

be diverted around the south side of Black Butte for the irrigation
78 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

of lands in the vicinity of the town of Sisters. Sufficient data as to 

water supply are not available to determine definitely what area can 

ultimately be irrigated from this source, but it will probably be in the 

neighborhood of 10,000 acres. The diversion of the summer flow and 

storage at the outlet of Suttle Lake for irrigation can not materially 

affect the flow of the Metolius available for power development.

Squaw Creek is entirely diverted during the summer for the irrigation of 16,480 acres in the vicinity of Sisters. No satisfactory sites 

have been located on this stream for winter storage.

Tumalo Creek has a fall of 1,500 feet in approximately 12 miles of 

its course above the intake of the proposed low-line diversion canal 

leading to the Wimer reservoir site in sees. 29, 30, 31, and 32, T. 16 S., 

R. 11 E. Willamette meridian. This basin will have a capacity of 

36,000 acre-feet with water 73 feet deep at the proposed dam site. 

This capacity is sufficient to regulate the flow of Tumalo Creek and 

also of Crater Creek, which can be turned over the divide by the construction of a short diversion canal. The combined flow of these 

streams may be sufficient for the reclamation of 30,000 acres of irrigable land if seepage losses are not excessive. Approximately 10,000 

horsepower can be developed in this stream without in any way conflicting with irrigation, an amount which would be sufficient to supply 

commercial power for this district for many years to come. Ice may, 

however, prevent the development of power near the head of this 

stream during the winter months.

An appropriation of $450,000 was made by the State legislature in 

February, 1913, for the completion of that part of this project which 

was originally segregated under the Carey Act and known as the 

Columbia Southern project. The promoters, under a defective contract, were permitted by the State to sell water rights to approximately 18,000 acres of land where the regular flow of the stream would 

not thoroughly irrigate one-fifth such amount. After failure of the 

original company and after repeated efforts on the part of the Desert 

Land Board to enlist private capital for the completion of the project, 

including the necessary storage, the legislature made an appropriation 

which is to be returned within 10 years, with interest at the rate of 6 

per cent, including $5 per acre in addition thereto for the State's reclamation fund. It is estimated that 23,500 acres will thus be reclaimed. 

The price to settlers will be based on actual cost and will not be known 

definitely until construction work is well advanced.

The Crooked River drainage basin is more barren and desert-like 

than that of any of the other important tributaries of Deschutes River. 

Its discharge fluctuates, for different seasons at Prineville, from about 

5 second-feet to 5,000 second-feet, the floods occurring during the 

spring break-up. Its low-water flow is fully appropriated at or above 

Prineville, and a considerable area is dependent on early spring irriga-
ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. 79

tion to mature at least one crop. The total area irrigated during the 

spring months by Crooked River and its tributaries in 1910 amounted 

to 27,960 acres, which is more than is now irrigated by Deschutes 

River itself and its tributaries. Of this area 3,209 acres is located 

below Prineville and irrigated from Crooked River and McKay Creek, 

and 3,783 acres are irrigated from Ochoco Creek and its tributaries. In T. 14 S., R. 21 E., 3,537 acres are irrigated, and in 

Tps. 19 and 20 S., R. 22 E., 2,058 acres, mostly wild-grass meadow, 

are irrigated. The largest body of irrigated land is located just above 

Paulina, at the junction of the numerous tributaries which meet in 

that vicinity.

A suggested dam about 1 mile below the junction of the Forth and 

South forks of Crooked River in sec. 6, T. 17 S., R. 21 E., to hold 170 

feet depth of water, will create a lake of 6,250 acres and store 360,000 

acre-feet, according to preliminary investigations by the United 

States Reclamation Service. If these figures are confirmed by careful surveys, this reservoir will hold more water than is necessary to 

supply the irrigable land along the stream. However, water can be 

diverted from Crooked River a short distance above Prineville and 

conducted through a canal approximately 50 miles long and cover 

the 100,000 acres of irrigable land on Agency Plain. A hasty examination of this latter project indicates that it will cost more to irrigate 

such lands from Crooked River than from the Deschutes. It is 

believed that the value of these lands when irrigated will justify the 

construction of even the Crooked River project.

Various authorities claim that 10,000 to 43,000 acres additional 

can be irrigated from Crooked River in the vicinity of Prineville, and 

about 7,000 acres in the various pockets along the stream above 

Prineville and below the reservoir site. This irrigation will require 

about 150,000 acre-feet of water, leaving about 80,000 acre-feet to 

supplement the flow in the lower Deschutes River for power development, the rest of the reservoir capacity being used to equalize the 

flow between wet and dry years. Some additional storage for irrigation or power can be had along Ochoco Creek, but it is believed to 

be quite expensive.

Below Cline Falls on Deschutes River it is practically impossible 

to divert water by gravity from the main stream for irrigation. 

Between Cline Falls and Benham Falls the canyon is 100 feet or more 

deep in places, but at other points the stream comes near enough to 

the surface of the plateau so that, it appears, water can be diverted 

without excessive cost. The extent of present diversions and vested 

rights to water in the vicinity of Bend has been described elsewhere 

in this report.

With the fullest development of the Deschutes through storage 

thousands of acres of arid land in addition to that now in process of
80 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON,

reclamation from the ordinary summer flow of the stream can ultimately be brought under cultivation in Crook County.

The entire flow of Deschutes River in the vicinity of Bend, amounting to 1,220,000 acre-feet per annum, can be regulated by constructing a dam just above Benham Falls (PI. VI, A), if foundations and 

other conditions prove feasible and if no better site can be found. 

To store the surplus winter flow this reservoir should have a capacity 

of at least 700,000 acre-feet, to insure which the water surface at the 

dam site should be raised 65.3 feet, flooding 25,630 acres. This dam 

site is 14 miles south of Bend and 181 miles from and 4,014 feet above 

the mouth of Deschutes River. In a straight line it is only about 

115 miles to the Columbia. Throughout the summer season, as water 

is released for irrigation, there will be, at a point just below Benham 

Falls, a flow which will compare favorably with that of the lower 

Deschutes and which can be used for power development in diminishing quantities as it passes the various diversion dams to the last 

diversion below Laidlaw. This power can be developed at small 

cost, incidental to irrigation development, and can be used for pumping water to other lands or transmitted to the Willamette Valley for 

use during the low-water period to supplement power development. 

More detailed studies should be made in order to estimate even 

approximately the value of this summer power.

It can be safely stated that more land can be found available for 

irrigation below the proposed Benham Falls reservoir site than there 

is water to supply. There is 60,000 acres in what is known as the 

Benham Falls Carey Act segregation, which lies east of the town of 

Bend and which can be reached by a gravity canal with its intake 

immediately below the proposed dam. In the vicinity of Bend there 

is about 20,000 acres of timber land, which will be cut over within 

a few years and may eventually require water for irrigation. Approximately 100,000 acres northeast of Bend are to be irrigated from the 

regular flow of the stream under existing projects. The people on 

Agency Plain must have domestic water supply in the near future, 

and it is believed that they will be eager to sign up their lauds to 

insure both irrigation and domestic supply from the suggested Benham 

Falls reservoir. From this source possibly 100,000 acres can be 

irrigated. The aggregate area of these tracts is 286,000 acres. There 

is about 6,000 acres of land on the narrow peninsula between the 

Deschutes and Crooked River canyons. The total area below 

Benham Falls which can ultimately be irrigated through the complete regulation of Deschutes River is only about 280,000 acres.

Any one of these districts could be omitted from a general scheme 

of construction, leaving the water to be applied to other tracts whose 

owners are more eager to obtain the benefits of irrigation. Because 

of the shortage in water supply for feasible gravity projects it is
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 34* PLATE VI

A. BENHAM FALLS, ON DESCHUTES RIVER IN SEC. 9, T. 19 S., R. 11 E.

B. FALLS ON DESCHUTES RIVER IN SEC. 27, T. 18 S., R. 11 E., NEAR BEND.
ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OF WATEE.

doubtful if any extensive pumping projects will ever be

in the upper Deschutes basin, where surplus summer power

developed incidental to gravity diversions.

81

i indertaken 

can be

STORAGE.

The entire drainage area above Benham Falls can be considered a 

natural reservoir site. Underground water can be founc at many 

places by digging from 4 to 8 feet through the loose pumiceous sand. 

An underground river miming northward through Tps. 22 and 23 S., R. 

10 E., can be traced for 10 or 12 miles by a narrow natural meadow terminating in the East Fork of the Deschutes, where numerous springs 

appear. The streams in this section are entirely different ii i character 

from those in all other sections of the basin. The water flews quietly 

and with scarcely a ripple through natural grass meadows, which 

are but a few feet above the water surface. At the edge of such a 

meadow a low bench appears, from the top of which the ground slopes 

very gradually to the crest of the divide. It is believed tha t all water 

originating in this upper basin comes to the surface at Ben ham Falls.

Natural reservoir sites exist at Crane Prairie, Odell Lake, Crescent 

Lake, Big Marsh (which is about 5 miles southeast of Crescent Lake), 

Paulina Lakes, and Benham Falls. Davis Lake has an underground 

outlet which will doubless prevent its use as a reservoir site.

Almost the entire drainage basin above Benham Falls, 48 miles in 

maximum length by about 42 miles in width, could be irrigated if 

there were no better use to which the water could be applied. This 

land is largely included in national forests and much of it is covered by jack pine poor in quality and of little commercial value at 

the present time. For the purposes of this report it has been assumed 

that water is to be allotted for only 80,000 acres in this upper basin. 

This, with a duty of 3 acre-feet at the intake will require annually 

240,000 acre-feet of water. It is estimated that 50 per cent of this 

amount will reappear as seepage for storage in the proposed Benham 

Falls reservoir.

It is believed that 180,000 acre-feet of the total water reserved for 

the upper basin can be obtained from the regular flow of Little River 

(a name by which the Middle Fork, here considered the main stream, is 

locally known), supplemented by storage in Crescent and Odell lakes, 

the balance of 60,000 acre-feet to be diverted from West Fork, which 

is locally known as Big River.

The State, operating under the Carey Act, is now engaged in tile 

reclamation of 30,000 acres in Tps. 21, 22, and 23 S., R. 10 E. This 

leaves only 50,000 acres of new land to be supplied with water. As a 

canal from Odell Lake will pass below the outlet of Crescent Lake and 

Big Marsh, and follow close to the summit of the Walker Range to a 

divide near the northeast corner of T. 25 S., R. 11 E., from which

48348° WSP 344 14 6
82 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

point water will flow by natural channel to the Fort Rock desert, 

comprising about 300,000 acres near Silver Lake, it is apparent that 

there will be no difficulty in finding 50,000 acres of additional land 

upon which to apply such water.

A canal diverting water from the West Fork, in sec. 17, T. 21 S., 

R. 8 E., just below the outlet of the proposed Crane Prairie reservoir 

site, may be possible of construction southward, to the west of Davis 

Lake, to supply the greater part of the best lands in the Walker basin.

Paulina Lakes are said to be craters of an extinct volcano. Being 

near the summit of the range their drainage area is small and the 

outflowing stream is now fully utilized.

DOMESTIC SUPPLY.

Domestic use is the highest use to which water can be put. However, the prospective use for such purpose will be so small in comparison with the total used for irrigation and power that it can be secured, 

if necessary, by condemnation, without much financial loss due to 

failure of the general plans to comprehend such use.

The quality of the water available for domestic supplies in the 

Deschutes Valley, however, will have an important bearing on the 

future settlement of this district, and the preservation of its natural 

purity is an important duty that the State owes not only to the 

present but also to the future residents of this district. (See pp. 

85-86.)

Anticipating a rapid development and settlement of the Deschutes 

River basin and recognizing the difficulty in enforcing proper sanitary regulations within the valley after it will have become densely 

populated, the legislature enacted a law making itunlawful for any person or persons, company, association, or corporation, to put or 

deposit in Deschutes River, or any tributary thereof, or artificial canal or ditch, in 

which the waters of said Deschutes River run, any sewage, refuse, waste, or polluting 

matter, or any dead animal carcass or part thereof, or any matter which either by itself, 

or in connection with any other substance, will corrupt or impair the quality of the 

water of said river for domestic or municipal purposes. The penalty for violation of 

this statute is a fine of $25 to $500 and imprisonment in the county jail from ten days 

to three months, or both such fine and imprisonment. (Chapter 45, Laws of Oregon, 

1911, p. 66.)

This statute will compel all towns and cities to make definite plans 

at the outset for the disposal of sewage in some other way than by the 

usual method of discharging into surface streams. It is comparatively easy at the outset to compel development along right lines, but 

once sewers are constructed discharging into public streams, it will 

take the sacrifice of many lives through water-borne diseases and the 

useless waste of much money to remedy such conditions. Already 

the town of Bend has shown a disposition to conform with this law 

by preparing plans for the discharge of its sewage out on the desert at 

a point below the bed of the stream.
ECONOMIC DISTRIBUTION OF WATER. 83 

STTMMA.BY.

From information now in hand it appears that more than 600,000 

horsepower can be developed and that approximately 500,000 acres 

of arid land can ultimately be irrigated from Deschutes River and its 

tributaries. These figures are itemized as follows:

Utilization of water of Deschutes River basin.

Power: Brake horsepower. 

Lower Deschutes River (14 sites).......................... 504,070

Metolius River (4sites)................................... 98,289

602,359 

Power possibilities on other tributaries have not been investigated.

Irrigation: Acres. 

Metolius River, by canal from Suttle Lake................. 10,000

Squaw Creek, irrigated or claimed........................ 16,480

Tumalo Creek, water available for......................... 30,000

Crooked River, irrigated................................ 27,960

Crooked River, additional irrigable, estimated............ 25,000

Paulina Creek, irrigated................................. 700

Deschutes River at Bend, projects under way............. 100,000

Deschutes River, by storage in suggested Benham Falls

reservoir............................................. 180,000

Deschutes River, by storage and regular flow south of

suggested Benham Falls reservoir ...................... 80,000

Total, omitting many small tributaries of the lower 

Deschutes............................................ 470,140

Every drop of water in the Deschutes River basin, comprising 

9,180 square miles, can and eventually will be put to beneficial use. 

Jf the development of this stream is left to private capital without 

public consideration of the effect of each new project on the comprehensive plan for the development of the valley as a whole enormous 

waste may take place before the highest use of these waters is attained. 

For immediate gain small and relatively expensive reservoirs might be 

built where a few large reservoirs could be made to serve all purposes. 

Power plants might be built at points where all the water should eventually be diverted or stored for irrigation. Power companies using 

plants on the lower river might attempt to secure such vested rights as 

would not permit the subsequent storage or diversion of water at 

points above for irrigation, when in fact the return seepage from such 

diversions, if permitted, would probably benefit rather than injure 

such power development. Extensive storage to supplement the flow 

of water in the lower river for power should not be permitted on 

Deschutes River above Bend but should be confined to Crooked River, 

from which stream the diversion of water for irrigation is more difficult. With this exception, all the water in the upper two-thirds of 

Deschutes River basin should be reserved for irrigation, as our supply 

of undeveloped water power is probably far beyond the needs of the
84 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

present generation, and further the area of semiarid land between the 

towns of Bend, Prineville, Sisters, and Madras, susceptible of irrigation 

from Deschutes River, is considerably in excess of the available water 

supply. To make possible the highest use of Deschutes River we 

must persuade the railroad company for its own interest to relocate 

its line south of Bend prior to construction, as for 15 miles it passes 

through the Benham Falls reservoir site, whereas at but little if any 

greater expense it could be located a little farther to the east arid 

above the proposed water level. All these matters are believed to 

be within the control of the public if a comprehensive plan of development is adopted and subsequently adhered to and enforced. The 

preservation of the natural purity of these waters for domestic supplies is already protected by State law.

Neither the State nor the Nation can long afford to pursue a policy 

of preventing power development in a particular district in aid of 

irrigation without extending every aid and encouragement to secure 

the diversion and use of this reserved water for the higher use of 

irrigation. When there is any question as to the proper policy to 

adopt, the benefit of the doubt should be resolved in favor of present 

use.

The foregoing plan for the highest development of the waters of the 

Deschutes River basin, though based only on incomplete and to some 

extent very meager information, is believed to be sufficiently accurate 

to suggest to the administrative authorities both State and national the line of action that will be for the greatest good to the 

greatest number. The State water laws make it the duty of the 

State engineer to refer all applications for water privileges which 

menace either the safety or the welfare of the public to the State 

water board, and this board has full power to direct their refusal, if 

after full hearing public interest demands.

With such a plan approved by the Interior Department of the 

United States, which has broad powers relating to extensive public 

lands in this district, the public interest should be more clearly defined and more easily protected.

ACCURACY OF IRRIGATION DATA.

This report deals primarily with the quantity of water available 

for use in the Deschutes basin and with the water-power possibilities. 

The discussion relative to possibilities of irrigation is, however, incidental to the report, for it is necessary to know the amount of water 

to be reserved for irrigation in order to estimate the residue available 

for power development. The information with respect to areas irrigated or susceptible of irrigation has been compiled from various 

sources and supplemented by observations of the writer when in the 

field on other work. It is believed to be sufficiently accurate for the 

purpose intended.
QUALITY OF WATEE. 85

The great possibilities for irrigation development as disclosed by 

this compilation were presented in the Fourth Biennial Report of the 

State Engineer to the Oregon Legislature, with the result that $50,000 

was appropriated for the investigation of the Deschutes project along 

with others, the sum not to become available except for work carried 

on in cooperation with the United States. Within a few days after 

the passage of this act, in February, 1913, an equal amount of money 

was allotted from the United States reclamation fund, and cooperation 

in these investigations was authorized. Borings are now being made 

to ascertain the character of the formations at the proposed dam 

sites and the various canal lines are being located with sufficient 

accuracy to give a reliable estimate as to the cost of construction. 

A detailed report dealing with the possibilities of irrigation on 

Deschutes River basin will be issued on the completion of these

investigations.

QUALITY OF WATER.

By WALTON VAN WINKLE.*

Deschutes River proper drains a region in which the exposed rocks 

are Tertiary lavas, tuffs, and basalts, and the mineral matter carried 

in solution is made up largely of salts of sodium, chiefly bicarbonate, 

leached directly from the disintegrating rock material. The total 

amount of dissolved matter carried is small, averaging at Bend 

between 65 and 75 parts per million, and at the mouth about 25 parts 

per million more. Seasonal variations in mineral content, at least 

above the confluence of Crooked River, are very small, owing to the 

remarkable constancy of volume of the run-off. The water of the 

upper Deschutes is excellent for irrigation, industrial, or domestic use. 

The amount of soap consumed by the hardening constituents in it is 

trifling, no treatment is in general required to prevent formation of 

scale in boilers, a quarter of a pound of lime to a thousand gallons of 

water at most being an ample corrective, and the water will not foam 

orcause corrosion in boilers. Though the water is soft it contains sufficient gas and dissolved mineral matter to render it palatable and 

wholesome. With proper precautions against contamination by 

human agencies the water is almost ideal for domestic use. As almost 

no suspended matter is carried by it, no trouble from silting up of 

reservoirs or sedimentation basins need be feared. In short, the 

water compares favorably with the better waters used for municipal 

supply in this country or in Europe. Though not so low in mineral 

content as Portland's supply from Bull Run, it is superior in this 

respect to the new supply of Los Angeles from Owens River, to 

the present supply of San Francisco, to supplies of any of the Middle Western cities, and to many of those on the Atlantic seaboard.

Crooked River furnishes only a small quantity of water to the 

Deschutes but is its chief tributary in point of size of drainage area.

i From U. S. Geol. Survey Water-Supply Paper 363.
86 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

It flows from the highlands in the southeastern corner of Crook County 

westward to the Deschutes, which it enters below the mouth of Opal 

Canyon. The drainage basin is almost completely covered with tuffs 

and lavas and contains only a few exposures of Tertiary lake sediments. Though the water is of the same general type as that of 

Deschutes River it is less uniform in quality, much harder, and less 

free from suspended matter, owing to the much greater fluctuations 

in discharge to which it is subject. The marked seasonal variations 

in quality influence the water of the Deschutes very little because of 

the relatively small run-off of Crooked River, and the water below the 

confluence of the two streams is still of good quality and only slightly 

harder than the water at Bend. During high water the mineral 

content of Crooked River water is nearly the same as that of Deschutes 

River, and it is only at low water that high mineralization and consequent poorer quality are apparent. The chief effect of Crooked River 

on Deschutes River is the increased charge of suspended matter 

imported by it, but even this is not enough to increase the turbidity 

of Deschutes River to a very great amount.

White River, which originates in glaciers on Mount Hood, adds 

much suspended matter to the lower Deschutes in summer, but its 

effects are not of great significance. The combined effects of the 

tributary streams on Deschutes River water increase the suspended 

solids to not more than 150 parts per million at times of greatest 

turbidity and to an unnoticeable extent during winter and spring.

AVAILABILITY OF THE WATER SUPPLY.

By P. P. HENSHAW. 

EVAPORATION.

When water must be stored in a large but relatively shallow reservoir loss by evaporation becomes a serious consideration. As no 

records of evaporation have been kept in the immediate vicinity of 

Deschutes River, records that have been obtained in other mountain 

and plateau areas of the West and that are thought to be valuable 

for comparative studies are presented in the following tables:

Evaporation at stations in areas comparable with drainage basin of Deschutes River.

Elamatb River near Keno, Oreg. 

[120 miles south-southwest of Bend; altitude, 4,080 feet.]

Month.

March. ...........................

April............................

May........... .. . . ....

July.............................

1904

Indies.

6.66

5.12

2.01

1905

Indies. 

1.19

.78

.78

2.69

4.12

6.20

7.57

7.03

6.15

1.98

.46

1906

Inches.

3.03

4.58

4.04

5.87

4.69

3.76

2.22

1907

Inches.

3.29

4.70

6.30

4.05

2.42

1.17

1908

Inches.

0.83

1.20

2.81

3.38

5.60

8.01

7.40

4.62

2.17

.89

1909

Inches. 

0.02

.18

.29

3.87

4.47

6.65

6.06

6.65

4,68

2.76

.83

Mean.

Inches.

0.76

3.10

4.14

5.16

6.44

6.46

4.73

2.26

.84

Mean.

Feet.

0.06

.26

.34

.43

.54

.54

.39

.19

.07
AVAILABILITY OF WATEE SUPPLY. 87

Evaporation at stations in areas comparable with drainage basin of Deschutes RiverContinued.

Tule Lake at Merrill, Oreg. 

[140 miles south-southeast of Bend; altitude, 4,060 feet.]

Month.

March. . ........................

April...................... ....

June. . .........................

July............................

October. .......................

November. .....................

December. .....................

1904

Feet.

0.92

.43

.28

.33

.35

2.31

1905

Feet. 

0.11

.04

.28

.36

.37

.46

.77

.61

.50

.31

.31

.40

4.52

1906

Feet. 

0.24

.18

.22

.18

.57

.44

.49

.65

.50

.28

.17

.15

4.07

1907

Feet. 

0.07

.17

.32

.41

.82

.48

.64

.61

.45

.20

.26

.24

4.67

1908

Feet. 

0.17

.15

.25

.31

.41

.54

.69

.51

.52

.27

.35

.30

4.47

1909

Feet. 

0.50

.05

.45

.36

.45

.51

.69

.62

.38

.31

.27

4.59

Mean.

Feet. 

0.22

.23

.30

.32

.52

.49

.66

.65

.46

.28

.28

.24

4.65

Moses Lake at Neppel, Wash. 

[270 miles north-northeast of Bend; altitude, 1,040 feet.]

Month.

May.................................................

July.................................................

1909

Inches.

7.20

6.63

4.14

.76

1911

Inches.

5.08

6.01

6.85

6.53

4.07

2.47

1912

Inches. 

0.06

.76

3.43

5.08

7.21

8.01

8.05

5.65

3.36

2.27

.23

Mean.

Inches. 

0.06

.76

3.43

5.08

6.61

7.35

7.07

4.62

2.92

2.27

.23

40.40

Mean.

Feet. 

0.01

.06

.29

.42

.55

.61

.59

.38

.24

.19

.02

3.36

Lake Tahoe at Tahoe, Cal.

[350 miles south-southeast of Bend; altitude, 6,225 feet.]

Month.

April...........................

May............................

July............................

1900

Inches.

2.44

3.89

4.00

5.15

3.10

2.15

1.38

1.33

1901

Inches. 

0.84

.70

.77

1.25

2.42

3.35

4.42

6.50

4.12

2.65

2.09

1.44

1902

Inches. 

1.02

.87

1.24

1.85

1.08

2.45

3.40

3.45

3.40

3.09

2.15

.85

1903

Inches. 

0.70

.84

1.88

2.75

3.20

3.90

5.62

4.66

4.27

3.33

2.53

1.44

1904

Inches. 

1.17

.47

.56

1.38

3.19

3.80

4.42

4.73

3.27

2.86

2.77

1.59

1905

Inches. 

1.81

1.30

1.78

2.46

2.50

3.57

4.76

5.27

4.74

3.82

2.78

1.85

1906

Inches. 

1.12

.98

1.20

1.42

2.26

2.39

4.30

4.55

3.94

3.70

1.35

.62

The records for all these stations, except for Tule Lake, represent 

observations with standard evaporation paiis. The recorded values 

for Tule Lake were derived by the United States Reclamation Service 

from, studies of inflow in Lost River, the Source of Tule Lake, and 

the fluctuation of level of the lake itself. It is reasonably certain 

that some wat^r flows from the lake through the porous lava beds
88 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

which form its southern margin, and the estimated losses by evaporation are therefore probably too large, but as the error must be nearly 

constant month by month the records serve as a valuable aid in 

estimating losses in winter when the evaporation pans are unreliable. 

The amount of evaporation assumed for Benham Falls, based on a 

study of these records and shown in the following table, is probably 

conservatively large. The estimate of precipitation on the Benham 

Falls reservoir site is the average of the means of precipitation at 

Bend and Crescent, as given by the Weather Bureau in Summary 

of climatologic data of United States, as the site is almost halfway 

in a straight line between these two points.

Estimated precipitation and evaporation from water surface (in feet) at Benham Falls,

Oreg.

Month.

January _____________ . . . . . . . . . ..........

March. ...................................................................

April.....................................................................

May......................................................................

July......................................................................

Evaporation.

0.10

.10

.15

.30

.50

. .50

.60

.60

.50

.30

.15

.10

3.90

Precipitation.

0.22

.19

.18

.08

.12

.08

.06

.03

.04

.07

.15

.20

1.42

Assumed 

net loss.

o.eo

.00

.10

.20

.40

.40

.50

.60

.50

.20

.10

.00

3.00

In order to determine the net quantity of water to be made available by any reservoir the estimated gross storage must be reduced by 

the estimated evaporation from the mean water surface.

The effect of evaporation on run-off is measured not by the actual 

evaporation from water surface but by the difference between the 

losses from water surface and from the land surface in its original 

condition. The transpiration of moisture from the rank growth of 

grass and tules in a marsh may be greater than from open water. 

For example, loss by evaporation from water surface caused by the 

flooding of an area like Big Marsh on upper Deschutes River would 

probably be no greater, and might be less, than the present loss due 

to plant growth. In the winter, when the surface is frozen and snow 

covered for two or three months, evaporation must be practically 

identical from ground and water surfaces and must be almost negligible in plans for storage. On a relatively flat area, such as the site of 

the suggested reservoir above Benham Falls, the rainfall during the 

growing season is probably all transpired by vegetation. During such 

periods the net loss in run-off caused by flooding would therefore be 

the difference between evaporation from water surface and rainfall. 

(See table.)
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 89

DUTY OF WATER.

The irrigating season in the Deschutes River basin lasts as a rule 

from 100 to 120 days, although some water is used outside of what is 

considered the season proper.

In contracts with some of the companies operating under the Carey 

Act it is stipulated that there shall be delivered on the land 1.8 feet of 

water in 90 days, May 23 to August 20. Allowing about 30 per 

cent loss in canals, this amount will equal 2.6 acre-feet per acre at the 

point of diversion for the 90 days. Enough water is required at 

either end of the season to bring the total diversion to at least 3.3 acrefeet per acre. For all tracts on the east side of the river below Benham 

Falls and for some on the west it is necessary to supply water for 

domestic use during the entire year. The amount diverted from 

October to April is in general about 10 per cent of the total. The 

monthly duty assumed for the several tracts and the total diversion 

is indicated in the following tables:

Monthly use of water in acre-feet and per cent of total on Deschutes projects (measured at

point of diversion).

Month.

April......................................

May ..

July.......................................

Total...............................

Above Benham 

Falls.

Acre-feet.

0.24 

.45 

1.05 

.96 

.30

3.00

Per cent 

of total.

8 

15 

35 

32 

10

100

Benham Falls, to 

Bend.

Acre-feet.

0.33 

.66 

.82 

.83 

.33 

.33

3.30

Per cent 

of total.

10 

20 

25 

25 

10 

10

100

Below Laidlaw.

Acre-feet.

0.16 

.33 

.56 

.83 

.82 

.30 

o.30

3.30

Per cent 

of total.

5 

10 

17 

25 

25 

9 

<z9

100

o October to March. 

RETURN WATERS.

A part of the water applied to the land will reenter the stream at 

points lower down, the proportionate amount depending on the 

character of construction on canals and laterals, soils, method of 

application, and other factors. Little definite information is available as to seepage losses and return waters on Deschutes River 

projects, and any values that might be determined for present conditions would probably not be applicable in the future, when all the 

water would be used and seepage losses minimized. It is therefore 

necessary to make arbitrary assumptions as to the probable amount 

of water returned and also as to the place at which the water will 

reach the river.
90 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

There are two points at which the Deschutes receives large contributions from springs, one in the Benham Falls reservoir site and the 

other near the mouth of Crooked River. At the first, Spring River, a 

stream less than a mile long, discharges 180 to 300 second-feet into 

the Deschutes just below the mouth of West Fork, and Fall River, 

also entirely spring fed, enters West Fork near its mouth. Comparisons between discharge at Benham Falls and the forks above indicate 

that there may be seepage into the river which can not be accounted 

for by Spring River. It would therefore appear that the ground 

water is rising in this section of the river, and that any seepage from 

an irrigated tract above this point would rise here. Between Benham Falls and the mouth of Crooked River there are no visible 

springs, but large springs enter the lower part of Crooked River and 

there are probably some that deliver water directly to the Deschutes 

near this point. Comparison of the discharge of the Deschutes River 

at Mecca with that of the river and its two main tributaries above, 

indicates that during the low water of 1912 these springs must have 

been furnishing between 1,600 and 1,700 second-feet of water." As 

the seepage from the irrigated lands in the Deschutes and Crooked 

River basins must join the body of ground water from which these 

springs are fed, it has been assumed that all return waters will enter 

the Deschutes at the mouth of Crooked River.

It has also been assumed that of the water diverted above Benham 

Falls 50 per cent will return and be available for storage in a reservoir 

at that point, and that of the water diverted below Benham Falls 

35 per cent will return at the junction of Crooked River with the 

Deschutes. Furthermore, it has been assumed that the return will 

take place gradually and uniformly throughout the year an assumption justified by the fact that the return water does not reach 

the river directly but first joins the ground water in the porous lava.

These assumptions lead to the following estimate of future return 

waters at Crooked River:

Total possible diversions.

Acre-feet.

Deschutes River between Benham Falls and Cline Falls..... 1,053,000

Tumalo Creek............................................. 72,800

Crooked River........................................... 150, 000

1, 275,800

The equivalent mean discharge is 1,760 second-feet, of which it is 

assumed that 35 per cent, or 620 second-feet, will return to the river.

The amount returned under the conditions existing for the last 

seven years has been estimated by averaging diversions from October 

1 to September 30, and assuming that 35 per cent of the diverted water 

returned to the river above the mouth of Crooked River between July 

1 and June 30 of the following year, as shown in the table.
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY.

Mean diversions and estimated return waters from Deschutes River and tributaries,

1905-1912.

Mean diversions.

Year (Oct. 1-Sept. 30).

1905-6...................................

1906-7...................................

1907-8 ...................................

1908-9...................................

1909-10 ..................................

1910-11...............................:..

1911-12

Secondfeet.

177

234

262

262

248

273

Return waters.

Year (July-June).

1906-7..................................

1907-8..................................

1908-9..................................

1909-10 .................................

1910-11.................................

1911-12.................................

1912-13.................................

Secondfeet.

62

82

92

92

87

95

92

The net effect of diversions and return, month by month, is shown 

in the table on page 114.

POSSIBLE USE OF WATER FOB. IRRIGATION. 

ABOVE BENHAM FALLS.

Two fairly distinct projects are possible of development above Benham Falls one by direct diversion from the natural flow of West Fork 

near Crane Prairie, the other by diversion from Deschutes River 

near the mouth of East Fork, supplemented by storage on Big Marsh 

and Crescent and Odell lakes.

The water supply for the second project consists, during the irrigating season, of the total flow of Deschutes River below East Fork 

plus that of Odell Lake outlet; during the storage season it includes 

the flow at the Big Marsh dam site and the two lakes. As the 

discharge records at these storage sites cover only short periods, it 

has been necessary to estimate discharges by comparing the records 

of the Deschutes at Alien's ranch. Out of the eight years during 

which records are available at Alien's ranch (or at Lapine, which 

gives practically the same record) there were records on East Fork 

for five and one-half years. The difference between the discharges 

at these two points represents the flow of Deschutes River above East 

Fork, practically all of which can be stored either in Big Marsh or in 

Crescent Lake. The data for the division of the supply between the 

two forks are rather meager, but the total amount available for 

storage can be closely approximated. The records on which these 

estimates are based are compared in the following tables:

Comparison of discharges (in acre-feet) of upper Deschutes River and tributaries in 1912.

Month.

April..........................................

May.... .......................................

July...........................................

Big

Marsh 

outlet.

7,260

15,100

15,600

5,790

2,670

2,280

48,700

Crescent 

Lake 

outlet.

2,230

4,160

9,100

8,240

4,730

3,700

32,160

East Fork 

of 

Deschutes.

4,840

13,000

14,800

5,380

3,190

2,770

43,980

Deschutes 

at 

Lapine.

15,900

33,200

39,700

20,800

11,400

9,340

130,340

Deschutes 

above 

East Fork.*

11,100

20,200 «M orin

15,400

8,210

6,570

86,380

a Obtained by subtracting discharge of East Fork record from discharge of Deschutes at Lapine record.
92 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Relations (in, percentages) between discharge of upper Deschutes River and its tributaries.

Month.

May.... .......................

July...........................

The r>eriod. .............

Big Marsh 

outlet to 

Deschutes 

at Lapine.

46

47

39

28

23

24

37

Crescent 

Lake outlet to 

Deschutes 

at Lapine.

14

13

23

40

42

40

25

East Fork 

to Deschutes at 

Lapine.

30

40

37

26

28

30

34

Big Marsh 

outlet to 

Deschutes 

above East 

Fork.

65

75

63

38

33

35

56

Crescent 

Lake outlet to 

Deschutes 

above East 

Fork.

20

21

37

54

58

56

37

Big Marsh 

outlet to 

East Fork 

at Crescent.

150

116

105

108

84

82

111

Comparison of mean monthly discharge in second-feet, Deschutes River at Alien's ranch

and East Fork at Crescent.

Month.

March..............

April...............

May................

July................

Month

February ..........

March .............

April..............

May...............

July...............

October ...........

December .........

The year ....

fi

319

974.

278

241

141

107

90.9

100

90.6

OQ O

.

1905

Fork. East 

76.

74. (

64.

65. <

74.

62. J

35.

28. (

25

31. <

23 ( OQ t

50.

)

r

i

*

)

i

»

i

i

1

20

24

27

26

OC

26

28

32

26

24

26

Deschutes.

13

Ifi

W

n

?,

1

Deschutes.

166

123

136

332

445

369

220

122

108

103

13.7

IAA

200

1910

East Fork.

35.

50.

57.

19

7

 »

1

06

East Fork.

88,

97;

80,

89.;

124

111

ff>

37.

36

35,

52.

51. >

72.

PH

26

31

25

27

?

t

*

»

?

?!

f

?

?!

«5

1

(S

56

79

59

27

28

30

30

30

33

34

38

36

32

j

150

170

174

256

416

487

226

125

128

118

143

114

209

Deschutes.

220

793

345

570

696

558

330

227

196

161

157

287

378

1911

East Fork.

59.

67.

87.

' 74.

105

139

54.

35.

34.

35.

(44.

(35.

19

7

1

^

?,

*

I

*>

3)

3)

07

East Fork.

89.

183

104

18.

195

151

76,

47,

4?,.

35.

35.

AS

101

£PH

40

39

50

29

25

29

24

9O

27

30

32

7

\

*>

*>

1

5

?,

:>

!41

23

30

32

28

27

2321'

21

22

22

27

1

t)Al

291

17

27

541

66i

vt

18, it;

I)t)

»

1

1

*

:>

5

7

0

300

170

271

1912

East Fork.

4fi

81.

91 o

940

87.

51.

AC

19

*>

*

08

East Fork.

58.

70.

60.

$ PH

26

30

4007

26

oc

on

01

*

>

i* 

i

1 

PHJ!

19

49,

22

28

H Q)

3

oq

35

30

no

30

30

27

OQ

29

9Q

97

OQ

NOTE. Percentage for January, February, and March, 1906, discarded on account of ice at East Fork. 

Percentage of 28 has been used in discussion, as some other values for winter months are probably too high 

on account of ice.

Miscellaneous measurements made at Crescent Lake outlet prior to 

1912 do not afford a sufficient basis for estimates of discharge. The 

winter flow of Crescent Lake outlet is probably low compared with 

that of the other tributaries of the upper Deschutes, but reliable 

winter records are lacking. For periods covered by records on East 

Fork the most reliable estimates for both Big Marsh outlet and 

Crescent Lake outlet can be made by taking percentages of the
AVAILABILITY OP WATEE SUPPLY. 93

differences between the discharge of the Deschutes at Alien's ranch 

and that of the East Fork at Crescent. The discharge of Crescent 

Lake outlet has been estimated by applying the following percentages. 

It has been assumed that the percentage decreases gradually from 

September to April.

Percentages used for computing probable discharges of Crescent Lake outlet.

Month.

January ..................

March....................

April.....................

May......................

June......................

Applied to 

record of 

discharge of 

Deschutes 

Elver at 

Alien's 

ranch.

25

20

16

14

13

23

Applied to 

discharge of 

Deschutes 

River at 

Alien's 

ranch 

minus discharge of 

East Fork 

at Crescent.

35

30

25

20

20

35

Month.

July......................

December. ...............

Applied to 

record of 

discharge of 

Deschutes 

River at 

Alien's 

ranch.

40

40

40

40

35

30

Applied to 

discharge of 

Deschutes 

River at 

Alien's 

ranch 

minus discharge of 

East Fork 

at Crescent.

50

55

55

50

45

40

The sum of the discharges of the outlets of Crescent Lake and Big 

Marsh appear to nearly equal the difference between the discharge of 

the Deschutes at Alien's ranch and that of the East Fork at Crescent, 

except possibly for a period in February and March, when the snow 

is melting from the lower areas. Thus the total water supply from 

the upper Deschutes that is available for storage can be determined 

very closely. For periods not covered by records of the East Fork 

the determination is subject to greater uncertainty.

The quantity of water indicated by the records at the station on 

Big Marsh outlet is not all available for storage, as the dam site is 

2 or 3 miles farther upstream, at a point where the drainage area is 

smaller 31 square miles as compared with 50 at the station. A 

part of the intermediate area is drained by a creek that can probably 

be diverted into the reservoir, and the rate of run-off from the lower 

area should therefore be less than that from the area tributary to the 

dam. The run-off available for storage in Big Marsh has therefore 

been estimated as 80 per cent of that at the station, and the percentages for reducing discharge at Alien's ranch to discharge at Big 

Marsh taken as follows:

Percentages used in computing probable discharge of Big Marsh outlet.

Month.

May......................

Applied to 

discharge

of

Deschutes

River at

Alien's

ranch.

30

30

35

37

38

31

Applied to 

discharge

of 

Deschutes

River at

Alien's

ranch

minus that

of East

Fork at

Crescent.

45

50

50

50

60

50

Month.

July......................

Applied to 

discharge

of

Deschutes

River at

Alien's

ranch.

22

20

20

20

25

25

Applied to 

discharge

of 

Deschutes

River at

Alien's

ranch

minus that

of East

Fork at

Crescent.

30

25

25

30

35

40
94 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

The relation between the discharge of the Deschutes and that of 

Odell Lake is shown by the following table:

Comparisons of discharge of Odell Lake outlet with that of Deschutes River at Alien's ranch

and Lapine, 1912.

Month.

May...............

Deschutes 

Eiver.

Acre-feet. 

14 800 17)200

11,400

15 900

33' 200

39,700

Odell 

Lake 

outlet.

Acre-feet. 

7,380

9,200

4,300

4,170

9,220

14,300

Per cent.

50

53

38

no

28

36

Month.

July...............

September.........

The period...

Deschutes 

River.

A cre-feet. 

20,800

11,400

9,340

174,000

Odell 

Lake 

outlet.

A cre-feet. 

6,760

3,440

4,170

62,900

Per cent.

32

30

45

36

NOTE. As the records for Odell Lake tor January to March are very uncertain the ratio used has been 

reduced to 34.

The discharges estimated by means of the percentages in the preceding tables are shown in the following table:

Estimated monthly discharge, in acre-feet, of upper Deschutes River and tributaries, 1905-

1912.

Month.

1905.

July............................

October. ........................

1906.

July............................

The year.................

1907. 

January ........................

April...........................

July............................

October. .......................

December. .....................

1 Deschutes 

River at 

Alien's 

ranch.

16,800

14,700

19,600

16,300

17,100

14,300

8,670

6,580

5,410

6,150

5,390

6,100

107 nnn

10,200

6,830

19,800

22,000

13,500

7,500

6,430

8,150

8

QCf|

145,000

13,500

44,000

21,200

42,800

33,200

20,300

14,000

11,700

9,900

9 340

17,600

071 flflrt

2

East 

Fork at 

Crescent.

4,710

4,110

3,980

3,890

4,590

3,740

2,160

1,520

1,960

1,400

1 J 450

35,200

2,860

1,910

5,310

7,620

6,600

4,010

2,280

2,150

2,180

3,100

3 ion

5,220

10,200

6,400

10 900

12,000

S oon

4,700

2

Qon

9 unn

2,180

2

AQA

4,240

72 600

3

Big

Marsh 

outlet.

5,440

5,300

7,800

6,200

7,500

5,300

1,850

1,220

980

1,260

1,400

1 r 900

3,060

2,050

2,930

7,250

11,900

7,700

2,840

1,380

1,070

1,240

1,770

2 9fi(l

45,400

3,720

11,900

7 4Ort

11,500

18,500

12,100

4,680

9 7Rrt

2,300

2,320

2,540

5,360

85,100

4

Crescent 

Lake 

outlet.

4,230

3,180

3,900

2,480

2,500

3,710

3,260

2,670

2,140

2,100

1,800

1,900

qq Qflfl

2,550

1,370

1,340

2,900

3 960

5 '390

2,870

2 WJ\

2,080

2,270

34,100

2,900

10,100

3

*7AA

4,600

7,160

8,460

7,800

6,100

5,060

3,860

3 9fifl

5,360

68 ' 400

5

Odell 

Lake 

outlet.

5,700

5,000

6,660

5,540

5,810

4,900

2,950

2 94fl

1,840

2,090

1,830

2,070

AR fiflfi

3,500

2,320

5,730

9 din

7,480

4 KQf|

2,560

2 ion

2,150

2,770

3,010

48,600

4,590

15,000

7,200

11,500

14,600

11,300

6,900

4,760

3,980

3,320

3 ion

5,980

Q9 ^ftft

Total of 

and 5.'

20,100

17,600

22,300

18,100

20,400

17,600

10,200

7,850

6,480

7,410

6,430

7,320

12,000

7,650

9,450

21,200

27,200

16,200

9,090

7,770

7,650

9,910

10,700

172,000

16,400

47,200

24 700

38,500

52,300

40,800

24,100

16,600

13, 800

11,700

11,100

20,900

318,000

Total of 

3, 4, and 5.

15.400

13,500

18,400

14,200

5,450

5,030

5,870

9,110

5,740

7,110

15,900

5,470

6,810

7 <\W\

11,200

37,000 10 qnn

97 fiflfl

9,500

8,980

16,700
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 95

Estimated monthly discharge, in acre-feet, of upper Deschutes River and tributaries,

1905-1912 Continued.

Month.

1908.

February. ......................

March .........................

May............................

July... .........................

1909.

April...........................

July............................

October. .......................

The year. ................

1910.

February. ......................

May............................

July............................

October. .......................

1911.

February. ......................

May............................

July............................

November. ............. .t ......

1912.

April...........................

July............................

August. . .......................

October........................

November. .....................

December. .....................

The year. ................

1 Deschutes 

River at . Alien's 

ranch.

18,400

9,780

16,700

24.200

20,200

15,600

8,550

8,390

10,700

10,700

11,100

180,000

9,220

11,100

12,500

21,100

29,000

9,840

8,510

7,990

33,100

46,000

233,000

21,500

19,400

43,800

29,900

31.700

17,200

11 400

8^730

7,860

8,480

9 640

14, 100

9,220

9,440

10,700

15.200

OK flfift

13,900

7 AQft

7,620

7 9fifl

8,510

7,010

14,800

17,200

15,900

QQ OAA

39,700

20,800

11,400

9 ' 340

2

East 

Fork at 

Crescent.

3,570

4,070

3,740

6,800

7,160

5,660

4,370

2,350

3,000

3,000

3,110

2,580

3,110

3,500

5,900

7 800

, 8,' 110

4,530

2,760

2,380

2,240

9,270

12,900

65,100

6,020

5,430

12,300

8,330

4,820

3 inn

2,450

2,200

2,200

3,000

3,500

3,140

3,730

5,360

4,420

6 460

8.270

3,330

2,200

2,050

2

1 Qfi

2,640

2,170

46,000

4,050

4,220

13,000

14,800

5,380

3,190

2 77ft

2,590

1,830

3

Big 

Marsh 

outlet.

6,660

2.860

6,500

8,960

9, 730

6,260

3,430

1,710

1,680

2,140

2.680

2,780

55,400

2,760

3,330

4,380

7,810

10,700

8,990

3.560

1,970

1,700

1,600

8,280

11,500

66,600

6,450

5,820

15,300

11, 100

12,000

5,330

2,510

1,750

1,570

1,880

2,320

4,240

70,300

2,740

2,360

2,670

5,400

11,500

10,400

3,180

1,390

1,520

2,050

46 

' 400

5

QK(\

5,810

12, 100

12,500

4,630

2,170 i con

1,760

3 o Cft

2,210

60,800

4

Crescent 

Lake 

outlet.

5,180

1,710

3,250

3,390

3,330

4,650

6,240

3,420

3,360

4,280

3,740

3,330

45,900

2,300

2,220

2,000

2,950

3,870

6,670

6,480

3,930

3,400

3,200

12,600

13,800

63,200

5,380

3,880

7,010

4,190

4,120

3,960

4,560

3,490

3,150

3,140

2,990

4,240

50,100

2,130

1,410

1,340

2,160

7,240

5,300

3,020

3,060

2,540

2,640

1,940

3,730

3,850

2, 150

2,230

4,160

9,100

8,240

4,730

3,700

4,410

4,820

55,800

5

Odell

Lake 

outlet.

6,260

3,330

5,680

8,230

8,700

6,860

5,300

2,910

2,850

3,640

3,640

3,770

61,200

3,140

3,780

4,250

7,180

9,590

9,860

5,510

3,350

2,880

2,720

11,300

15,600

79,200

7,310

6,600

14,900

10,200

10,800

5,850

3,880

2,970

2,680

2,890

3,280

4,800

76,200

3,140

3,210

3,640

5,170

8,710

9,870

4,730

2,620

2,590

2,470

2,880

2,380

51,400

7,380

9,200

4,300

4,170

14,300

6,760

3,440

4,170

4,500

4,500

5,000

76,900

Total of 

2, 3, 4, 

and 5.

21, 700

12,000

19,200

27,400

28,900

23,400

19,300

10,400

10, 200

13,100

13,100

13,000

212,000

10,800

12,400

14,100

23,j800

31,800

33,600

20,100

12,000

10,400

9,760

41,400

53,800

274,000

25,200

21,700

49,500

33,800

35,800

10,000

14,100

10,700

9,600

10, 100

11,600

16,800

259,000

11,200

10,700

13,000

17,200

30,500

35,800

16,500

9,050

9,090

8,710

10,200

8,430

180,000

19,600

23,100

13,600

17,000

38,500

50,700

25,000

13,500

12,500

13,300

15,200

13,900

256,000

Total of 

3, 4, and 5.

18,100

7,900

15,400

20,600

10,100

10,100

9,880

8,200

9,330

10,600

17,900

7,520

32,200

40,900

19,100

16,300

37,200

25,500

7,910

8,590

13,300

8,010

6,980

7,650

12,700

6,530

7,570

6,260

15.600

18,900

10,700

12,200

10,700

12,500

12,000
96 DESCHUTES KIVEB, OREGON.

A study has been made of the probable history of operation of 

the upper.projects, in order to show the amount of storage required, 

the amount of water spilled, the deficiencies in supply, and the net 

effect on the flow of the river at Benham Falls. In the following 

table, Column 1 shows the amount of water available for October to 

April; it is the sum of the estimated values given in the,preceding 

table for Big Marsh, Crescent, and Odell lakes, and for the irrigating 

season May to September it includes also the discharge of the East 

Fork, which can always be used by direct diversions, except possibly a small amount of water at the beginning and end of the season, 

when the demand will be less than the inflow below the reservoirs. 

Column 2 gives the amount required for irrigation as derived by means 

of the table on page 89. The difference between columns 1 and 2, 

shown in column 3, indicates the amount of water that can be stored 

or must be drawn to supply the demand. Column 4 represents the 

successive summation of values in column 3, subject to the limitation 

that the value must not exceed 120,000 acre-feet, the assumed capacity of reservoirs, nor become negative. Column 5 shows the overflow or the amount that the summations made in column 4 exceeds 

120,000; also the deficiency, when these summations introduce negative values; the values in this column are for individual months and 

are not a summation. Column 6 shows the requirements of the project 

assumed to divert its supply direct from the natural flow of West 

Fork. Column 7 shows the quantity by which the flow at Benham 

Falls is assumed to be reduced (or increased) as a result of the operation of these upper projects, and is obtained by adding columns 1 

and 6, deducting 10,000 acre-feet, and changing the sign; that is, 

the flow below the project is reduced by the total amount available 

for diversion or storage, and increased by the estimated 10,000 acre-feet 

monthly return water. When water is spilled the amount of such 

loss must be deducted from the results in column 1 before adding. 

It will be noted that when the total flow at the three reservoir sites 

is less than 10,000 acre-feet there is an increase at Benham Falls.
AVAILABILITY OP WATER SUPPLY. 97

Study of manipulation of storage for possible projects on Deschutes River above Senkam

Falls, 1905-1912.

[Quantities in acre-feet.]

Month.

1905. 

January. ...

February

April...........................

May............................

July............................

September.... ..................

October ........................

The year.. ...............

1906. 

January ........................

March..........................

May ...

June _ ........................

July............................

September _ . ..................

October ........................

December. .....................

1907.

February

March...

April...........................

May............................

June............................

July............................

September.... ..................

October. .......................

December......................

1908.

April

May ...... . " ". .

July............................

December ......................

1

Available runoff.

O 1C Aflt)

013,500

018,400

014,200

c20,400

c 17, 600

c 10, 200

"7,850

c 6, 480

o5,450

05,030

o5,870

140,000

o9,110

o 5, 740

o 7, 110

015,900

c 32. 900

c27,200

c 16, 200

c9,090

c 7, 770

o 5, 470

o 6, 810

o7,530

151,000

oll,200 037 ooo

018^300

027,600

c 52, 300

c 40, 800

c 24, 100

c 16, 600

c 13, 800

o9,500

08,980

ol6,700

277,000

a 18, 100

o7,900

o 15, 400

020,600

e 28, 900

c23,400

cl9,300

c 10, 400

010,200

o 10, 100

o 10, 100

"9,880

184,000

2

Required 

for irrigation.

14.400

97 nnn

63,000

57,600

18., 000

180,000

14,400

27.000

63,000

57,600

18,000

180,000

14,400

27,000

63,000

57,600

18,000

180,000

14,400

27,000

63,000

57.600

18,000

180,000

3

Excess and deficiency 

in water 

supply.

15,400

13,500

18,400

14,200

6,000

_ 0 Ann

-52,800

-49,800

-11,500

+ 5,450

5,030

5,870

9,110

5,740

7,110

15,900

18,500

200

-46,800

-48,500

-10,200

+ 5,470

6,810

7,530

11,200

37,000

18,300

97 firtn

37,900

13,800

-38,900

-41,000

- 4,200

+ 9,500

+ 8,980

16,700

18,100

7 win

15,400

20,600

14,500

 3,600

-43,700

-47,200

- 7,800

+10,100

10,100

9,880

4

In reservoir at 

end of 

month.

685,400

oa onn

117,300

120,000

120,000

110,600

57,800

8,000

00

5,450

10,480

16,350

25,460

31,200

38,310

54, 210

79 71 fl

72,910

26,110

00

00

5,470

12,280

19,810

31,010

68,010

86,310

113, 910

120,000

120,000

81,000

40,100

35,900

45,400

54,380

71,080

89,180

97 080

112*480 ion nnn

120,000

116,400

72,700

25,500

17,700

27,800

37.900

47,780

5

Overflow 

(+)or 

deficiency (-).

+11,500

+ 6,000

- 3,500

+17,500

- 3,500

-22,390

-10,200

-32,590

+31,810

+13,800

+45,610

+13,080

+14,500

+27,580

6

Diverted 

from 

West 

Fork.

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

7

Effect on 

run-off at 

Benham 

Falls.

 * d(\f}

- 3,500

- 8,400

+ 7,300

- 9,200

- 16,600

- 21,200

- 17,050

- 2,480

+ 4,550

+ 4,970

+ 4,130

+ 20,950

- 83,830

+ 890

+ 4,260

+ 2,890

- 5,900

- 27,700

- 26,200

- 27,200

- 18,290

- 3,770

+ 4,530

+ 3,190

+ 2,470

+ 18,230

-109^060

- 1,200

- 27,000

- 8,300

- 17,600

+ 15,290

- 26,000

- 35,100

- 25,800

- 9,800

+ 500

+ 1,020

- 6,700

-172,790

+ 1,520

- 8,100

+ 2,100

- 5,400

+ 2,480

- 9,200

- 22,400

- 30,300

- 19,600

- 6,200

- 100

- 100

+ 120

-101,400

+ 4,700

a Sum of discharges at Big Marsh outlet, Crescent Lake outlet, and Odell Lake ouilet.

6 Content of reservoir at beginning of the month assumed as 70,000 acre-feet.

o Sum of discharges East Fork of Deschutes, Big Marsh outlet, and Crescent and Odell lakes.

48848° WSP 344 14 7
98 DESOHUTES BIVER, OREGON.

Study of manipulation of storage for possible projects on Deschutes River above Benham 

Falls, 1905-1912 Continued.

Month.

1909.

March...........

May............................

July............................

1910.

July............................

December ......................

1911.

Apra.. .........................

July............................

1912.

Apra.. .........................

Mav

July. ...........................

1

Available runoff.

o8,200

o9,330

o 10, 600

017,900

631,800

633,600

620,100

612,000

6 10, 400

o 7, 520

o32,200

040,900

235,000

o 19, 100

016,300

037.200

025,500

635.800

620,000

6 14, 100

6 10, 700

& 9 600

o7'910

o8,590

013,300

218,000

o8,010

06,980

o7,650

630,500

635,800

616,500

6 9 050

6 9' 090

06,530

o7,570

og 260 1

157,000

015,600

018,900

o 10, 700

012,200

638,500

650,700

625,000

613,500

6 12,500

o 10, 700

a 19 MV\

012,000

233,000

2

Required 

for irrigation.

14 400

271,000

63,000

57,600

18,000

180,000

14 400

27*, 000

63,000 V7 finft

18,000

180,000

14,400

27,000

63,000

57,600

18,000

180,000

"

14 400

27*000

63,000

57,600

18,000

180,000

3

Excess and deficiency 

in water 

supply.

8,200

9 330 lo'eoo

17 900

17' 400

6,600

49 Qfln

 45 600

- 7*. 600

+ 7,520

32,200

40,900

19 100

16*300

37,200

25,500

21,400

_ 7 000

-48', 900

-46,900

- 8,400

+ 7,910

8,590

13,300

8,010

6,980

7,650 10 7nn

16,100

8,800

-46,500

-48,600

- 8,910

+ 6,530

7,570

6,260

15,600 10 Qflft

10,700

12,200

9j* inn

23,700

-38,000

-44, 100

- 5,500

+10, 700

12,400

12,000

4

In reservoir at 

end of 

month.

55,980

65,310

75,910

03 sin

111,210

117,810

74,910

29,310

21, 710

29,230

61, 430

102,330

120,000

120,000

120,000

120,000

120,000

113,000

64,100

17,200

8,800

16, 710

25,300

38,600

46,610

53,590

61,240

73,940

90,040

98,840

52,340

3,740

0

6,530

14,100

20,360

35,960

54,860

65,560

77,760

103,860

120,000

82,000

37,900

32,400

43,100

55,500

67,500

5

Overflow 

( + )or 

deficiency (-).

+ 1,430

+ 16,300

+ 37,200

+ 25,500

+ 21, 400

+101,830

- 5,170

- 5, 170

+ 7,560

+ 7,560

6

Diverted 

from 

West 

Fork.

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

4,800

9,000

21,000

19,200

6,000

60,000

7

Effect on 

run-off at 

Benham 

Falls.

+ 1,800

+ 670

- 600

- 7,900

- 26,600

- 32,600

- 31,100

- 21,200

- 6,400

+ -2,4SO

- 22,200

- 30,900

-179,500

+ 4,950

- 7,670

+ 10,000

+ 10,000

+ 10,000

- 9,200

- 19,000

- 25,100

- 19,900

- 5 600

+ 2,090

+ 1,410

- 3,300

- 89,770

+ 33,500

+ 1,990

+ 3,020

+ 2,350

- 2,700

 25,300

- 34,800

- 27,500

- 18,250

- 5,090

+ 3,470

+ 2,430

+ 3,740

-113,640

+ 17,000

- 5,600

- 8,900

- 700

- 2,200

- 33,300

-42,140

- 36,000

- 22,700

- 8,500

- 700

- 2,400

- 2,000

-165, 140

a Sum of discharges at Big Marsh outlet, Crescent Lake outlet, and Odell Lake outlet.

6 Sum of discharges East Fork of Deschutes, Big Marsh outlet, and Crescent and Odell lakes.

The results shown in columns 4 and 5 are depicted graphically in 

figure 6. In this diagram the values in column 4 are shown as a
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 99

coordinate with time, the resulting graph showing the fluctuation of 

stored water. When water is spilled, this fact is indicated by the 

extension of the graph above the 120,000 acre-foot line representing 

full reservoir. A new scale above this indicates the monthly summation of loss over spillway during any period of excess. When the 

period of excess is over, the graph breaks and begins again at 120,000 

acre-feet. Similarly, the summations of deficiencies are plotted

100 100

80

60

40

1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912

FIGUBE 8. Mass diagram showing possible manipulation of storage in connection with project on

upper Deschutes River.

below the zero of storage. During five of the eight years for which 

the discharge is plotted the reservoir would have overflowed and in 

three years deficiencies would have occurred. In two years the 

deficiencies would have been so slight as to be negligible, while in the 

third they would have amounted to 18 per cent of the yearly use. 

To have obviated this deficiency the storage capacity should have 

been increased by the amount of the deficiency 32,400 acre-feet, or
100 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

26 per cent of the assumed capacity of 120,000 acre-feet and as this 

extra capacity could have been used only once in eight years, it is 

doubtful whether it would be economical to provide it.

POSSIBLE USE BELOW BENHAM FALLS.

The amount of water available for storage and diversion from 

Deschutes River in the vicinity of Benham Falls is assumed to be 

shown by the records at Benham Falls and West's ranch, supplemented, when no other records on this section of the river are available, by the summation of the records at Bend, and of the Central 

Oregon and Pilot Butte canals. The comparisons (p. 69) indicate 

some inflow between Benham Falls and Bend during the nonirrigating 

season, but this inflow would then be available for domestic supply. 

Some water from Tumalo Creek will find its way into the Deschutes 

if the feed canal for the Winter or Tumalo reservoir, into which 

Tumalo Creek is to be diverted, is made somewhat smaller than the 

spring flood flow of the creek. The supplies from both sources are, 

however, too small and too uncertain to be counted upon, and the 

operation of the project has accordingly been figured on the basis of 

discharge at Benham Falls.

The records of discharge at Benham Falls (pp. 25 to 26) show a mean 

annual discharge of 1,220,000 acre-feet, ranging from a minimum of 

1,080,000 acre-feet in the year October, 1910, to September, 1911, 

to a maximum of 1,410,000 acre-feet for the year October, 1904, to 

September, 1905.

The areas of the suggested Benham Falls reservoir at different 

levels have been carefully measured and the capacities computed as 

shown in the following table and in figure 7.

Table showing area and capacity of suggested Benham Falls reservoir, Deschutes River.

Elevation 

above sea 

level.

Feet.

4,146 

4,150

4,155

4,160

4,165

4,170

4,175

4,180

4,185

4,190

4,195

4,200

4,205

4,210

Depth 

of water.

Feet.

0

4

9

14

19

24

29

34

39

44

49

54

59

64

69

Area.

Acres.

65

260

1,370

2,550

4,370

6,370

8,670

11,000

. 12,800

15,000

16,800

19,500

022,200

024,900

o27,800

Capacity 

of section.

Acre-feet.

0

650

4,080

9,800

17,300

26,900

37,600

49,000

59,300

69,400

79,500

90,800

104,000

118,000

132,000

Total 

capacity.

Acre-feet.

0

650

4,730

14,500

31,800

58,700

96,300

145,300

204,600

274,000

353,500

444,300

0548,000

0666,000

o798,000

Estimated from extension of curve of area.
AVAILABILITY OF WATEB SUPPLY. 101

In the study of the use of water stored in the suggested reservoir at 

Benham Falls, losses due to evaporation must be taken into account, 

as the reservoir is relatively broad and shallow. Strictly the mean 

area of water surface during any given month should be used in computing the loss for that month, but such refinement of method is 

apparently unnecessary in view of the many uncertainties involved 

in the whole record, especially in regard to depth of evaporation.

42-20 

70

4210 

-|4200 

g 50

§41 90 

1 40

c4180 

1 3 ° £4170 

W 20 

4160 

10 

4150 

A « ** 0

t>

0>

££

"o

s.

0> Q /

L

K

x1

x

00 4,0

^

X*

00 6,1

J

i*2>'

^

00 8,1

«£

^

0010,

t-*--

^

Are

0012,

+*** 

^X x«^

a of s<

000 14,

\^ff

^

ction

30016,

f^s^

n aor

30018,

^

$

00020

^

00022

^^**

00024,

^

000 26

 

00028

 -

00030,

0 100,000 » ,200,000 800,000 400,000 800,000 600,000 700,000

Total capacity in acre-feet

000

FIGURE 7. Curves of area and capacity for suggested reservoir at Benham Falls.

The assumptions as to the quantity of water to be used on the various tracts are indicated by the following table:

Total assumed use of water in acre-feet, from suggested Benham Falls reservoir.

Month.

February. .................................

April......................................

May.......................................

July.......................................

September... ..............................

Benham 

Falls 

tract.

3,500 

3,500 

3,500 

4,000 

26,400 

52,800 

66,400 

65,600 

26,400 

4,900 

3,500 

3,500

264,000

Central 

Oregon

tract.

4,000 

4,000 

4,000 

6,000 

33,000 

66,000 

83,000 

82,000 

33,000 

7,000 

4,000 

4,000

330,000

Cline Falls tracts.

Use.

6,000 

6,000 

6,000 

20,800 

42,900 

72,800 

107,900 

106, 600 

39,000 

9,000 

6,000 

6,000

429,000

Losses 

from river.

6,000 

6,000 

6,000 

6,000 

6,000

30,000

Total.

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

The results of a study of the probable manipulation of storage for 

the suggested Benham Falls reservoir, similar in general to that for 

the upper projects, are shown in the table on pages 103-104. Column 1 

gives the discharge at Benham Falls as modified by storage and diversion above. Column 2 shows the total quantity required for irrigation 

as given in detail in the table above. Column 3 gives the evapo-
102 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OBEGON.

ration losses, in feet, of depth and total loss in acre-feet for each 

month, using the area of water surface for the end of the previous 

month. It will be noted that during the summer months, when 

evaporation is greatest, the water in reservoir is falling. This method, 

therefore, tends to give results that are too high and accordingly err on 

the side of safety. Column 4 is the sum of columns 2 and 3. Column 

5 is the difference between the supply (column 1) and the total use 

(column 4). Column 6 gives the successive summation of the values 

in column 5, subject to the limitation of capacity of reservoir 700,000

,-200

100

Reservoir capacity 

J/"700,000 acre-feet

1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 

FIGURE 8. Mass diagram showing manipulation of storage in suggested reservoir at Benham Falls.

acre-feet. Column 7 is the area corresponding to the capacity given 

in column 6. Column 8 shows the excess or deficiency as compared 

with the capacity 700,000 acre-feet.

The results shown in columns 7 and 8 are depicted graphically in 

figure 8, as were the results for the suggested project above Benham 

Falls (p. 99). The uniformity of recurrence of the rise and fall of storage level appears very remarkable when compared with similar diagrams for other streams or even for the upper project on the same 

stream.
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 103 

Possible manipulation of storage at suggested reservoir at Benham Falls, 1905-191$.

Month.

1905.

March...........

April............

Ma\r

July.............

The year . . 

1906.

Af8>rcli

Alav

July.............

The year . . 

1907.

\fQTY»"h

April............

May.............

July.............

The year . . 

1908.

\Tnrph

May.......-.-.-.

July..........---

The year . . 

1909.

\fQTC]l

April............

liatr

June............

1

Discharge 

as modifled by diversions 

above.

Acre-feet. 

132,600 

116,500 

124,600 

130,300 

114,800 

91,400 

83,800 

82,600 

93,900 

104,200 

97,800 

83,400

1,255,900

84,500 

78,200 

86,500 

96,100 

85,300 

78,800 

69,700 

68,400 

77,800 

85,700 

84,700 

88,000

983,700

84,300 

101,000 

99,700 

111,400 

138,700 

114,000 

88,900 

88,200 

95,200 

100,500 

95,000 

102,300

1,219,200

96,900 

84,900 

93,000 

114,500 

115,800 

96,600 

85,700 

83,400 

90,200 

101,900 

93,300 

88,000

1,144,200

102,800 

90,700 

95,900 

94,100 

83,400 

74,400

2

Required 

for irrigation.

Acre-feet. 

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600

3

Evaporation.

Depth.

Feet. 

0.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1

.2 

.4

.4

Loss.

Acre-ft. 

0 

0 

2,400 

5,100 

10,200 

10,200 

11,500 

10,700 

6,400 

2,400 

1,500 

0

60,400

0 

0 

2,200 

4,800 

10,200 

9,400 

10,800 

9,600 

4,900 

1,600 

1,100 

0

54,600

0 

0 

2,000 

4,200 

9,500 

9,700 

11,000 

10,100 

6,000 

2,300 

1,400 

0

56,200

0 

0 

2,200 

4,800 

10,200 

10,200 

11,600 

10,900 

6,500 

2,500 

1,500 

0

60,400

0 

0 

2,300 

5,000 

10,200 

10,000

4

Total 

evaporation and 

use.

Acre-feet. 

13,500 

13,500 

15,900 

35,900 

118,500 

207,800 

274,800 

270,900 

110,800 

23,300 

15,000 

13,500

1,113,400

13,500 

13,500 

15,700 

35,600 

118,500 

207,000 

274, 100 

269,800 

109,300 

22,500 

14,600 

13,500

1,107,600

13,500 

13,500 

15,500 

35,000 

117,800 

207,300 

274,300 

270,300 

110,400 

23,200 

14,900 

13,500

1,109,200

13,500 

13,500 

15,700 

35,600 

118,500 

207,800 

274,900 

271,100 

110,900 

23,400 

15,000 

13,500

1,113,400

13,500 

13,500 

15,800 

35,800 

118,500 

207,600

5

Increase 

in volume 

of storage.

Acre-feet. 

119, 100 

103,000 

108,700 

94,000 

- 3,700 

-116,400 

-191,000 

-188,300 

- 16,900 

+ 80,900 

+ 82,800 

+ 69,900

+142,500

+ 71,000 

+ 64,700 

+ 70,800 

+ 60,500 

- 33,20ff 

-128,200 

-204,400 

-201,400 

- 31,500 

+ 63,200 

+ 70, 100 

+ 74,500

-123,900

+ 70,800 

+ 87,500 

+ 84,200 

+ 76,400 

+ 20,900 

- 93,300 

-185,400 

-182,100 

- 15,200 

+ 77,300 

+ 80,100 

+ 88,800

+110,000

+ 83,400 

+ 71,400 

+ 77,300 

+ 78,900 

- 2,700 

-111,200 

-189,200 

-187,700 

- 20,700 

+ 78,500 

+ 78,300 

+ 74,500

+ 30,800

+ 89,300 

+ 77,200 

+ 80,100 

+ 68,300 

- 35,100 

-133,200

6

Quantity 

in reservoir at 

end of 

month.

Acre-feet, 

a 519, 100 

622, 100 

700,000 

700,000 

696,300 

579,900 

388,900 

200,600 

183,700 

264,600 

347,400 

417,300

488,300 

553,000 

623,800 

684,300 

651,100 

522,900 

318,500 

117, 100 

85,600 

148,800 

218,900 

293,400

364,200 

451,700 

535,900 

612,300 

633,200 

539,900 

354,500 

172,400 

157,200 

234,500 

314,600 

403,400

486,800 

558,200 

635,500 

700,000 

697,300 

586,100 

396,900 

209,200 

188,500 

267,000 

345,300 

419,800

509,100 

586,300 

666,400 

700,000 

664,900 

531,700

7

Area 

oi water 

surface 

at end 

of 

month.

Acres.

21,500 

23,900 

25,600 

25,600 

25,600 

23,000 

17,900 

12,800 

12,200 

14,700 

16,700 

18,700

20,700 

22,300 

24,000 

25,300 

23,400 

21,600 

16,000 

9,800 

8,100 

11,100 

13,400 

15,500

17,100 

19,700 

21,900 

23,700 

24,200 

22,000 

16,800 

11,900 

11,400 

13,800 

15,900 

18,300

20,600 

22.500 

24,200 

25,600 

25,600 

23,100 

18,100 

13,000 

12,400 

14,800 

16,600 

18,800

21,200 

23,200 

24,900 

25,600 

24,900 

21,800

8

Overflow 

(+)or 

deficiency (-).

Acre-feet.

+30,800 

+94,400

+125,200

+14,400

+14,400

+24,700

a Content of reservoir at beginning of month assumed as 400,000 acre-feet.
104 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Possible manipulation of storage at suggested reservoir at Benham Falls, 1905-1912 Con.

Month.

1909. 

July.............

The year . . 

1910.

April............

May.............

July.............

The year . . 

1911.

April...... ......

July.............

The year . . 

1912.

March. .........

April............

May.............

July.............

The year . .

I

Discharge 

as modifled by diversions 

above.

Acre-feet. 

67,300 

72,900 

84,000 

93,500 

98,800 

88,100

1,045,900

86,400 

98,300 

139,000 

126,000 

112,800 

85,000 

73,900 

74,800 

83,700 

92,500 

90,100 

92,600

1, 155, 100

89,300 

78,500 

88,400 

90,700 

77,700 

67,200 

64,700 

66.600 

77,600 

87,100 

84,500 

82,400

954,700

79,200 

80,800 

87,200 

92,400 

82,700 

85,900 

75,000 

81,300 

90,900 

97,100 

94,000 

90,200

1,036,700

2

Required 

for irrigation.

Acre-feet. 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13.500 

13,500

1,053,000

13,500 

13,500 

13,500 

30,800 

108,300 

197,600 

263,300 

260,200 

104,400 

20,900 

13,500 

13,500

1,053,000

3

Evaporation.

Depth.

Feet. 

0.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

.0 

.0 

.1 

.2 

.4 

.4 

.5 

.6 

.5 

.2 

.1 

.0

2.9

Loss.

Acre-ft. 

10,900 

9,700 

5,100 

1,800 

1,200 

0

56,200

0 

0 

2,100 

4,700 

10,200 

10,200 

11,900 

10,400 

6,000 

2,200 

1,300 

0

59,000

0 

0 

2,100 

4,600 

9,700 

9,400 

10,000 

8,600 

2,800 

600 

800 

0

48,600

0 

0 

1,700 

3,800 

8,200 

7,900 

8,200 

6,400 

0 

0 

800 

0

37,000

4

Total 

evaporation and

use.

Acre-feet. 

274,200 

269,900 

109,500 

22,700 

14,700 

13,500

1,109,200

13,500 

13,500 

15,600 

35,500 

118,500 

207,800 

275,200 

270,600 

110,400 

23,100 

14,800 

13,500

1,112,000

13,500 

13,500 

15,600 

35,400 

118,000 

207,000 

273,300 

268,800 

107,200 

21,500 

14,300 

13,500

1,101,600

13,500 

13,500 

15,200 

34,600 

116,500 

205,500 

271,500 

266,600 

104,400 

20,900 

14,300 

13,500

1,090,000

5

Increase 

in volume 

of storage.

Acre-feet. 

-206,900 

-197,000 

- 25,500 

+ 70,800 

+ 84,100 

+ 74,600

- 63,300

+ 72,900 

+ 84,800 

+123,400 

+ 90,500 

- 5,700 

-122,800 

-201,300 

-195,800 

- 26,700 

+ 69,400 

+ 75,300 

+ 79,100

+ 43,100

+ 75,800 

+ 65,000 

+ 72,800 

+ 55,300 

- 40,300 

-139,800 

-208,600 

-202,200 

- 29,600 

+ 65,600 

+ 70,200 

+ 68,900

-146,900

+ 65,700 

+ 67,300 

+ 72,000 

+ 57,800 

- 33,800 

119,600 

-196,500 

-185,300 

- 13,500 

+ 76,100 

+ 79,700 

+ 76,700

- 61,300

6

Quantity 

in reservoir at 

end of 

month.

Acre-feel. 

324,800 

127,800 

102,300 

173, 100 

257,200 

331,800

404,700 

489,500 

612,900 

700,000 

694,300 

571,500 

370,200 

174,400 

147,700 

217, 100 

292,400 

371,500

447,300 

512,300 

585,100 

640,400 

600,100 

460,300 

251,700 

49,500 

19,900 

+ 85,500 

155,700 

224,600

290,300 

357,600 

429,600 

487,400 

453,600 

334,000 

137,500 

0 

0 

76,200 

155,900 

232,600

7

Area 

of water 

surface 

at end 

of 

month.

Acres. 

16,100 

10,200 

9,000 

11,900 

14,500 

16,300

18,300 

20,700 

23,700 

25,600 

25,500 

22,800 

17,300 

11,900 

11,100 

13,300 

15,400 

17,300

19,600 

21,300 

23,100 

24,300 

23,400 

19,900 

14 300 

5,700 

3,100 

8,100 

11,300 

13,500

15,400 

16,900 

19,100 

20,600 

19,700 

16,400 

10,700 

0 

0 

7,500 

11,400 

13,800

8

Overflow 

(+)or 

deficiency (-).

Acre-feet.

+24,700

+ 3,400

+ 3,400

-47,800 

-13,500

-61,300

In, only one year out of eight would an appreciable amount of 

water have been spilled, namely, in 1905, and in only one year, 1912, 

would there have been a deficiency, the excess shown amounting 

to 12 per cent and the deficiency to 6 per cent of the total yearly use.
AVAILABILITY OP WATER SUPPLY. 105

The reservoir would have filled to within 10 per cent of its total 

capacity every year except 1912.

The reduction of the reservoir capacity to 600,000 acre-feet would 

have caused a-deficiency in 1911 of about 80,000 acre-feet, or 8 per 

cent, and would have increased that of 1912 to 161,000, or 15 per 

cent. The additional cost of raising the dam 4 feet would probably 

not be great enough, to make it worth while to save in storage capacity.

POSSIBLE USE TEOM TUMALO CREEK.

The lands that can be watered most economically from Tumalo 

Creek are those embraced in the segregation which was formerly 

being developed by the Columbia Southern Irrigation Co. under the 

Carey Act and which has generally been referred to as the Columbia 

Southern project. This project has recently (1913) been taken over 

by the State and its name changed to the Tumalo project.

The essential features of the Tumalo project involve a reservoir 

(the Wimer) in a basin immediately adjoining the irrigable lands. 

Into this basin the waters of Tumalo Creek are diverted by a feed 

canal about 7 miles long. Thus the layout of the project differs 

materially from that of projects on the upper Deschutes, where the 

suggested reservoirs are above the main project canal and the water 

must be applied to the land directly from the canal, the capacity of 

which must equal the maximum demand. On Tumalo Creek the 

economical capacity of the canal is determined by the regimen of the 

unregulated flow of the stream.

In connection with a study of the stream made to ascertain the 

probable extent of economical development, the following table has 

been prepared, showing the number of days on which the flow of the 

creek fell below certain discharges.

Discharge deficiency of Tumalo Creek near Laidlaw, Oreg.

Discharge 

(secondfeet).

65.. 

70.. 

75.. 

80.. 

90.. 

100. 

110. . 

120. .

Days of deficient discharge October to 

September.

1908- 

09

16 

20 

35

121 

208 

259

271 

278

1909- 

10

6 

11 

11 

80 

119 

140 

176 

217

1910- 

11

49 

83 

116 

145 

204 

237 

254 

274

1911- 

12

88 

112 

144 

190 

233 

261 

271 

277

Discharge 

(secondfeet).

140. 

160. 

180. 

200. 

220. 

240. 

260. 

280.. .

Days of deficient discharge October to 

September.

1908- 

09

290 

308 

317 

329 

334 

341 

352 

357

1909- 

10

239 

269 

293 

314 

329 

340 

351 

354

1910- 

11

308 

315 

326 

332 

335 

338 

348 

353

1911- 

12

284 

292 

304 

322 

332 

332 

339 

347

NOTE. The maximum discharge for 1908-9 was 440 second-feet; for 1909-10 it was estimated at 1,940 

second-feet; for 1910-11 it was 396 second-feet; and for 1911-12 it was 468 second-feet.

The table indicates that for the three years of lowest flow 1908-9, 

1910-11, and 1911-12 a canal with a capacity of 120 second-feet 

would have been full on an average of 89 days and the discharge 

would have been deficient for 276 days, and a canal of 200 second-
106 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OBEGON.

foot capacity would have run full for only 37 days. An increase of 

1 second-foot of capacity would have delivered an additional 73 

acre-feet annually. A 300 second-foot canal would have been full 

only six days in 1911, 11 days in 1912, and five days in 1909, an average for the three years of seven days. The economical capacity 

of the canal would seem to be considerably less than 300 secondfeet and little if any over 200. The storage requirements for the 

project have therefore been figured on the basis of a 200 second-foot 

capacity for diversion canal.

The monthly discharge of Tumalo Creek is shown on pages 38 to 41, 

and the results of the study of storage manipulation appear in the 

following table:

Possible manipulation of suggested storage reservoir obtaining water from Tumalo Creek.

[Quantities in acre-feet.]

Month.

1906.

April...........................

May 15-31. .....................

July..... .......................

1907.

MftTh -----

April...........................

May.-. .....................

July............................

The year.................

1908.

Mftrch - T

April..........................

May..........................

July-......-. .................

Total 

run-off.

7,350

14,500

12,900

5,040

4,910

6,270

14,400

8,920

74,300

7,380

11,400

9,280

8,390

16,700

18,600

16,300

6,890

5,860

5,470

4 430

5,290

116,000

5 540

5^630

7,560

9 'ion

17 nnn

16,200

5 540

5,000

5,820

4,760

4 9Qfl

92,400

Lost on 

account 

of limited 

capacity 

of diversion 

canal.

1,340

3,330

3,340

0

0

73

4,190

1,120

13,400

0

1,120

0

0

4,610

7,210

4,190

0

0

0

0

0

17,100

0

0

0

0

0

5,330

4,670

0

0

0

0

0

10,000

Run-off 

available 

for diversion.

6,010

11,200

9,560

5,040

4,910

6,200

10,200

7,800

60,900

7,380

10,300

9,280

8,390

12,100

11,400

12,100

6,890

5,860

5,470

4,430

5,290

98,900

5,540

5,630

5,440

7,560

9,590

11,700

11,500

5,540

5,000

5,820

4,760

4,290

82,400

Required 

for irrigation.

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

5,600

9,800

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

72,800

5,600

9,800

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

72,800

Increase in volume of

storage.

- 1,400

- 7,140

-11,800

- 2,490

+ 3,400

10,200

7,800

-22,830

7 380

10,300

9,280

2,790

2,300

- 1,200

- 4,700

- 9,910

- 2,540

+ 2,670

4,430

5,290

f-18,350

\+53,450

5,540

5,630

5,440

1,960

- 210

- 900

- 5,300

-11,300

- 3,400

+ 3,020

4,760

4,290

f-21,110

\+30,960

In reservoir at 

end of 

month.

30,000

28,600

21,460

9,660

7,170

10,570

20,770

28,570

30,000

30,000

30,000

30,000

30,000

28,800

24,100

14,190

11,650

14,320

18,750

24,040

}.........

29,580

30,000

30,000

30,000

29,790

28,890

23,590

12,290

8,890

11,910

16,670

20,960

}.........

Overflow.

5,950

in wi

9,280

2,790

O qnn

30,620

5,110

5,440

1,960

12,610
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 107

Possible manipulation of suggested storage reservoir obtaining water from Tumalo Creek

Continued.

Month.

1909.

April...........................

May

July............................

1910.

April...........................

May.

July...........................

1911.

May............................

July............................

1912.

March......... . .

April...........................

May............................

July............................

Total 

run-off.

4

QAf\

4,290

4,670

5,420

10,400

15,800

9,350

5,580

4' Qfift

4,890

14,300

10,900

QK Af\(\

7,070

5,410

9,100

11,200

12,100

9,580

6,330

4,860

4,760

5,680

5,180

6,820

88,100

5,060

*\ run

3,870

5,670

8,240

15,900

8,610

4,430

4,040

4,000

S fiQft

4

QAA

72,800

5,650

4,940

4,140

4,510

10,100

17,500

10,700

6,100

5,370

4,510

3,990

5,610

83, 100

Lost on 

account 

oflimited 

capacity 

of diversion 

canal.

0

0

0

0

428

S oon

89

0

0

0

6,440

Qfi9

H OAA

0

0

323

0

712

9Qfi

0

0

0

0

0

0

1,320

0

0

0

0

87

4,220

222

0

0

0

0

0

4,530

0

0

0

0

726

5,630

329

87

0

0

0

is

6,790

Run-off 

available 

for diversion.

4,840

4,290

4,670

5,420

10,000

11,900

9,260

5,580

4,960

4,890

7,860

9,940

oq Ann

7,070

5,410

8,780

11,200

11,400

9,190

6,330

4,760

5,680

5,180

6,820

86,800

5,060

5,040

3,870

5,670

8,150

11,700

8,390

4,430

4,040

4,000 i Ron

4,300

68,300

5,650

4,940

4,140

4,510

9,370

H QAn

10,400

6,010

5,370

4,510

3,990

5,590

76,400

Required 

for irrigation.

5,600

9,800

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

70 ortA

5,600

9,800

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

72,800

5,600

9,800

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

72,800

5,600

o son

12,600

16,800

16,800

8,400

2,800

72,800

Increase in volume of 

storage.

4,840

4,290

4,670

- 180

+ 200

- 700

- 7,540

-11,200

- 3,400

+ 2,090

7,860

9,940

1

- 180 

-22,880

+25,870 

+ 200

7,070

5,410

8,780

5,600

1,600

- 3,310

-10,500

-11,900

- 3,640

+ 2,880

5,180

6,820

1 +48, 350

\-29,350

5,060

5,040

3,870

70

- 1,650

- 900

- 8,410

-12,400

- 4,360

+ 1,200

3,690

4,300

f+28,920

\-27,720

5,650

4,940

4,140

- 1,110

_ 430

 700

- 6,400

-10,000

- 3,030

+ 1,710

+ 3,990

5,590

/+23,920

\-21,670

In reservoir at 

end of 

month.

25,800

30,000

30,000

29,820

30,000

29,300

21,760

10,560

7,120

9,210

17,070

27,010

h30,000

30,000

30,000

30,000

30,000

26,690

16,190

4,290

650

3,530

8,710

15,530

}.........

20,590

25,630

29,500

29,570

27,920

27,020

18,610

6,210

1,850

3,050

6 740

11,040

}.........

16,690

21,630

25,770

24,660

24 230

23,530

17,130

7,130

4,100

5,810

8,800

12,390

}.........

Overflow.

90

4,670

20

4 780

4,080

5,410

8,780

5,600

1,600

25,470

The capacity of the reservoir has been assumed as 30,000 acrefeet. This with a 200 second-foot canal will suffice to irrigate 28,000
108 DBSCHUTBS EIVEE, OEEGON.

acres. The greatest amount necessarily drawn from storage for a 

28,000-acre project would have been 29,300 acre-feet in 1910, or 

about 1 acre-foot per acre irrigated. There would have been a considerable surplus of water every year except 1911 and 1912, but to 

have carried this water from a wet to a dry year would have necessitated the development of additional storage equivalent to the draft 

for two or three years, which is probably out of the question on account of the cost.

The table showing manipulation of storage for this project differs 

only in details from the tables for Deschutes Kiver. The duty of 

water has been assumed at practically the same values as have been 

used by the State engineer. The contracts under the Carey Act have 

called for the delivery of a quantity of water equal to a depth of about 

1.8 feet on the land between April 15 and October 15. Assuming a 

loss of 30 per cent in distributing system an assumption probably 

safe the total diversion must be 2.6 acre-feet per acre or 72,800 

acre-feet for the project. It is assumed that the water will be distributed throughout the growing season as follows:

Distribution of water from Tumalo project.

Month.

April..............................................................................

May..............................................................................

July..............................................................................

September. ... ....................................................................

Depth.

Feet. 

0.2

.35

.45

.6

.6

.3

.1

2.6

Total 

diversion.

Acre-feet. 

5,600

9,800

12,600

16,800

16.800

8,400

2,800

72,800

Gains to the water supply would result from (1) inflow below the 

upper station and point of diversion of feed canal at certain tunes in 

early spring, (2) inflow to reservoir from a spring tributary to Bull 

Creek, (3) inflow to reservoir from tributary area, and (4) precipitation on reservoir. There would be losses due to seepage from feed 

canal, to obstruction of feed canal by ice, and to evaporation from 

reservoir.

IRRIGATION FROM CROOKED RIVER.

The average run-off of Crooked Kiver measured at the Prineville 

station above Ochoco Creek from 1908 to 1912 was 269,000 acre-feet. 

Storage may be provided by constructing a reservoir at the forks of 

the river, 12 miles above Post. Kecords at this point from 1908 to 

1911 indicate that nearly the entire flow can be controlled, as the 

average discharge during winter and spring is 92 per cent of that at 

Prineville station, but the period covered is too short to give assurance that the records show extremes of flow, or that they even give a 

correct mean. The records have therefore been compared with
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 109

those of John Day River at McDonald, and the means of monthly 

ratios have been used to extend the Crooked River record back to 1906. 

The lands around Madras and the Agency Plains can be reached 

from Crooked River, but probably at a considerably greater cost 

than from Deschutes River. The land available for irrigation in the 

immediate valley of Crooked River, estimated at 50,000 acres, will 

require 150,000 acre-feet of water, or about two-thirds of the available flow. The other third can be used to reinforce the flow of lower 

Deschutes River during low periods for power development. The 

full utilization of Crooked River is therefore considered in connection 

with power development from the Deschutes. (See p. 117.)

POSSIBLE TTSE OP WATER FOR POWER DEVELOPMENT. 

CONDITIONS OF STUDY.

The utilization of Deschutes River for power development has 

been studied for three assumed conditions:

1. For the use of the natural minimum discharge, the basis being 

the lowest recorded weekly flow, corrected for diversion if necessary.

2. For maximum storage at Benham Falls operated for power 

alone.

3. For discharge as affected by storage and irrigation on the Deschutes augmented by storage on Crooked River.

The first assumption is made chiefly for purposes of comparing 

the Deschutes with other streams for which power studies have been 

made on this basis, and gives results far in excess of those obtainable 

when projects on the upper Deschutes are developed, even if all 

water from .the upper river is not stored and used for irrigation.

The second assumption departs even more than the first from 

probable future conditions and is presented chiefly to compare the 

utility of the stream for irrigation and for power. The third assumption involves the maximum development of irrigation and the 

utilization of return waters as already outlined.

MINIMUM NATURAL FLOW AVAILABLE FOE POWEE.

The average minimum discharge at Benham Falls, as determined 

from a record covering seven years, is 1,330 second-feet and occurs in 

the winter.

The minimum weekly discharge in the period covered by records 

occurred in the first week in January, 1912. The discharge at 

Benham Falls, 1,180 second-feet, was unaffected by diversions. No 

records were being kept on Tumalo Creek at the time, but it is estimated to have been carrying 60 second-feet. The flow of Squaw 

Creek, which was affected by ice, is estimated at 50 second-feet.

These discharges have been added to that of Deschutes River at 

Benham Falls to give the probable minimum below the two tributaries. No allowance has been made for the apparent gain between
110 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OBEGON.

Bend and Laidlaw or for the possible loss between Laidlaw and 

Cline Falls, for both are questionable, and it is assumed that the 

probable method of development of this power by diversion in a 

concrete-lined canal would practically eliminate seepage losses.

The Deschutes probably receives little inflow between White 

River and the mouth, therefore, the Moody station gives the discharge in this whole section. The Mecca station shows the discharge 

through the section between Shitike Creek and Warm Springs River, 

and it has been assumed that by subtracting the discharge of Shitike 

Creek, it shows the discharge between that stream and the Metolius, 

Comparison of the records at Mecca and Moody shows a larger inflow 

than can be accounted for in Warm Springs and White.rivers, the 

excess amounting to 300 or 400 second-feet at low water and considerably more during the winter and early spring. The permanent 

flow comes from springs; the intermittent flow is derived from rains 

and melting snows on the intervening area.

The lowest weekly flow on the lower river, as observed at Moody, 

was 4,080 second-feet January 2-8, 1912. At Mecca it was lowest 

January 4-10,1912, the mean for the week being 3,550 second-feet, but 

there was a flow of only 3,300 second-feet for the three days, January 

6-8,1912. No records were being kept on Warm Spring River, and 

the gage heights on White River were evidently affected by ice; the 

flow of these streams can be estimated at 250 and 150 second-feet, 

respectively, for the lowest week, with a fair degree of certainty. 

The unmeasured inflow of about 400 second-feet, assumed to come 

in equally at these two points (p. 116) brings the total inflow between 

Mecca and Moody to 750 second-feet. The minima at these two 

points have been adjusted to 3,350 and 4,100 second-feet, respectively, or just a little greater than the absolute minimum at both 

points, but considerably lower than that during the lowest week at 

Mecca.

The minimum flow available for power development at various 

points is shown in the following table:

Minimum natural flow available for power at points in Deschutes River basin.

Stream and location.

Deschutes Kiver: 

TtAnham Falls ...

White Kiver..... ...........

Metolius River:

Section 

No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1

2

4

5

Distance 

above 

mouth.

Miles.

1S21

160

123

111

97

84

46

0

41

36

29

I Q

8

0

Elevation.

Feet. 

4,145

3,240

2,105

1,555

1 3fifl

1,230

750

131

9 QSfl

2,860

2,646

2,205

1,780

1,556

Distance 

between 

points.

Miles.

21

37

12

14

13

38

46

5

7

11

10

8

Fall 

between 

points.

Feet.

905

1,135

550

195

130

480

A1Q

120

214

441

425

224

Fall per 

mile.

Feet.

43

31

46

14

10

13

13

24

31

40

42

28

Minimyipl

discharge.

Sec.-ft. 

1,180

1,240

1,290

3,290

S qfui

3,780

4,100

4,100

100

600

1,000

1 170

1,330

1,330
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. Ill

THEORETICAL HORSEPOWER.

The following tables give the theoretical horsepower per foot fall 

that may be developed at different rates of discharge, and show the 

number of days on which the discharge and corresponding horsepower 

were respectively less than the amounts given in the columns for discharge and horsepower. In using these tables allowance should be 

made for the various losses, the principal ones being the wheel loss, 

which may be as large as 20 per cent, and the head loss, which-may 

be as large as 5 per cent.

Discharge and horsepower, Deschutes River at Alien's ranch, near Lava, Oreg.

heights

(feet).

5.0 

5.2 

5.4 

5.6 

5.8 

6.0

Discharge 

(secondfeet).

89 

106 

125 

147 

173 

205

Theoretical horsepower 

per foot 

fall.

10 

12 

14 

17 

20 

23

Days of deficient discharge.

1905

5 

112 

156 

174 

179 

184

1906

0 34 ' 

86 

132 

149 

164

1907

0 

2 

4 

59 

105

1908

0 

23 

64 

118 

167

1909

 0 

3 

51 

132 

181

1910

0 

10 

79 

127 

151

1911

0 

18 

73 

143 

203 

256

Discharge and horsepower table for Deschutes River at Benham Falls, Oreg., 1905-1912. 

12 months period, May to April.

Discharge 

(secondfeet).

1,100 

1,200 

1,300 

1,400 

1,500 

1,600 

1,700

Theoretical 

horsepower 

per foot 

fall. .

125 

136 

148 

159 

171 

182 

193

Days of deficient discharge.

1905-6

1 

3 

26 

131 

163 

178 

264

1906-7

1 

14 

116

187 

209 

245

1907-S

1 

16 

41 

99 

148

1908-9

1 

3 

13 

37 

127 

210

1909-10

3 

38 

159 

211

1910-11

1 

3

50 

165 

247 

304

1911-12

2 

3 

16 

132 

259

Irrigating season, May to September.

1.100

1,200

1,300

1,400

1,500

1,600

1,700

125

136

148

159

171

182

193

1

8

52

0

27

70

84

110 0

0

8

47

0

80

99

0

15

66

96

0

07

81

86

126

Nonirrigating season, October to April.

1,100

1,200

1,300

1,400 

1.500 

1,600

1,700

125

136

148

159 

171 

182

193

1

3

26

131 

162 

170

212

1

14

89 

117 

125

135

1

16 

46 

99

148

1

3

1337- 

119

163

3

38 

79

112

1

3

50 

150 

181

212

2

3

16

95

178
112 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OBEGON.

Discharge and horsepower table for Deschutes River at Moro and Moody, Oreg., 1897-1899,

1906-1912.

Nonirrigating season, October to April.

heights 

(feet).

1.9 

2.0 

2.1 

2.2 

2.3 

2.4 

2.5 

2.6 

2.8 

3.0 

3.2 

3.4

Discharge (secondfeet).

4,080 

4,320 

4,560 

4,820 

5,080 

5,360 

5,660 

5,980 

6,680 

7,420 

8,200 

9,000

Theoretical horsepower 

per 

foot 

fall.

464 

491 

518 

548 

577 

609 

643 

680 

759 

843 

932 

1,020

Days of deficient discharge.

Moro.

1897-98

0

77 

133 

172 

198

1898-99

0 

9 

15 

28 

46 

89 

98 

106 

114 

139 

160 

171

1899- 

1900

6 

5 

26 

56

Moody.

1906-7

0 

36 

37 

51 

85 

102 

119 

131

1907-8

6

55 

124 

132 

158 

182

1908-9

0 

23 

45 

100 

125 

143 

165 

168

1909-10

0 

32 

33

49 

75 

81 

141

1910-11

0 

36 

55

 85 

131 

187 

196 

198

1911-12

0 

3 

3 

4 

24 

61 

84 

95 

104 

133 

145 

164

Mean.

0 

1 

2 

4 

8 

27 

39 

59 

93 

122 

150

Period Hay to April.

1.9

2.0

2.1

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5 

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

4,080

4,320

4,560

4,820

5,080

5,360

5,660 

5,980

6,680

7,420

8,200

9,000

464

491

518

548

577

609

643

680

759

843

932

1,020

0

22

64

81 

84

182

276

325

351

0

9

15

28

68

153

179 

190

219

282

313

324

0 

8

52

118

0

101

166 0 

127

209

242

281

321

0

46

110

182

239

286

315

321

0

27

114 

128

163

211

233

294

0

111

143

0

3

3

4

70

141

170 

190

217

285

298

317

0

1

2

4

8

27

39 

59

93

122

150

Irrigating season, May to September.

2.2

2.3

2.4

2.5

2.6

2.8

3.0

3.2

3.4

4,820

5,080

5,360

5,660

5,980

6,680

7,420

8,200

9,000

548

577

609

643

680

759

843

932

1,020

0

22

64

81

84

105

143

153

153

0

3

26

62

73

82

0

65

129 0

72

85

110

123

139

0

23

65

82

114

143

150

153

0

27

82

95

114

136

152

153

0

75

88

0

46

80

86

95

113

152

153

153

Discharge and horsepower table for Metolius River near Sisters, Oreg., 1909-1911.

(feet).

0.5

.6

.7

.8

Discharge 

(second- 

(feet).

1,410

1,490

1,570

1,650

Theoretical horsepower 

per foot 

fall.

160

169

178

188

Days of deficient discharge.

1909

0

55

116

203

1910

0

21

110

210

1911

0

68

227

302
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE VII

Diagram

showing

rate of draft

,800

,700

,670-Mean 

,600 

,500

,400

,300

MASS CURVE SHOWING REGULATION OF DESCHUTES RIVER AT PROPOSED BENHAM FALLS RESERVOIR FOR

POWER DEVELOPMENT.
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 113

Discharge and horsepower table for East Fork of Deschutes River near Crescent, Oreg.,

1905-1911.

Discharge (secondfeet).

10 

20 

30 

40 

50 

60

Theoretical horsepower 

per foot 

fall.

1.1

2.3 

3.4

4.5 

5.7 

6.8

Days of deficient dbeharge.

1905

0 

15

98 

160 

174 

186

1906

0 

1

79 

138 

156

 1907

0 

72 

131 

145

1910-Ho

0 

102 

163 

193

a October to September. 

WATER STORED AT BENHAM FALLS.

The water supply of Deschutes River available for power could 

be materially augmented by storage at Benham Falls operated to 

regulate the discharge for that purpose, especially that part of 

the discharge of the upper part of the river nearest the suggested 

reservoir. The discharge that could be maintained and the amount 

of storage required can best be studied by the aid of a mass curve 

or vector diagram, Plate "VII, which shows that with respect to the 

vector line representing a discharge of 1,670 second-feet the mean 

for the eight years the mass was increasing up to June 30, 1910, 

then decreasing until April 30, 1912. The ordinate from the vector 

line drawn through the point for the later date to the point on the 

graph for June 30, 1910, is equal to 249,000 acre-feet. The point on 

the graph for April 30, 1912, is 31,600 acre-feet below this vector line. 

Therefore the draft from storage between these dates would equal 

281,000 acre-feet the capacity required to maintain a constant discharge of 1,670 second-feet. Therefore the quantity of water which 

may be made available for power above Tumalo Creek by the suggested reservoir at Benham Falls is estimated at 1,670 second-feet 

and the other discharges for stretches lower down have been increased 

to 1,670 second-feet or 490 second-feet over the minimum.

EFFECT OF FUTURE DIVERSION.

The substantially complete control of the discharge of Deschutes 

River, Tumalo Creek, and Crooked River for irrigation would practically remove contribution of discharge from the drainage area of these 

three streams above the points of diversion. Water from all three 

wiH, of course, reach the lower river, but this overflow will always 

co _, when the flow is materially above the minimum, and therefore 

will not appreciably affect the low-water discharge. The effect of 

future diversions on the regimen of the lower river is indicated by the 

48348° WSP 344 14 8
114 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

following table, which shows the observed discharge at Moody, the 

correction which must be applied to reduce that discharge to the 

flow that would have occurred had there been no irrigation, the 

resulting natural flow, and the discharge under future conditions. 

The probable effect of future diversions as indicated in the table is 

the difference between the observed discharge at the points of diversion or storage and the estimated return waters, 620 second-feet, and 

is always negative, the observed discharge being greater than the 

return waters.

Effect of future irrigation on discharge (in second-feet) of Deschutes River at Moody.

Month.

1906. 

July.................................................

1907.

March............. .......................... .. .....

Aprfl.. ..............................................

Mmr

July.................................................

T^ho iriMii1

1908.

"»&?...... ................ ...........................

July.................................................

The year......................................

1909.

i&.y...... ...........................................

July.................................................

December...........................................

The year ...,,.,,,,...,,..,....«...,...........

Observed 

discharge 

at 

Moody.

5,800

5,360

5,080

5,180

7,290

6,720

6,720

13,900

9,590

11,900

8,950

7,250

6230

5,670

5,660

5,660

5,980

8,720

7,970

7,420

6,110

8,600

8,510

7,340

6,500

6,000

5,400

5,300

5,300

5,970

5,710

6,530

7,470

7,180

7,520

8,390

7,040

6,760

5,580

5,260

5,360

5,540

9,380

8,710

7,010

Correction for 

past diversions.

+318

+280

+270

+252

+ 7

4- 43

- 41

+ 14

+ 61

+158

+273

+368

+308

+330

+237

+206

+ 88

+ 11

- 31

- 41

+ o

+144

+238

+336

+451

+407

+320

+243

- 4

- 36

- 81

- 31

+ 34

+170

+352

+399

+314

+399

+284

+190

- 55

- 81

Natural discharge.

6,120

5,640

5,350

5,430

7,300

6,760

6,680

13,900

9,650

12,100

9,220

7,620

6,540

5,000

5,900

5,870

6,070

8,730

7,390

6,070

8,600

8,650

7,580

6,840

6,450

5,810

5,620

5,540

5,970

5,670

7,390

7,150

7,550

8,560

7,390

7,160

5,890

5,660

5,640

5,730

9,320

8,630

Correction for 

future diversions.

-1,190

- 900

- 870

- 850

-1,140

-1, 110

-1,160

-4,300

-3,050

-3,540

-2,640

-2,110

-1,710

-1,390

-1,290

-1,160

-1,160

-1,400

-1,330

-1,130

-1,880

-2,340

-1,820

-1,720

-1,570

-1,170

-1,110

-1,200

-1,120

- 960

-1,300

-1,270

-1,720

-2,140

-1,620

-1,500

-1,170

-1,030

-1,020

-1,000

-2,090

-1,700

Discharge 

under 

future 

conditions.

4,930

4,740

4,480

4,580

6,160

5,650

5,520

9,600

6,600

8,560

6,580

5,510

4,830

4,610

4,610

4,710

4,910

7,33C

6,060

4,940

6,720

6,310

5,760

5,120

4,880

4,640

4,510

4,340

4,850

4,710

6, OS')

5,88<>

5,830

6,42^

5,770 5,eei

4,720

4,6FO

4,620

4,7TO

7,230

6,«V)
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 115 

Effect of future irrigation on discharge (in second-feet) of Deschutes River at Moody Con.

Month.

1910.

May..... ............................................

June.. ............................. .. .... ...

July.................................................

1911.

March...................................... .. ... .

April.. .............................................

Mav

July.................................................

1912.

April................. ...............................

May.................................................

July.................................................

October. ............................................

Observed 

discharge 

at 

Moody.

9,420

8,110

14,300

8,740

7 Qfin

6,320

5,400

5,180

5,230

5 9Qft

6,300

6,820

7,430

6,350

5,710

7,210

7,450

6,810

6,380

5,260

4,850

i Q3ft

<1 QQft

5,440

5,340

5,890

7 <Mft

9 79(1

6,920

9,550

9,770

7,980

5,910

5,390

5,520

5,480

6,030

6,000

7,170

Correction for 

past diversions.

- 61

- 56

- 16

+187

+291

I_JQ1

+470

+313

+285

+201

_ (\A

+ 7

- 48

EQ

__ Oft

+176

+351

ivion

+477

+402

lOftl

+193

+ o

- 67

- 70

- 54

- 30

+290

+461

+493

j-idd

+299

+229

+114

- 59

Natural discharge.

9,360

8,050

14,300

8,930

8,250

6,750

5,870

5,490

5,520

5,490

6,300

6,830

6,300

S

fiKA

7,180

7,630

7,160

6,820

6 74A

5,250

5,220

5,180

5,440

5,270

7,870

9,670

6,890

9,610

10,060

8,440

a dnft

5,830

5,820

5,710

6,140

6 Qdn

Correction for 

future diversions.

-1,380 i 7fin

-3.520

-2,120

1 74fl

-1.300

-1,100

-1,000

_ QSft

QSft

-1,060

-1,320

-1,030

-1,000

-1,890

-1,820

_ I 480

-l'400

-1,040

- 840

- 860

- 850

- 880

- 800

-1,170

-1,630

-1,210

9 S7fl

-2,720

-2,060

-1,390

-1,180

-1,160

-1,090

-1,160

-1,080

Discharge 

under 

future conditions.

7,980

6,290

10,780

6,810

6,510

5,450

4,770

4,490

a un

4,510

5,240

5,510

5,270

4,650

5,290

5,810

5,680

5.420

4,700

4,410

4,360

4,330

4,560

4,470

6.700

8.040

5,680

7 94ft

7,340

6,380

5,010

4,650

4,660

4,620

4,980

4,860

The .distribution of the unmeasured flow of the Deschutes between 

Warm Springs and "WTiite rivers is shown by the following table 

(p. 116). It has been assumed that one-half of it comes in at the mouth 

of each of the two tributary rivers in addition to the flow of the rivers 

themselves.

The second column shows the discharge at Mecca with the same 

reduction that has been found applicable to Moody to give the discharge under assumed future conditions of storage and irrigation. 

The other columns are self-explanatory.
116 DESCHUTES BIVER, OKEGOF. 

Distribution of inflow between Mecca and Moody.

Month.

1911.

July......................................

1912. .

May. .....................................

July......................................

Discharge under 

assumed conditions.

Mecca.

Sec.-ft. 

3,960 

3,820 

3,720 

3,720 

3,600 3,390- 

3,540

3,810 

4,260 

3,960 

4,150 

4,670 

4,420 

3,950 

3,810 

3,660 

3,530 

3,720 

3,530

Moody.

Sec.'ft. 

5,420 

4,720 

4,520 

4,500 

4,500 

4,620 

4,580

6,700 

8,040 

5,680 

7,240 

7,340 

6,380 

5,010 

4,650 

4.660 

4,620 

4,980 

4,860

Inflow betweenMecca and 

Moody.

At Warm 

Spring 

River.

Sec.-ft. 

860 

550 

470 

440 

500 

590 

620

1,470 

1,710 

1,080 

1,470 

1,240 

1,090 

560 

470 

550 

590 

650 

690

At White 

River.

Sec.-ft. 

600 

350 

330 

340 

400 

640 

420

1,420 

3,070 

640 

1,620 

1,430 

870 

500 

370 

450 

500 

610 

640

Total.

Sec.-ft. 

1,460 

900 

800 

780 

900 

1,230 

1,040

2,890 

3,780 

1,720 

3,090 

2,670 

1,960 

1,060 

840 

1,000 

1,090 

1,260 

1,330

Discharge 

between 

Warm 

Springs 

and 

White 

rivers.

Sec.-ft. 

4,820 

4,370 

4,190 

4,160 

4,000 

3,980 

4,160

5,280 

5,970 

5,040 

5,620 

5,920 

5,510 

4,510 

4,280 

4,210 

4,120 

4,370 

4,220

This table indicates a possible minimum monthly discharge of 3,390 

second-feet ultimately available at Mecca, corresponding to a discharge 

of about 3,330 second-feet above Shitike Creek and 3,980 below Warm 

Springs River. . The latter is, of course, subject to the uncertainty as 

to the location of the inflow from springs between Mecca and Moody. 

The estimates of minima used by Prof. McCaustland in his part of 

the report, of 3,400 second-feet from the Metolius to Warm Springs 

River and 3,700 second-feet from Warm Springs to White River, are 

probably fairly accurate.

POWER FEOM WATER USED FOR IRRIGATION.

In the estimate of the rate of distribution of water to irrigated 

lands (p. 89), it was assumed that a small quantity, about 10 per cent 

of the total yearly flow equivalent to an average discharge of 220 

second-feet would have to be released during the winter for domestic use. This would be available for power development between 

the reservoir and the points of diversion.

During the summer months a large amount of water would be 

available for power in the stretch of river between the suggested 

reservoir at Benham Falls and the lower diversion below Laidlaw. 

This power could be used to supply some demand that would be 

active only during this period, such as pumping water for irrigation 

or furnishing auxiliary power to some plant for which the flow otherwise available is deficient during July and August. The utilization 

of the power of the upper Deschutes for either of these purpose?
AVAILABILITY OF WATER SUPPLY. 117

would probably involve long transmission lines and may not be commercially feasible for many years, but it presents possibilities that 

should not be overlooked in an estimate of the total potential power 

of the Deschutes.

POWER FROM WATER STORED ON CROOKED RIVER.

The general regimen of the lower Deschutes is very uniform, but 

there are relatively short periods in which the discharge falls within 

100 to 500 second-feet of the minimum. The mini mum flow available for power in this section could be materially increased by the 

release of a relatively small amount of water that could be stored on 

Crooked River, the water supply of which is apparently sufficient 

not only to irrigate 50,000 acres of land in its own valley but also to 

supply deficiencies in flow below 4,500 second-feet on the lower river.

A study of the manipulation of possible storage on Crooked River 

for months during which the mean discharge of Deschutes at Moody 

is less than 4,500 second-feet has been made to determine the quantity of water necessary to release in order to supply deficiencies below 

this minimum. This quantity is generally larger than would be 

indicated by the deficiency of the monthly mean below 4,500, as 

during a few days in each month the flow will exceed 4,500 secondfeet.

The estimated areas and capacities of the suggested reservoir on 

Crooked River are shown by the following table, prepared from data 

furnished by the United States Reclamation Service:

Approximate area and capacity of Crooked River storage reservoir.

Elevation 

above 

sea

level.

Feet.

3,480

3,490

3,500

3,510

3,520

3,530

3,540

. 3,550

3,560

3,570

3,580

3,590

3,600

3,610

3,620

Area.

Acres.

0

30

100

250

420

1,350

1,850

2,350

2,900

3,700

4,300

5,000

5,500

6,000

6,300

Difference in

area 

per foot

of gage 

height.

Acres.

3

7

15

17

93

50

50

55

80

60

70

50

50

56

Capacity.

Acre-feet.

0

150

800

2,600

6,000

15,000

31,000

52,000

78,000

111,000

152,000

200,000

252,000

310,000

372,000

Difference in

capacity 

per foot

height.

Acre-feet.

15

65

180

340

900

1,600

2,100

2,600

3,300

4.100

4,800

5,200

5,800

6,200
118 DESCHTJTES RIVEB, OREGON.

The results of study of storage manipulation on Crooked River are 

presented in the following table in substantially the same manner as, 

those for Deschutes River and Tumalo Creek:

Manipulation of storage at suggested reservoir on Crooked River.

Month.

1906.

February.........

March............

May..............

June..............

July..............

November........

The year....

1907. 

January..........

March............

April.............

May.............. 

June..............

July..............

August...........

October...........

November........

December. ........

The year....

1908.

February.........

May..............

June ..............

July..............

December. ........

The year ....

1909. 

January.........1.

February.........

March............

April............. 

May.............. 

June..............

July..............

August...........

September........

Required 

for irrigation 

along Crooked 

River.

Acre-ft.

7,500

18,000

27,000

37,500

37,500

15,000

7,500

150,000

7,500

18,000 

27,000

37,500

37,500 

15,000

7,500

150,000

7,500

18,000

27,000

37,500

37,500

15,000

7,500

150,000

7,500 

18,000 

27,000

37,500

37,500

15,000

Deficiencies 

below 

4,500 

secondfeet 

on 

lower Deschutes 

River.

Acre-ft

I i ion

633

1,800

"""""6

196

9 

' 840

10,000

.......

7Q3

637

Total 

suggested

use.

Acre-ft.

7,500

18,000

27,000

37,500

37,500

16.200

8,100

151,800

7 500

18* 000 

97 nnn

37,500

37,500 

15,000

2 Win

150,000

7 <am

18,000

27,000

37,500

37,500

15,200

17,300

160,000

7,500 

18,000 

27,000

37,500

QQ QAfi

15,600

Evaporation.

Acre-ft.

0

200

700

1,900

1,900

2,700

2,300

1

CAA

500

300

0

11,500

0

0

500

onn

1,900 i onn

2,200

2,300 IcAn

500

300

0

12,000

0

0

400

ocin

1 OrtO

1,800

2 onn

2 200

I'dflfl

KftA

9 no

0

11,500

0

0

300

800 

1,900 

1 900

2^200

1 900

l!400

Total 

use 

and 

evaporation.

Acre-ft. 

0

0

200

8,200

19,900

28,900

39,700

39,800

17,700

8,600

300

0

163,300

0

0

CAA

8,400

19,900

no QAft

39,700

39,800 

16,500

8,000

300

0

162,000

0

0

400

8,400

I

IQ onn

28,800

39,700

39,700

16,600

n

QflA

200

o

171,500

o

o

300

8,300 

19,900

OD Onn

39,200

40,200

17.000

Discharge 

of Crooked 

River.

Acre-ft. 

7,500

21,700

65,200

95,900

18,800

7,910

2,520

1,660

2,320

3,500

8,810

12,100

247,900

16,400

IQA nnn

inn ftnn

120,000

29,300 

3,750

2,710

2,280 

2,320

3,810

7,500

440,900

10,100 19 inn

io Ann

61,500

15,300

3,570

2 O1 A

1 9Qn

1

7QA

4 300

K nftA

A QOft

171,900

U finn

91 onn

43.000

68,000 

17,200 

4,090

2,260

1 finn

2.120

Excesses and deficiencies.

Acre-ft. 

7,500

21,700

65,000

87,700

- 1,100

- 21,000

- 37,200

- 38,100

- 15,400

- 5,100

- 8,500

- 12,100

f+202,500

\-117, 900

+ 16,400

+134,000

+108,500

111,600

+ 9,400 

- 25,200

- 37,000

- 37,500 

- 14,200

- 4,200

+ 7,200

+ 9,800

f+396,900

^ AAOj AUU

+ 10,100

+ 12,300

+ 49,200

+ 53,100

- 4,600

- 25,200

_ ^7 Finn

- 38,400

 14,800

- 13,500

I

i A onn

+ 4,-900

f+ 134, 500

\ 134,000

+ 11,600

+ 91 Ortft

+ 49 7nn

+ 59,700 

- 2,700 

24 gQn

- 37,400

38,600

- 14.900

In reservoir 

at end 

of 

month.

Acre-ft. 

22,500

44,200

109,200

180,000

178,900

157,900

120,700

82,600

67,200

62,100

70,600

82,700

}.......

99,100

180,000

180,000

180,000

180,000 

154,800

117,800

80,300 

66,100

61,900

69,100

78,900

}.......

89,000

101,300

1 t\f\ &Yk

180,000

175,400

150,200

m ?nn

74 300

59] 500

46,000

M Qfift

55,800

}.......

67 400

so'snn

139 nnn

180,000 

177,300

1 &> £fWl

115,100

76,500

61.600

Area 

of 

water 

surface.

Acres.

2,100

3,600

4,700

4,700

4,400

3,900

3,000

2,700

2,600

2,800

3,100

3,400

4,700

4,700

4,700

4,700 

4,300

3,500

3,000 

27nn

2,600

2,800

3,000

3,200

3,500

4,300

4,700

4,600

4,300

3,700 Q onn

2,500

2 onn

2

0AA

2 inn

2 7flfl

3,200

4,000

4,700 

4,700 

4 300

3' 800

2 onn

2.600

Overflow.

Acre-ft.

16,900

16,900

33,100

108,500

111,600

9,400

282,600

23,600

23,600

11,700
AVAILABILITY OF WATEB SUPPLY. 119 

Manipulation of storage at suggested reservoir on Crooked River Continued.

Month.

October...........

The year....

1910. 

January..........

February.........

March

May. ............. 

June..............

July..............

September........

November........

The year.... 

1911.

March........ .

April.............

May.............. 

June.............. 

July..............

November........

The year. . . .

1912. 

January..........

March............

April.............

May.............. 

June.............. 

July..............

August...........

October........... 

November ........

December. ........

The year....

Required 

for irrigation 

olonfij Crooked 

River.

Acre-fi. 

7,500

150,000

7,500

18,000 

27,000

37,500 

37,500 

15,000 

7,500

150,000

7,500

18,000 

27,000 

37,500 

37,500 

15,000 

7,500

150,000

7,500

18,000 

27,000 

37,500 

37,500 

15,000 

7,500

150,000

Deficiencies 

below 

4,500 

secondfeet 

on 

lower Deschutes 

River.

Acr&ft.

1,400

.......

615

""8i2 

238

1,700

1,730 

1,980 

1,670

"i,"430 

6,640 

8,330 

10,500 

3,290 

7,070

42,600

12,200

.......

12,200

Total

suggested 

use.

Acre-ft. 

7,500

151,400

7,500 

18,000 

27,000 

37,500 

38,100 

15,000 

8,300 

200

151,600

1,700 

2,000 

1,700 

7,500 

18,000 

27,000 

38,900 

44,100 

23,300 

18,000 

3,300 

7,100

122,600

12,200 

0 

0 

7,500 

18,000 

27,000 

37,500 

37,500 

15,000 

7,500 

0 

0

162,200

Evaporation.

Acre-ft. 

500 

200 

0

11,100

0 

0 

400 

900 

1,900 

1,800 

2,100 

2,200 

1,300 

500 

200 

0

11,300

0 

0 

300 

800 

1,900 

1,900 

2,200 

2,200 

1,400 

400 

200 

0

11,300

0 

0 

300 

600 

1,800 

1,900 

2,200 

2,400 

1,700 

600 

300 

0

11,800

Total 

use 

and 

evaporation.

Acre-ft. 

8,000 

200 

0

162,500

0 

0 

400 

8,400 

19,900 

28,800 

39,600 

40,300 

16,300 

8,800 

400 

0

162,900

1,700 

2,000 

2,000 

8,300 

19,900 

28,900 

41,100 

46,300 

24,700 

18,400 

3,500 

7,100

203,900

12,200 

0 

300 

8,100 

19,800 

28,900 

39,700 

39,900 

16,700 

8,100 

300 

0

174,000

Discharge 

of Crooked 

River.

Acre-it. 

3,160 

25,600 

13,200

213,700

21,600 

38,300 

117.000 

37,400 

11,500 

857 

548 

347 

1,110 

2,820 

6,070 

16,800

254,300

8,980 

9,660 

62,700 

52,600 

18,200 

2,650 

1,080 

572 

1,080 

3,120 

3,650 

4,560

168,900

19,600 

35,000 

20,300 

95,200 

91,600 

17,800 

4,120 

2,040 

2,040 

3,020 

4,680 

7,000

302,400

Excesses and deficiencies.

Acre-ft.

- 4,800 

+ 25,400 

+ 13,200

f+174,000 

1-123,200

+ 21,600 

+ 38,300 

+116,600 

+ 29,000 

- 8,400 

- 27,900 

- 39,100 

- 40,000 

- 15,200 

- 6,000 

+ 5,700 

+ 16,800

f+228,000 

I- 136, 600

+ 7,300 

+ 7,700 

+ 60,700 

+ 49,300 

- 1,700 

- 26,200 

- 40,000 

- 45,700 

- 23,600 

- 15,300 

+ 200 

- 2,500

f +119, 900 

1-155,000

+ 7,400 

+ 35,000 

+ 20,000 

+ 87,100 

+ 71,800 

- 11,100 

- 35,600 

- 37,900 

- 14,700 

- 5,100 

+ 4,400 

+ 7,000

/+232,700 

(- 104, 400

In reservoir 

at end 

of 

month.

Acre-ft. 

56,800 

82,200 

95,400

}.......

117,000 

155,300 

180,000 

180,000 

171,600 

143,700 

104,600 

64,600 

49,400 

43,400 

49,100 

65,900

}.......

73,200 

80,900 

141,600 

180,000 

178,300 

152,100 

112,100 

66,400 

42,800 

27,500 

27,200 

25,200

}.......

32,600 

67,600 

87,600 

174,700 

180,000 

168,900 

133,300 

95,400 

80,700 

75,600 

80,000 

87,000

}.......

Area 

of 

water 

surface.

Acres. 

2,500 

3,000 

3,300

3,800 

4,400 

4,700 

4,700 

4,600 

4,200 

3,600 

2,600 

2,300 

2,200 

2,300 

2,700

2,800 

3,000 

4,100 

4,700 

4,700 

4,300 

3,700 

2,700 

2,100 

1,700 

1,800 

1,700

1,900 

2,700 

3,200 

4,600 

4,700 

4,500 

4,000 

3,400 

3,000 

2,900 

3,000 

3,200

Overflow.

Acre-ft.

11,700

91,900 

29,000

120,900

10,900

10,900

66,500

66,500

The table shows the monthly requirements for irrigation, the 

volume of water (in acre-feet) required to maintain a discharge of 

4,500 second-feet in Deschutes River below White River, the monthly 

evaporation, the available flow of Crooked River at the reservoir, as 

shown by records of the Post station November to March, and at the
120 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

point of diversion, as represented by the Prineville station April to 

October, the area of water surface* corresponding to the volume of 

storage, and the quantity of water spilled in any month after the 

reservoir becomes filled to capacity 180,000 acre-feet.

The figures indicate that the reservoir would have been filled each 

spring without exception, but the quantity spilled in 1911 would have 

been very small, and in 1909 it would have been less than 5 per cent 

of the total run-off. Although never empty, the reservoir would have 

had only 13,000 acre-feet left at the end of the period of deficiency on 

lower Deschutes River in the early part of January, 1912. The 

assumed capacity is, therefore, possibly 13,000 acre-feet too great. 

The annual draft might be increased by 10,000 or 20,000 acre-feet by 

holding over water from wet years, like 1907 or 1910, but the increase 

in storage required would be considerable and the expense might 

not be warranted. The maximum storage capacity required for 

irrigation alone would have been 135,000 acre-feet in 1910; the 

maximum for power alone, 49,400, July, 1911, to January, 1912.

DEVELOPED WATER POWERS IN THE DESCHUTES 

DRAINAGE BASIN.

By W. B. HBROT.

Because of the relatively sparse population of the Deschutes basin 

and the few towns of sufficient importance to afford a market for 

power, little progress has been made in the utilization of water power. 

There are, however, at least three plants in operation one on the 

main Deschutes River, one on Crooked River, and one on White 

River with an aggregate capacity of 2,900 kilowatts. Descriptions 

of these plants, based in part upon data published in engineering

journals, follow.

BEND PLANT.1

Near the town of Bend in the north half of sec. 32, T. 17 S., 

R. 12 E., a small rock-fill dam has been constructed across Deschutes 

River to develop water power. At the east end of the dam a forebay has been constructed from which water is admitted to the 

wheels in the power house. Only half of the power house has been 

completed, housing at the present time one unit. The station is, 

however, of modern concrete and brick construction and may ultimately be enlarged to a capacity .of 1,400 horsepower. The plant 

operates under a head of 15 feet.

The unit now installed consists of an S. Morgan Smith turbine, 

directly connected to a 250 kilovolt-ampere alternating-current generator. Electric power and light are furnished to Bend, and the 

pumps for municipal water supply are also operated electrically.

1 Described in The Journal of Electricity, vol. 31, p. 319,1913.
DEVELOPED WATEE POWEBS IN DESOHUTES DEAINAGE BASIN. 121

The plant was originally constructed by the Bend Water, Light & 

Power Co. in 1910 but has recently been acquired by the Central 

Oregon Power Co. This company is said to be controlled by the 

same interests as the Deschutes Power Co. The cost of the plant 

and distribution system has been slightly over $100,000.

CROOKED RIVER PLANT.

A hydroelectric plant has been constructed to utilize the flow of 

the lower stretch of Crooked River, below Opal Springs. The diversion canal takes directly out of the river in the SE. | SW. | sec. 

11, T. 12 S., R, 12 E., and conducts the water to the power house, 

which is situated in the NE. | SW. f of the same section. The 

canal is about 2,300 feet in length and the head obtained is approximately 33 feet.

One unit has been installed, consisting of one Leffel water wheel, 

one direct-current generator, 14 kilowatts, 125 volts, 112 amperes, 

and one alternating-current generator, 400 kilowatts, 2,300 volts, 100 

amperes. The distribution system supplies Prineville, Redmond, 

Madras, Metolius, and Culver, 73 miles of transmission lines having 

been constructed. The plant is capable of being enlarged to a 

capacity of 3,900 horsepower, and by means of a diversion dam the 

head can be increased to 38 feet. Eleven hundred second-feet of 

water has been appropriated,

The plant was constructed by the Cove Power Co. but has recently 

been purchased by the Deschutes Power Co., having offices at 521 

First Avenue, Spokane, Wash. The officers of the company are 

Samuel Galland, president; W. C. Sivyer, vice president; Bert L. 

Sivyer, secretary and treasurer; and L. M. Simpson, general manager. 

The cost of the plant, equipment, and transmission system is reported 

to be about $228,000.

WHITE RIVER PLANT. 1

A short distance west of Deschutes River White River falls from 

the Deschutes plateau into a canyon, forming a number of picturesque 

cascades. Advantage of this natural water power has been taken 

and a hydroelectric plant installed. The entire development is 

located on the northeast quarter of sec. 7, T. 4 S., R. 14 E.

A concrete dam, 8 feet high, has been built across the river above 

the f alls and diverts the water into a settling basin, the use of which 

is necessitated because of the large amount of sediment carried by 

White River. The water is thence conveyed through a 48-inch 

wood-stave pipe about 500 feet to a second settling basin, which 

acts also as a forebay reservoir. A 60-inch wood-stave and steel 

pressure pipe 430 feet long, leading to the power house, gives a head 

of 149 feet.

1 Described in The Journal of Electricity, vol. 29, p. 227.
122 DBSCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

The power house contains three Pelton-Frances turbines, two 

installed in 1911 having a capacity of 1,000 horsepower each; and 

one in 1912 of 1,600 horsepower. The older wheels are each connected to 500-kilowatt, 60-cycle, 3-phase generators, while the new 

wheel connects to a 1,250-kilowatt machine. Two 40-kilowatt and 

one 60-kilowatt exciters have also been installed.

Power is developed at 2,300 volts but is stepped up to 66,000 

volts for transmission 27 miles to The Dalles. Here connection is 

made with a transmission line leading to Hood River, where a small 

hydroelectric plant of 325 kilowatts is tied into the same circuit. A 

branch line extends to Dufur.

The plant was constructed by the Wasco Warehouse Milling Co., 

now a subsidiary of the Pacific Power & Light Co., which supplies 

electricity to a large territory in southern Washington and northern 

Oregon. The Pacific Power & Light Co. is controlled by the American Power & Light Co., a subsidiary of the General Electric Co.

UNDEVELOPED POWER SITES.

By E. J. McCAUSTLAND.

METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT.

In any contemplated water-power development all other possible 

uses of the water should be carefully considered and should be given 

full weight in reaching a conclusion. It has been contended that the 

full development of power in certain regions has led to the exhaustion 

of the natural resources, such as lumber, iron, and coal. It is thus 

reasonable to ask whether such development was for the ultimate 

good of these regions or whether it would not have been wise to delay 

development until it could proceed without exhausting natural 

resources. But whether development is to proceed as a whole or by 

a system of units in response to pressing demand, knowledge of the 

possibilities and the limitations of the water powers is of primary 

importance to the owners of the rights.

In order to determine such possibilities and limitations, complete 

and accurate data are essential. It should not be forgotten, however, 

that accuracy in this connection is merely relative, and that for 

preliminary investigations a range of 10 to 15 per cent is well within 

the limit of error to be expected.

The minimum power available at any site is that which may be 

developed during the period of lowest flow of the stream a period 

ordinarily extending over a few days or weeks during some rather 

definite season of the year; as during other portions of the year a 

much greater power may be developed, it is, as a rule, wise not to 

design a plant for an actual minimum stream flow, but to plan for a 

flow somewhat in excess of this minimum and to provide for auxiliary
U. 3. GEOLOGICAL. SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE VIII

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SKETCH MAP OF

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SHOWING

LOCATION OF POWER SITES

22 23

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POWER PROFILES OF METOLIUS AND DESCHUTES RIVERS.
UNDEVELOPED POWEE SITES* 123

power to carry the load over the periods of shortage. The additional 

power that may be obtained over and above that available with 

minimum flow may amount to many times the minimum power, the 

range depending, of course, on the variations of flow in the stream 

to be developed.

The use of reservoirs at the head waters of power streams, in which 

precipitation may be collected and stored and released as necessary, 

may increase the amount of power that may be developed to a degree 

materially above the minimum. Such storage also tends to prevent 

flooding of the stream and allows the construction of less expensive 

dams, head works, and spillways. On Deschutes River the fall is too 

great to allow much pondage behind power dams, but a large reservoir 

site exists on Crooked River in T. 17 S., R. 21 E. Willamette meridian, 

where a dam of moderate height will provide storage for water that 

may be released during the low-water season to increase the minimum 

flow of the stream.

A scheme for the development of the power of Deschutes River to 

its utmost economical limits must so provide for the utilization of the 

dam sites that any one may be built without interfering in any way 

with later developments, either up or down the stream. Suitable 

power sites do not exist at all points along the river, but those selected 

for description seem feasible of economic development by dams so 

proportioned that each will back the water up to the next most 

likely site above. (See PL VIII.)

MARKET FOB, POWER.

At the present time there is practically no active market to justify 

the development of any considerably amount of power along D.eschutes River. A small power plant is now in operation at Bend, 

about 160 miles from Columbia River, but the maximum output of 

this plant will not exceed 1,500 horsepower and only a small part of 

this total is now in demand. It is probable that when central Oregon 

becomes more densely populated, the need for the products of the 

country, such as timber, wool, and leather, may encourage the building of a number of small factories and thus bring into local use a part 

of the ultimate power that may be developed along the river. It is 

not to be expected, however, that all the potential power of the 

Deschutes at any point will be thus used locally, and it follows that 

transmission lines must be constructed to make this power available 

at long distances from the source of development. Fortunately at 

each of the sites here described enough power may be developed to 

make transmission economical up to and possibly beyond a distance 

of 200 to 300 miles.

The price for which electric power along the river can be sold must 

be determined by considering the local cost of power, and this cost 

will depend, for some time at least, on the prevailing prices of coal
124 ODESCHUTES BIVER, OEEGON.

or oil. Wood is now and may for some time be used in small plants, 

but it will never be an important factor in the problem of possible 

waterpower development along the Deschutes. The comparatively 

large investments necessary for the development of any one of these 

power sites and the small demand for power that may be expected 

for some time after beginning operations will make the fixed and 

operating charges high, and therefore power can not be sold as cheaply 

as if the whole output could be used from the beginning.

AVAILABLE PLOW.

The stream-flow records collected by the United States Geological 

Survey and presented in preceding pages indicate the amount of 

water available for continuous power development as follows:

Water available for power development in Deschutes River basin.

On Metolius River: Second-feet. 

Jacks Creek site........................................... 600

Jefferson Creek site....................................... 1,000

Whitewater site........................................... 1,200

Biggs site................................................ 1,400

On Deschutes Biver:

Metolius, Pelton, and Mecca sites.......................... 3,400

Coleman, White Horse Bapids, Frieda, Maupin, and Oak 

Springs sites............................................. 3,700

All other sites on lower Deschutes Biver .................. 4, 500

FIELD STUDIES.

To determine the most available sites some weeks were spent in the 

field studying the river, a journey being made on foot along the river 

canyon from the Columbia to Bend and every likely dam site being 

noted. The most satisfactory were then surveyed in detail and a 

line of soundings Was taken across the river at the approximate crest 

line of the proposed dam. From these surveys maps were made 

(Pis. IX-XXV) to a scale of 100 feet to the inch with contours at 

10-foot intervals. Each map shows also the layout of a possible 

development. Cross sections plotted from the contours and soundings afforded a basis for the estimates of quantities of material in 

the dams and other structures.

SITES ON DESCHUTES RIVER.

General conditions. Among the many conditions that favor 

Deschutes River as a power stream are its remarkably uniform flow, 

its comparative freedom from drift and suspended matter that might 

be injurious to or interfere with the operation of water wheels, and 

the little difficulty to be apprehended from the formation of ice.

The course of the Deschutes is now paralleled by a line of railway 

on each bank. Whatever reduction in costs of construction might,
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE IX

fWEGON TRUNK

MAP OF MOODY POWER SITE.
, UNDEVELOPED POWER SITES. 125

result from this proximity of a cheap means of transportation will, 

however, be somewhat more than offset by the cost imposed by the 

necessity of changing the alignment of these railway tracks in order 

to bring their grade above the crests of the various dams. A casual 

examination of the topographic features of the valley of the Deschutes 

would lead one to the belief that it abounds in power sites that afford 

opportunities for the construction of high dams at low cost. A more 

careful examination, however, discloses the fact that sites having 

both the foundation and flanking river walls suitable for high-head 

developments are not numerous, particularly if low cost of power is 

the criterion of choice. At almost any point along the river a good 

foundation may be found, and in many places a rock wall exists on 

one side of the stream and in close proximity to it; but it is rather 

unusual to find places where the canyon narrows down and has rock 

walls on both sides of the stream and near enough to it to insure 

short dams. The river valley varies in width from 200 to 1,200 feet. 

Where the stream approaches one side of this valley the natural rock 

walls on that side afford excellent abutments for masonry dams, 

but a very long structure is likely to be necessary in order to reach 

suitable abutment on the opposite side.

A careful examination of the river below the mouth of the Metolius 

and a consideration of the proper balancing of the natural conditions 

favoring the construction of dams, and the heights to which such dams 

could be built in order that the backwater from one would just reach 

the base of the next dam above, have led to the selection of 14 sites 

suitable for development. The total fall in the Deschutes from 

the limit .of backwater of the dam farthest upstream to Columbia 

River is about 1,615 feet, of which 1,406 feet can be utilized at the 

selected sites by means of diversion lines leading from dams of the 

heights assumed.

The type of development that appears most suitable for the 

Deschutes comprises masonry dams, near-by power houses, and very 

short diversion lines, except at the White Horse Rapids, Maupin, 

and Sherar Falls sites, where longer diversion lines would be needed.

Moody power site. Located in the SW. J sec. 35, T. 2 N., R. 15 E. 

Willamette meridian. The bed of the river at this point is solid rock 

and the right bank is also solid rock and fully exposed. A test pit 

sunk on the left bank shows solid rock at the depth of a few feet, 

under a thin covering of soil. As indicated on the map (PL IX) the 

power house may be placed on the left bank of the stream and reached 

by penstocks from a forebay to extend along the hillside parallel 

to the axis of the river.

The power house should probably be built as near to the dam as 

possible and yet kept on an entirely separate foundation.

It is estimated that a dam 180 feet high built at this point would 

make available a power head of 132 feet, by which 54,000 brake horse-
126 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

power (40,000 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per 

cent efficiency with a flow of 4,500 second-feet. A solid gravity dam, 

180 feet high, at this site would involve the excavation of about 

52,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 243,000 

cubic yards of masonry.

Lockit power site. Located in the NE. \ sec. 8, T. 1 S., R. 16 E. 

Willamette meridian. At this site the river bed and the right wall 

appear to be of solid basalt, but the left bank is more or less covered 

with loose, disintegrated rock. The sketch (PL X) indicates a possible layout similar to that at the Moody site. A dam at this point, 

94 feet high, would make available a power head of 70 feet, by which 

28,630 brake horsepower (21,500 kilowatts) would be developed by 

wheels of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow of 4,500 second-feet. A 

solid gravity dam, 94 feet high, at this site would involve the excavation of about 16,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 

56,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Reclamation power site. Located between sees. 5 and 6, T. 2 S., 

R. 16 E. Willamette meridian. Information concerning the bottom 

of the river at this point is lacking. The right bank is a basaltic cliff 

and the left is seemingly of solid rock covered lightly with poor soil. 

As indicated on the map (PL XI) the power house at this site may be 

placed about 800 feet below the dam.

It is estimated that a dam 118 feet high at this site would make 

available a power head of 92 feet, by which 37,600 brake horsepower 

(28,000 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent 

efficiency with a flow of 4,500 second-feet. The building of a dam 

of this height would involve the excavation of about 24,000 cubic 

yards of material and the placing of about 91,000 cubic yards of 

masonry.

Sinamox power site. Located in the S. ^ sec. 34, T. 2 S., R. 15 E. 

Willamette meridian. At this point the river flows in a narrow 

channel and a ledge of basalt apparently furnishes excellent foundation and abutments on both sides. The topography suggests that 

the power house may be placed in close proximity to the dam, but if so 

placed it would be necessary to construct a massive wing wall to 

afford protection at times of flood (PL XII).

It is estimated that a dam 104 feet high built at this point would 

provide a power head of 87 feet, by which 35,600 brake horsepower 

(26,500 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent 

efficiency with a flow of 4,500 second-feet. A solid gravity dam 

104 feet high at this site would involve the excavation of about 

13,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 57,000 cubic 

yards of masonry.

Oak Brook power site. Located in the NW. i sec. 18, T. 3 S., R. 

15 E. Willamette meridian. The channel of the river is narrow
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE X

S 0 H U T E

MAP OF LOCKIT POWER SITE.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XI

MAP OF RECLAMATION POWER SITE.
U. 6. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XH

MAP OF SINAMOX POWER SITE.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XIII

-Scale 1 inch = 200 feet 

Contour interval 10 feet

MAP OF OAK BROOK POWER SITE.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XIV

MAP OF SHERAR FALLS POWER SITE.
U. & GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XV

850"

MAP OF OAK SPRINGS POWER SITE.
U. S. QEOLOQICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XVI

1000

MAP OF MAUPIN POWER SITE.
UNDEVELOPED POWER SITES. 127

and both banks and the bed of the stream are apparently composed 

of solid rock. A possible layout is indicated on the map (PI. XIII).

A dam 98 feet high, built at this site, would afford a power head of 

65 feet, by which 26,500 brake horsepower (19,800 kilowatts) would 

be developed by wheels realizing 80 per cent efficiency, with 4,500 

second-feet of flow. The building of a solid gravity dam, 98 feet 

high, at this point would involve the excavation of about 13,000 

cubic yards of material and the placing of about 50,000 cubic yards 

of masonry.

SJierar FaUs power site. Located in the NW. i NE. £ sec. 3, T. 4 

S., K. 14 E. Willamette meridian. The river below Sherar Falls 

flows in a very narrow channel and has a pronounced slope for some 

distance. As shown on the map (PL XIV), the site may be utilized 

by constructing a dam about 600 feet upstream from the crest of 

the falls, and diverting the water through tunnels to a forebay above 

the power house to be built at the mouth of Buck Creek canyon. By 

making the dam sufficiently high to raise the water about 63 feet, 

or to an elevation of 780 feet, and using the diversion lines a total 

head of approximately 100 feet could be obtained. Conditions at 

the surface indicate that the tunnels would be in solid rock for their 

entire length of 4,600 feet.

The necessary height of the dam is estimated at 88 feet. With a 

flow of 4,500 second-feet, 40,900 brake horsepower (30,500 kilowatts) 

would be developed by wheels realizing 80 per cent efficiency. A 

solid gravity dam, 88 feet high, at this site would involve the excavation of about 11,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of 

41,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Oak Springs power site. Located in the NE. £ sec. 20, T. 4 S., 

R. 14 E. Willamette meridian. The slope of the river between the 

backwater from the Sherar FaUs site and the position of the Maupin 

site farther up stream can be utilized by building a dam 50 feet 

high (PI. XV). This dam will afford a power head of 32 feet by which 

10,824 brake horsepower (8,100 kilowatts) would be developed by 

wheels of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow of 3,700 second-feet. The 

building of this dam would involve the excavation of about 6,500 cubic 

yards of material and the placing of 15,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Maupin power site. Located in the SE. f NW. £ sec. 5, T. 5 S., 

R. 14 E. Willamette meridian. The Maupin site offers a good abutment for a dam on the left bank, but the bed of the stream is strewn 

with bowlders and the depth to bedrock is uncertain. The map 

(PL XVI) indicates that this site could be utilized by means of a 

dam 148 feet high, which would afford a power head of 132 feet. 

With a flow of 3,700 second-feet, 44,496 brake horsepower (33,100 

kilowatts) could be developed with wheels realizing 80 per cent 

efficiency. The building of the dam would involve the excavation
128 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON".

of about 27,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 

146,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Frieda power site. Located in the NE. \ sec. 13, T. 6 S., K. 13 E. 

Willamette meridian. At this dam site the bed of the stream appears 

to be of solid rock and walls for abutments are excellent. If this site 

is utilized the power house can be built close to the dam (PI. XVII).

It is estimated that a dam 178 feet high would make available at 

this point a power head of 140 feet, by which 47,360 brake horsepower 

(35,200 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow of 3,700 second-feet. The construction of such a 

dam would involve the excavation of about 47,000 cubic yards of 

material and the placing of about 198,000 cubic yards of masonry.

White Horse Rapids power site. Located in the NE, £ NE. £ sec. 29, 

T. 7 S., R. 14 E. Willamette meridian, just above the White Horse 

Kapids. The river bed and the banks at this site are apparently 

suitable for foundations. A possible method of development is 

indicated by the map (PI. XVIII).

It is estimated that a dam 122 feet high built at this site would, 

in connection with a diversion line 6,500 feet long, make available a power head of 138 feet, by which 47,200 brake horsepower 

(35,100 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent 

efficiency, with a flow of 3,700 second-feet. A solid gravity dam, 

122 feet high, built at this site would involve the excavation of 

about 14,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 

57,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Ooleman power site. Located in the NE. | NE. | sec. 12, T. 9 S., 

K. 13 E. Willamette meridian. The river bed and banks at this 

site appear less satisfactory than at some others along the stream, 

but perfectly safe construction is doubtless feasible. A possible layout is shown on the map (PL XIX).

It is estimated that a dam, 78 feet high, built at this point would 

make available a power head of 58 feet by which 19,680 brake horsepower (14,700 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent 

efficiency, with a flow of 3,700 second-feet. The building of a solid 

gravity dam 78 feet high would involve the excavation of about 

11,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 37,000 cubic 

yards of masonry.

Mecca power site. Located in the S. | sec. 30, T. 9 S., R. 13 E. 

Willamette meridian. The river bed at this point is strewn with 

bowlders. The right bank is probably composed of rock to a point 

very near the surface, but the condition of the left bank is more 

doubtful, and special investigation would be needed to estimate 

closely the amount of excavation necessary to reach a solid foundation. The map (PL XX) indicates the possible utilization of the 

site by power house on the right bank close to the dam.
U. 8. QEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XVII

MAP OF FRIEDA POWER SITE.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XVIII

J200

Scale 1 inch =200 feet 

Contour interval 10 feet

MAP OF HORSE RAPIDS POWER SITE.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XIX

1450

1400

1350

1300

MAP OF COLEMAN POWER SITE.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XX

1550

1500

H50

1400

MAP OF MECCA POWER SITE.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXI

Scale 1 inch =200 feet 

Contour interval 10 feet

MAP OF PELTON POWER SITE.
U. 8. OEOLOQICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXII

'800

MAP OF METOLIUS POWER SITE.
UNDEVELOPED POWER SITES. 129

It is estimated that a dam 110 feet high would make available a 

power head of 90 feet, by which 27,760 brake horsepower (20,750 

kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent efficiency 

with a flow of 3,400 second-feet. A solid gravity dam, 110 feet high 

at this point would involve the excavation of 11,000 cubic yards of 

material and the placing of about 65,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Pelton power site. Located in the S. ^ sec. 35, T. 10 S., R. 12 E. 

Willamette meridian. Conditions at the Pelton power sit'e (PI. XXI) 

indicate banks and river bed suitable for the construction of a dam.

It is estimated that a dam 84 feet high built at this site would 

make available a power head of 60 feet, by which 18,560 brake horsepower (13,800 kilowatts) would be developed by .wheels of 80 per cent 

efficiency with a flow of 3,400 second-feet. The construction of a 

solid gravity dam 84 feet high would involve the excavation of about 

7,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 22,000 cubic 

yards of masonry.

Metolius power site. Located in the NE. £ sec. 22, T. 11 S., R. 12 E. 

Wfllamette meridian. This site is in a narrow rock-walled canyon 

and affords the best opportunity on the river for the construction 

of a high masonry dam. The layout of a possible development is. 

shown on the map (PI. XXII).

It is estimated that a dam 236 feet high built at this point would 

make available a power head of 210 feet, by which 64,960 brake 

horsepower (48,700 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 

per cent efficiency with a flow of 3,400 second-feet. A solid gravity 

dam, 236 feet high, built at this point would involve the excavation of about 38,000 cubic yards of material and the placing of about 

183,000 cubic yards of masonry.

SITES ON METOLIUS RIVER.

General conditions. Metolius River is like the Deschutes in tb at it is 

a stream of clear water of fairly uniform flow and carries practica^y 

no drift. It is probable also that the formation of ice will never be 

a disturbing factor in the operation of power plants along its course.

In its general character and in its. possibilities of power development, however, it is quite unlike the Deschutes. Its fall from its 

headwaters to. the confluence with the Deschutes averages about 

35 feet to the mile, but along its entire length of 41 miles there are 

only a few places where the sites are at all suitable for the construction of dams of greater height than 20 to 25 feet. In order to concentrate the development of power in large units suitable for economical transmission, diversion lines must be planned either open 

canals or pipe lines under low pressure. The low-lying bench lands 

along the stream make it easy and reasonably cheap to construct 

these diversion lines and they may be carried for long distances 

48348° WSP 344 14 9
130 DESCHI7TES BIVEB, OEEGON.

down the valley in order to take advantage of the natural fall of the 

stream. For the construction of low dams, rock foundations and 

rock walls reaching to a height of 15 to 25 feet are everywhere to be 

found. This height is sufficient to allow the construction of proper 

intakes to the diversion lines and to provide spillways for the flood 

waters.

Transportation to the vicinity of the plants on this river must be 

provided by constructing wagon roads and railways, and the costs 

of such construction will be a material item in the cost of the developed horsepower.

Riggs power site. Located in the W. \ sec. 28, T. 11 S., R. 11 W. 

Willamette meridian. The Riggs power site on Metolius River is at 

a point a few miles above backwater from Metolius dam. The river 

bed and right bank probably afford conditions favorable for foundation and abutment, but the condition of the left bank is uncertain. 

A possible layout is indicated on the map (PL XXIII).

It is estimated that a dam 90 feet high, built at this point, and 

a diversion canal 9,000 feet long would make available a power head 

of 135 feet, by which 17,200 brake horsepower (12,800 kilowatts) 

would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow 

of 1,400 second-feet. A solid gravity dam at this site would involve 

the excavation of about 16,000 cubic yards of material and the 

placing of about 58,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Whitewater power site. Located in sec. 28, T. 10 S., R. 10 E. 

Willamette meridian. The utilization of the Whitewater power site 

would require a comparatively long dam and a canal diversion line 

about 4 miles long on the bank of Metolius River, as shown on the 

map (PL *XXIV). Surface indications suggest good foundations at 

the dam site.

It is estimated that a dam 78 feet high, built at this point would, 

with diversion line, make available a power head of 260 feet, by 

which 28,363 brake horsepower (21,100 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow of 1,200 secondfeet. A solid gravity dam 78 feet high built at this site would 

involve the excavation of about 7,000 cubic yards of material and 

the placing of about 24,000 cubic yards of masonry.

Jefferson Creek power site. Located in the SE. I sec. 35, T. 11 S., 

R. 9 E. Willamette meridian. The Jefferson Creek site might be 

developed by means of a dam high enough to raise the water to the 

first low bench lands along the left bank of the stream, and a diversion canal which would carry the water nearly 9 miles to the point 

suggested for a power house.

It is estimated that a dam 20 feet high built at this point would, 

with diversion line, afford a power head of 400 feet, by which 36,363 

brake horsepower (27,100 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels 

of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow of 1 000 second-feet. The
U. S. QEOLOQICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXIII

 ^050

MAP OF RIGGS POWER SITE ON METOLIUS RIVER.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXIV

Scale 1 inch =200 feet 

Contour interval 10 feet

MAP OF WHITEWATER POWER SITE ON METOLIUS RIVER.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXV

MAP OF JACKS CREEK POWER SITE ON METO
UNDEVELOPED POWER SITES. 131

building of this dam would involve the excavation of about 300 cubic 

yards of material and the placing of about 1,000 cubic yards of 

misonry.

Jacks Creek power site. Located in the SE. £ sec. 27, T. 12 S., 

.'.i. 9 E. Willamette meridian. This site is near the headwaters of 

the Metolius, in a narrow rock-walled canyon in which a dam 172 

feet high would back the water to the actual source of the stream. 

The layout indicated on the map (PL XXV) shows diversion of the 

water through a canal of slight fall on the right bank to a point 

below the Alien ranch, making a line about 6 miles long; at this point 

the water is dropped to the level of the river. The investigation 

indicates that the development of power with the amount of water 

here available will be expensive under any circumstances, whether 

by building a high dam, a long diversion canal, or a combination of 

both.

It is estimated that a dam 172 feet high built at this point would, 

with diversion line, make available a power head of 300 feet, by 

which 16,363 brake horsepower (12,206 kilowatts) would be developed by wheels of 80 per cent efficiency with a flow of 600 secondfeet. A solid gravity dam 172 feet high built at this point would 

involve the excavation of about 15,000 cubic yards of material and 

the placing of about 108,000 cubic yards of masonry.

SUMMARY.

The following table presents, for convenience of reference, a summary of the power available at the sites on the Deschutes and Metolius rivers:

Power available at sites on Deschutes and Metolius rivers.

DESCHUTES EIVEE.

Moody..............................................................................

Lockit... ...........................................................................

Sherar Falls.............................. ...........................................

Maupm .............................................................................

White Horse Rapids ................................................................

Coleman ............................................................................

Pelton... ...........................................................................

Metolius ............................................................................

Riggs... ...... ............ ..........................................................

WEitewater............................................. ............................

Jacks Creek. ... .....................................................................

Grand total. ..................................................................

Brake horsepower.

54,000

28,630

37,.600

26,500

40,900

10, 824

44, 496

47,360

47,200

19,680

27,760

18,560

64,960

504,070

17,200

28,363

36,363

16,363

98, 289

602, 359

Kilowatts.

40,000

21,500

28,000

26,500

19,800

30,500

8,100

33,100

35,200

35,100

14,700

20,750

13,800

48,700

12,800

21,100

27,100

12,206
132 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

All of the sites are on withdrawn land except the first five on the 

Deschutes, namely, Moody, Lockit, Reclamation, Sinamox, and Oak 

Brook, and the construction of dams on these sites would flood 

withdrawn land. The amount of tillable land flooded by the construction of any of these dams is negligible. A few miles of county 

road would be submerged in the lower canyon.

WATER RIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS.

By JOHN H. LEWIS, State engineer of Oregon. 

OLD AND NEW WATER LAW OF OREGON.

A brief discussion of the old and new laws relating to water appears 

necessary for a proper understanding of the water-right situation on 

Deschutes River. Afterward the relation of State control and 

national control of streams will be discussed as a proper basis for outlining the need for further water legislation.

Owing to the fact that many States have not yet undertaken 

seriously the administration of their water resources, and to the great 

lack of uniformity in the water laws of those Western States which 

have legislated on the subject, it is believed that a discussion of 

Oregon's new water code will be of general interest, especially since 

the National Irrigation Congress has, by resolution, recommended 

this law as a model for other States. Further, the National Irrigation Congress has approved the report of its special investigation committee on interstate rights, to the effect that:

If there is to be any protection of priorities across State lines it should be by a 

Federal administrative system corresponding in character to that needed for the establishing and protection of rights within a State. 1

This view of the interstate question is rapidly being accepted by 

many people, and the Oregon law may therefore serve eventually as a 

model for a Federal administrative system.

Under the early laws and customs of miners a water right could be 

initiated by constructing a ditch and diverting water without any 

public record whatever. Later it was provided that the beginning 

of construction work could be postponed for six months without loss 

of priority if a notice of the intention to appropriate water was posted 

near the proposed point of diversion and a copy of this notice recorded 

in the office of the county clerk. There was no public supervision as 

to what might be claimed in such notice; consequently all claimed 

many times the water they expected to use, and many claimed all the 

water in the stream at the proposed point of diversion. After construction work was begun, with or without the posting of a notice, the 

law provided that it should be carried on diligently to completion. 

It was not necessary to make final proof or to file other evidence of 

the completion of a right to appropriate water.

1 National Irrigation Congress Official Proc. Fifteenth meeting, Sacramento, Sept. 2-7,1907, p. 267.
WATEB EIGHTS AND APPEOPEIATIONS, 133

The public records were therefore incomplete at best and of little 

value to the general public. Under such a system, or rather lack of 

system, it was impossible to get reliable record evidence of title to 

water. Constructed works depreciated in value and litigation increased in volume as the streams became overappropriated. It was 

absolutely impossible for a prospective investor to ascertain how 

much of the water in any stream was necessary to satisfy vested rights 

or how much, if any, was available for new appropriations. Under 

such conditions development was so greatly retarded as to arouse the 

people of Oregon to the necessity of providing a comprehensive system 

of titles to water.

The new water code became effective February 24, 1909.. It does 

not rest upon any specific provisions of the State constitution but rests 

rather upon the police power of the State to regulate diversions from 

streams for the preservation of the peace and safety of the people. 

History has shown that without such State regulation endless strife, 

litigation, and even bloodshed must inevitably result.

These public waters are of two classes, first, those to which rights 

to use vested under the early customs and laws, and, second, those 

which were unappropriated at the time of the adoption of the new 

code. The new law deals with both classes and declares that "all 

waters within the State from all sources of supply belong to the public." 

There is a distinction between the ownership of the property in water 

itself and the ownership of a right to the use of certain waters. The 

law makes no provisions for the protection of navigation rights. It, 

however, can give but little relief in our border territory, as most of 

the streams rise in California, Nevada, Idaho, or Washington, and 

flow into Oregon. A few flow in the opposite direction, and some 

cross the line several times. There are many interstate difficulties 

which can not be settled by the Oregon law, no matter how favorable 

its provisions. These must await some action by Congress or some 

reciprocal legislation by the States interested.

A board, of which the State engineer is chairman, was created to 

administer this public property. It is the duty of this board to ascertain and record all rights to the use of waters which became vested 

prior to the adoption of the new law; to grant rights for beneficial use 

in the State's unappropriated waters to those who make proper application therefor; to protect all recorded rights to the use of water by 

regulating diversions from streams.

The creation of a central office, with almost complete power over 

water matters, and the limitation of franchises to the use of water for 

power purposes to a period of 40 years are perhaps the leading features 

of the Oregon law. Before discussing its operation in the order as 

outlined above, it appears advisable to give a few facts tending to 

show its value to the public.
134 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON. 

VALUE OF THE WATER CODE.

A summary of the first three and one-half years' operation of the 

water code, ending December 1, 1912, shows the following results:

The estimated cost of works to be constructed under permits issued 

by the State engineer is $44,366,425. The cost of all irrigation enterprises constructed prior to the adoption of this law was $12,760,214, 

as shown by the recent Government census.

Two thousand six hundred and eighty applications to appropriate 

water for various uses have been made during this period, only 1,746 

of which have so far been granted and become permits.

Them will be added to the State's resources 973,640 acres of irrigated land and 176,978 additional developed horsepower if these projects are all carried out as planned. The census for 1910 shows only 

686,129 acres irrigated in Oregon prior to that date.

The permit holders paid to the State of Oregon prior to approval 

$47,592. This amount is $7,592 in excess of the total appropriation 

for the administrative work of the State engineer's department for 

four years. The system is, therefore, not only self-supporting, but 

produces some revenue for the relief of the general taxpayer.

One thousand and sixty-eight different rights to water have been 

defined and recorded by the administrative board during this period, 

affecting 106,686 acres of irrigated lands on 15 different streams, 

without a single appeal to the supreme court. Formerly almost every 

water case was appealed to the highest tribunal and the decision 

delayed many years.

It is believed that the foregoing facts clearly indicate that this 

definite State policy relating to water has already demonstrated its 

usefulness and that ultimately it will be found of inestimable value 

to Oregon. This system of water titles is the basis for all future 

development of our water resources, for without it neither private 

nor public funds could be invested with any degree of certainty.

DETERMINATION OF OLD RIGHTS.

It would be impossible to distribute water for the protection of 

vested rights or to ascertain how much water is unappropriated and 

available for new uses without a reliable record of all vested rights 

to the use of water.

The determination of these rights is one of the principal duties of 

the water board, composed of the State engineer and the superintendents of the two water divisions into which the State is divided.

The United States District Court for Oregon in a recent opinion 

(Oct. 7, 1912), handed down in the determination of the relative 

rights from Silvies River (199 Fed., p. 495), says concerning this board, 

after discussing the procedure, that these adjudication proceedings
WATER EIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 135

are purely administrative in character until such time as "the board 

has completed its examination, made its determination, and filed its 

report" with the circuit court for confirmation.

Until the report is made and filed with the court there is no action or suit within 

the meaning of the (Federal) removable statute. It is a case where divers and sundryparties are entitled to use so much of the waters of a stream as they have put to beneficial use, and the purpose is to ascertain their respective rights by a simple, economical, effective, and comprehensive proceeding, and is not a separable controversy 

between different claimants.

I am also impressed [says the court] with the soundness of the view that a proceeding 

for the adjudication and determination of the rights to the use of the waters within 

the State, instituted and conducted as provided in the legislative act of 1909, is, in 

effect, a proceeding on behalf of the State through an administrative or executive 

board to have judicially settled, in an economical and practical way, the rights of 

various claimants to the use of the waters of a stream or source of supply and thus 

avoid the uncertainty as to water titles and the long and vexatious controversies 

concerning the same which have heretofore greatly retarded the material development 

of the State.

While the board follows, where practicable, the usual legal procedure, yet it is free to depart from such practice whenever necessary to facilitate action. It is not bound by the complicated legal 

rules of pleadings and of evidence. This freedom of action is believed to account for its unprecedented success in the adjudication 

of these early rights.

WATER-RIGHT CERTIFICATE.

Upon final adjudication of each old right a certificate is issued to 

the owner and is recorded in the county courthouse. This waterright certificate is record evidence of title. Ultimately all old rights 

as well as new rights will be put upon the same basis and properly 

indexed for quick reference in the central office. They will also be 

published in tabular form by stream systems for the benefit of the 

water masters and the public.

The fundamental principles of a water right in Oregon are few and 

simple and are all embodied in the water-right certificate. They 

rest on beneficial use, qualified by priority of use, purpose of use, 

period of use, place of use, and quantity of water.

Beneficial use is the basis of the right. Water monopolies, the 

barter and sale of water apart from the use, and speculating in water 

are all prevented by this fundamental principle.

The priority is a date. In case of shortage the latest appropriator 

is shut off to protect those having prior rights.

The purpose must be stated specifically such as irrigation, power, 

domestic use, etc. Changes from one purpose to another without 

loss of priority should be prohibited as against public policy, because 

different amounts of water are consumed in different uses. Most 

changes seriously affect other rights below.
136 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

The period of use, whether for summer irrigation, winter storage, 

or for domestic purposes throughout the year, is an important 

qualification.

The place of use is specifically defined to the nearest 40-acre subdivision. Changes in location affect return seepage, and if permitted 

would make all water titles unstable. The making of water appurtenant to the place of use is the basis for the system of records.

The quantity of water is the amount beneficially used, but the 

maximum limit must be fixed in each case, so that subsequent 

appropriators may have some guide as to the maximum limit of 

vested rights.

The name and address of the owner and the name of the stream 

are also given in each certificate.

THE GRANTING OF BIGHTS.

The public record in the central office is kept up to date by the 

provision requiring all applicants who appropriate water under the 

new law to make an application to the State engineer and secure a 

permit before taking any steps toward diverting water. It is made 

a misdemeanor to "use, store, or divert any water until after the 

issuance of a permit to appropriate such water."

Each application must be accompanied by a map showing plan of 

construction, and no application will be approved for more water than 

can be put to beneficial use. The State engineer is authorized to 

limit an application to a less quantity of water than that applied for 

if there exists substantial reason for such limitation. An application 

may be denied where the proposed use conflicts with determined 

rights or is a menace to the safety or welfare of the public.

Work must be begun within one year from the date of approval and 

be completed within a reasonable time thereafter as fixed in the permit, not to exceed five years. Additional time is allowed after completion within which to apply the water to beneficial use, not to 

exceed four years for the largest project.

Permits to appropriate water are divided into three classes: (a) 

Those for direct diversion of the regular stream flow; (&) those for 

the enlargement of existing works; and (c) those for the storage of 

water. A secondary permit must be taken out by anyone desiring 

to use stored water. The application must be accompanied by documentary evidence showing a permanent and sufficient interest in the 

reservoir to supply the necessary water. This arrangement is necessary for a proper distribution of water by the water masters.

Annual proof must be filed to show compliance with law, and a 

water-right certificate is issued to the permit holder upon making 

final proof. This certificate grants only so much of the water, 

within the limits of his permit, as he has put to beneficial use.
WATER RIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 137

By this system an investor is fully protected during the period 

of construction and development. It is the purpose of the law to 

make definite and certain not only vested water rights but also 

those in process of development. The procedure for initiating new 

rights is simple and clearly set out in the law.

PROTECTION OF BIGHTS.

The primary object of this public record obtained through adjudication proceedings by the water board and through the permit system 

as outlined above is to furnish a proper basis for the protection of 

water rights by the State. The accomplishment of this" object furnishes at the same time the necessary basis for all future investments 

in works for the utilization of water.

The responsibility of protecting vested rights in water is placed 

upon the same board which originally adjudicated the rights. This 

board is all the better fitted for this important task because of having 

thoroughly studied the situation in advance. To have the adjudications made by the courts and the distribution made by the board would 

in many respects be undesirable. The adjudication proceedings are 

only incidental to the principal duty of the board in distributing 

water. This is a continuing task and the real work for which the 

administrative machinery was created.

To facilitate the distribution of water, the State has been divided 

into two divisions, each under a superintendent. Each division is 

divided into districts as rapidly as rights are determined and the need 

arises. Each district is in charge of a water master, who reports to 

the division superintendent.

It is the duty of these water masters to regulate the headgates of 

ditches so as to insure the delivery of water in accordance with established rights and to prevent waste. They have authority to make arrests for the diversion of water without right and to compel the installation of necessary measuring devices and headgates. If a shortage 

 occurs the ditch of the last appropriator is closed to protect prior 

rights.

If water is stored at the head of a stream and the natural channel 

used to convey such water to the place of use, the water master 

must set all headgates so as to admit only the amount to which each 

is entitled in order to insure the delivery of stored water less the 

amount lost in seepage and evaporation.

When a shortage occurs at any point along a stream that flows 

through one or more districts the fact is communicated by telephone 

to the water master of the district above, who must remedy the situation if within his power. The old method of regulating streams by 

injunction proceedings Before the courts was found to be slow, expensive, and entirely inadequate for the protection of the water user.
138 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

PROTECTION OF PUBLIC INTEREST.

The law makes it the "duty of the board" not only to protect vested 

rights but also to protect the public interest in the granting of new 

rights. All applications which menace the safety or the welfare of 

the public or conflict with determined rights shall be referred to the 

water board for consideration. "It shall be the duty of the board 

to enter an order directing the refusal of such application, if after 

full hearing, the public interest demands it."

This feature of the law was upheld by the supreme court of Oregon 

in the case of Cookingham v. Lewis (114 Pac., 88). It marks a 

distinct advance in the matter of water law. It is believed this is 

the first case where the public interest under such a statute has been 

considered by the courts.

RIPARIAN RIGHTS.

Until the new water code was adopted there was much uncertainty 

as to whether the common-law doctrine of England or the statute-law 

doctrine of appropriation and use was the fundamental law of the 

State relating to water.

The courts had uniformly held that litigants must stand upon their 

rights either as appropriators or as riparian owners; they could not 

do both. So when the legislature undertook to establish a definite 

State policy it had to choose between these two conflicting doctrines, 

for it could not prescribe that all streams should flow undiminished 

and unpolluted to the ocean to satisfy riparian landowners, and at 

the same time permit diversions for beneficial use under the doctrine 

of appropriation.

Owing to the fact that "the necessities of the people require that 

water shall be diverted for irrigation and other beneficial uses, because of the peculiarities of soil and climate," the doctrine of appropriation for beneficial use was selected as the basis of the new water 

law.

Because of these peculiarities of climate and soil it was apparent 

to the courts that the strict common-law doctrine established at the 

outset was inapplicable to conditions in Oregon. A gradual departure from this doctrine has been in process until the present time, 

when a riparian right is considered of almost no practical value.

The opinion of the supreme court of Oregon in the case of Hough 

et al. v. Porter et al. (98 Pac., 1083) clearly, as regards use for other 

than domestic purposes, abrogates the common-law rule respecting 

riparian rights as to all lands settled upon or entered since March 3, 

1877, the date of passage by Congress of the desert-land act (19 Stat., 

377).

This case would indicate that the riparian rights for lands taken 

prior to such date was limited practically to the amount necessary to
WATER EIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 139

satisfy the natural wants of man, as " every riparian owner, therefore, 

regardless of the date of settlement, is entitled to the quantity of 

water reasonably essential to his domestic use and for the watering 

of his stock, including sufficient supply for the proper irrigation of 

such garden produce as may be essential to the proper sustenance 

of his family." (Syllabus.)

The effect of the case of Jones v. Conn (39 Oreg., 30) was substantially to abrogate riparian rights in Oregon as early as 1901. It was 

held in this case that the courts could not decree any specific quantity 

of water to a riparian owner. The right was fluctuating, depending 

on the reasonable use by all other riparian owners. In time it might 

be rendered of little value by other owners of riparian rights diverting 

and using their proportionate share of the stream. Riparian lands 

could be extended even beyond the watershed of the stream by subsequently purchasing adjoining lands.

This decree did not suit either of the parties affected, as it was 

apparent that a right which could not be specifically defined could 

not be protected and was therefore of little value. Both parties 

accordingly petitioned for a rehearing. After spending about 

$20,000 in litigation to protect his riparian rights, one of the parties 

has since abandoned the common-law theory and become an appropriator under the new law.

Out of approximately 2,000 claims to water which have been filed 

in adjudication proceedings before the board, only four have claimed 

as riparian owners, and even these proved rights by appropriation. 

For all practical purposes the common-law doctrine of riparian rights 

can therefore be considered a dead issue in Oregon.

STATE OB NATIONAL CONTROL.

The present chaotic condition of titles to water appears to be due 

to the uncertainties arising from the division of control between the 

States and the Nation. For administrative purposes the drainage 

basin is the logical unit. State lines have been located, however, 

mainly without regard to drainage lines, and for this reason complete 

State control is impracticable. Complete Federal control appears also 

impossible for constitutional reasons. It is believed, however, that 

Congress has power at this time largely to put an end to this confusion 

by passing a comprehensive law regulating diversions from interstate 

and navigable streams, leaving to the State those matters which are 

distinctly local. 

The State is supposed to exercise control over all streams within 

its borders, except as to navigability and related questions. Under 

such theory New York State has provided that "no waters of this 

State shall be diverted without the State." California has enacted a 

similar law. Such an unneighborly attitude between water users on
140 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OBEGOF.

streams within the State is the reason why State administrative 

codes have been enacted. Now that the waters of interstate streams 

are becoming overappropriated, we find the different States quarreling 

as to its proper distribution, and the same reasons that have compelled the adoption of State water laws will ultimately compel the 

adoption of an interstate or national law.

Where streams flow through or border on two or more States, each 

State is entitled to an "equitable apportionment of benefits" of such 

interstate stream without regard to the statutes or laws of either 

State. While the doctrine of State control has been thus limited 

by the Supreme Court of the United States in the case of Kansas v. 

Colorado (206 U. S., 46), yet Congress has, up to the present time, 

enacted no positive legislation defining what shall constitute such 

equitable apportionment or how rights in the various States can be 

defined and protected, or how new rights to surplus waters can be 

definitely initiated without fear of subsequently being enjoined by 

users in a lower State.

Pending such legislation we have a system of government by 

injunction. If the construction of a dam or an irrigation system in 

an upper State is found to affect detrimentally the flow in the lower 

State, the injured State or its citizens can resort to the Federal courts 

to enjoin the wrongful diversion. But there is no governmental 

body to whom the investor can appeal prior to the construction of 

his works to ascertain whether or not such proposed diversion is 

within the law and, if so, to grant him a permit which will assure 

him adequate protection in his investment.

This system of government by injunction is disastrous to progress. 

At best it is slow, expensive, and unsatisfactory. A court decree 

when rendered remains fixed and settles only the question in controversy, while conditions on either side of the State line are constantly 

changing through new diversions or through changes in channel 

due to floods. Such changes may render a court decree of no value.

The State of Kansas attempted to enjoin alleged excessive diversions from Arkansas River in Colorado by a suit before the Supreme 

Court of the United States. After consuming eight years in the 

examination of 347 witnesses, the taking of 8,559 typewritten pages 

of testimony, and the making of 122 exhibits at a cost of approximately $200,000, no relief was granted. The court found that diversions in Colorado materially depleted the flow in Kansas to the injury 

of its citizens and said:

At the same time it is obvious that if the depletion of the waters of the river by 

Colorado continues to increase there will come a time when Kansas may justly say that 

there is no longer an equitable division of benefits and may rightfully call for relief 

against the action of Colorado.
WATER BIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 141

Under such conditions of the law not only is further progress discouraged but the present value of existing works in Kansas is seriously 

affected, and large projects will not be undertaken in Colorado 

through fear of subsequently being enjoined by a court which might 

take a different view because of the new conditions which have arisen. 

In view of the enormous expenditure in time and money to secure 

the above decree, the State of Kansas or its citizens will endure great 

wrong before again resorting to the courts. The present system, 

because of the expense and delay of litigation, may result in a denial 

of justice as between States.

If there is to be an equitable apportionment of benefits between 

States as to interstate waters, it appears that Congress is the only 

body now authorized to establish rules by which such apportionment 

of benefits can be determined in advance. If Congress should prescribe that priority of appropriation and beneficial use should constitute an equitable apportionment of interstate waters as between 

States, it is quite probable that the Supreme Court of the United 

States would uphold such law on the ground that the question involved is one within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch.

Such a law would apply to interstate streams whether navigable 

or not. It should also apply equally to all tributaries of such streams 

within the respective States, for it is only by controlling diversions 

along every section of the stream, including its source, that the water 

at any point can in practice be controlled.

As to navigable waters, the United States without question has 

the right to enact "all needed measures to preserve the navigability 

of navigable watercourses of the country even against any State 

action." (United States v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., 174 

U. S., 690, 703.)

If the jurisdiction of the General Government over interstate commerce and its natural highways vests in such Government the right 

to control and preserve the navigability of navigable waters, it must 

follow by necessary implication that Congress can also exercise such 

control over the nonnavigable tributaries of such stream as is necessary to preserve such navigability. For without control of diversions 

and of flood-water storage on source streams, complete control of 

the navigability of a stream is impracticable.

Between these two theories of State control and National control 

we thus find a vast twilight zone of uncertain authority, as there are 

but few streams within a State which are not navigable, or interstate, 

or tributaries of navigable or interstate streams. Only a few small 

streams along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and in the great interior 

basin rise and terminate within a State.
142 DBSCHT7TBS KIVEB, OKEGOJST. 

LAND COMPLICATIONS.

Land ownership serves to complicate the water-right situation and 

thus widen this twilight zone of uncertain authority. With reference 

to water rights, all land entered since March 3, 1877, has in Oregon 

a status different from, that of land entered prior to such date. The 

desert-land act of 1877 has been held in Oregon to abolish riparian 

rights to all lands subsequently entered, whereas lands entered prior 

to such date seem to possess some theoretical advantage. This 

common-law right, however, is so indefinite as to be of no practical 

value, as no two court decisions can be found which agree as to the 

extent of riparian lands, what constitutes a reasonable use of water 

on such lands, or for what uses a common-law right attaches. These 

uncertainties, coupled with those arising from the facts that no 

specific quantity of water can be decreed by the court to a riparian 

claimant and that one can not claim both as an appropriator and 

also as a riparian owner, make such rights in Oregon of little practical 

value.

Under the theory of State control Oregon has extended the right 

of eminent domain in certain cases, so that lands in private ownership can be condemned if necessary to permit the application of water 

to beneficial use. Public lands, however, can not be condemned 

under State laws. By referring to the section of this report dealing 

with water-power withdrawals, it will be observed that a very large 

percentage of the important water-power sites along Deschutes and 

Metolius rivers are now controlled by the United States, as but few 

dams can be constructed to an economical height without overflowing 

property of the United States. This property is held in the form of 

water-power withdrawals, Indian reservations, or national forests.

FEDERAL CONTROL THROUGH LAND OWNERSHIP.

There appears to be no very secure foundation for the theory of 

State control of waters on the public domain. Neither the act of 

1866 or the desert-land act of 1877 can be considered as an irrevocable 

grant to the State. The first act merely confirms rights which have 

become vested by appropriation and use under the local laws and 

customs, and the act of 1877 strengthens this view of the former act 

and, in addition, enacts that all surplus water, together with all other 

sources of water supply upon the public lands and not navigable, 

shall be held free for appropriation and use for three purposes (1) 

irrigation, (2) mining, and (3) manufacturing. This is merely an offer 

and does not bind the United States until the offer is accepted and the 

water diverted and used for one of these purposes.

Concerning this question of State control of waters on Federal 

lands, the Supreme Court of the United States held in the case of the
WATER EIGHTS AND APPEOPEIATIONS. 143

United States v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co. (174 U. S., 690, 

703) that 

Although this power of changing the common-law rules as to streams within its 

domain undoubtedly belongs to each State, yet two limitations must be recognized: 

First, that in the absence of specific authority from Congress a State can not by its 

legislation destroy the right of the United States, as the owner of lands bordering on a 

stream, to the continued flow of its waters, so far at least as may be necessary for the 

beneficial use of the Government property; second, that it is limited by the superior 

power of the General Government to secure the uninterrupted navigability of all 

navigable streams within the limits of the United States.

Kinney comments as follows:

In o.ther words, the court holds that the jurisdiction of the United States over the 

natural watercourses (upon the public domain) is superior and paramount to the jurisdiction of any State; and that all needed measures may be taken by the Government 

to preserve the watercourses of the country for at least the two purposes named above, 

even against the action of any State, in authorizing, under its laws, appropriations to 

be made. The court, especially in the Kansas-Colorado and Rio Grande cases, clearly 

intimates, to say the least, that the Government might also make other claims to the 

water than for its use for navigation or as a riparian owner. Whether it will do so 

time alone can tell. 1

The Government is still the owner of the surplus of the waters flowing upon the 

public domain, or rather the owner of all the waters flowing thereon remaining after 

deducting the rights to the use of the same which have vested in and accrued in some 

legal way to individuals and companies. * * *

It therefore follows as the result of the ownership by the United States of the waters 

flowing upon the public domain that any dedication by a State of all the waters 

flowing within its boundaries to the State or to the public amounts to but little in 

the face of any claim which might be made by the Government, at least to all the 

surplus or unused waters within the State. 2

Kinney states further that Congress could, if it saw fit, have laid 

claim to the necessary surplus water for projects constructed under 

the reclamation act by virtue of the fact that title to the surplus 

waters flowing over the public domain is in the Government, and not 

under the State laws, as was provided in section 8 of such act. 

Much confusion within the States may eventually result where Congress has reserved water for Indian reservations and which after many 

years has never been used by the Indians but has in the meantime 

been used by others below.

It therefore appears from these authorities and from the wording 

of the acts in question that Congress could, if it saw fit, repeal at any 

time existing laws relating to water and adopt some new law for all 

surplus and unappropriated waters on the public domain. In such 

an emergency we would have divided control within the Western 

States to such an extent as to make any control impracticable except 

through the closest cooperation.

i Irrigation and water rights, 2d ed., p. 1096. * Idem, p. 692.
144 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

INDIRECT CONTROL BY THE UNITED STATES.

For all practical purposes the United States controls both land and 

water upon the "public lands, forests, and other reservations" within 

the Western States for irrigation, power, and other beneficial uses.

The "regulations concerning rights of way through the public 

lands and reservations of the United States" issued by the Department of the Interior, March 1, 1913, and the regulations' concerning 

water power in the "Use book" of the Forest Service would be no more 

complete respecting power development had the United States full 

control and the States no control whatever over water. While these 

regulations deal only with the development of water power, under the 

provisions of the act of February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790), there 

appears to be no reason why these departments could not, for applications made under the same law, issue other regulations imposing 

an annual charge and limiting franchises for the use of water for 

irrigation, domestic, and other purposes where any part of a reservoir, 

ditch, canal, or pipe line necessary for such use was located on Government reserves. Most irrigation rights of way are, however, 

granted under the provisions of the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 

1095).

The permits for water-power development, when issued, bind the 

permittee to construct the works in accordance with approved plans, 

to begin and complete construction within a fixed time, to operate the 

works, and to pay annually in advance a graduated rental charge per 

horsepower per annum, ranging from 10 cents to $1. For good cause 

a lower rental may be fixed. These permits by the terms of the 

statute must be revocable at the will of the Secretary but usually 

terminate in 50 years, unless renewed by application made not less 

than two years prior to such date of expiration.

These restrictions are very much the same as those imposed by the 

State under water permits except for the revocable character of the 

Federal permit. The Federal regulations, however, require the 

applicant for right of way to present "a duly certified copy of such 

notice or application, if any, as is required to be posted or filed, or 

both, to initiate the appropriation of water under the local laws." 

The State franchise limitation in Oregon is 40 years and different 

periods are prescribed within which the various steps to be taken in 

perfecting the water rights and those prescribed for perfecting the 

land rights must be taken.

For years it was assumed that such rights of way were to be 

granted free to encourage development in the West, except perhaps 

for the payment for timber or other Federal property destroyed. 

Recently, under a new policy, this act has been construed to authorize 

the administrative departments to impose annual charges and other 

restrictions on the use of public land for power development.
WATER EIGHTS AND APPKOPRIATIONS. 145

If the State also adopts the revenue policy, as is the case in Oregon, 

there is a possibility that the combined charges will be so high as to 

make development impracticable in competition with fuel power. 

Under such a policy rates for electricity in the Pacific States may 

become higher than in many Eastern States, because of the higher 

price of coal used in competing plants. Those States having abundant 

water-power resources might, by excessive charges, be deprived of 

any special benefits therefrom, such as now accrue to other States 

through the presence of cheap coal.

STATE WATER-POWER POLICY.

Oregon is believed to be the first State in the Union to limit the 

term of all franchises for the use of water for power development and 

to impose an annual tax on the basis of each horsepower developed. 

These restrictions were adopted in 1909 and imposed only on new 

developments. In 1911 a small annual license fee was imposed on 

existing power plants, the revenue to be used primarily for the purpose of gathering information necessary to promote new developments. 

This measure was intended to afford full information as to the extent 

of vested rights.

The first law limited franchises to the use of water for power development to a period of 40 years from the date of initiation of the right 

and required the payment of an annual tax, to be adjusted from time 

to time by the State water board. This tax is fixed at not less than 

25 cents nor more than $2 per horsepower per annum, depending on 

the percentage of power developed under the appropriation which is 

put to beneficial use. So far only the minimum fee has been assessed 

by the administrative authorities, which, with an assumed plant efficiency of 50 per cent, makes the tax only 12| cents per theoretical 

horsepower. The uncertainty as to whether the minimum or maximum charge will be imposed by the State under this law has as serious 

effect on development as the revocable permit issued by the United 

States for power privileges on Government lands.

The annual license fee is collected only from those plants which 

used water prior to the adoption of the power tax law in 1909 on the 

theory that State regulation of streams is necessary for the orderly 

development of the industry. This fee is graduated, being 10 cents 

for each theoretical horsepower claimed up to.and including 100, 5 

cents for each horsepower from 100 to 1,000, and 1 cent for each 

horsepower in excess of 1,000. Municipal plants and other power 

plants of less than 25 horsepower are exempt. The revenue for 1912 

amounted to $3,550.86 and was expended largely on water-power 

surveys and investigations in cooperation with the United States 

Geological Survey, which contributed $3,000 for similar work in 

Oregon. This law is defective in that it does not reach those power

48348° WSP 344 14 10
146 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OEEGON.

rights which were initiated prior to 1909 but on which no water was 

put to beneficial use until after such date. This is the class of claims 

of which a record was most desired. It was anticipated that a small 

annual fee would discourage many speculators and thus clear the 

field for legitimate development.

The tax law mentioned above was based on the theory of revenue 

for the State treasury; the license law was based on the theory of 

development through the collection of information to encourage the 

industry. These two policies are directly antagonistic. It would 

thus appear that no well-defined policy relating to water power has 

yet been adopted in Oregon.

Several leading political organizations of the State have recently 

advocated a policy of development as opposed to revenue, as it is 

believed that the indirect benefits derived through the taxation of 

new wealth, through added fields of employment for labor, and 

through the comfort and convenience of our citizens, which will come 

with reduced electric rates, will far exceed any possible direct benefits 

from taxation. To carry out the development policy and compel the 

application of excessive profits to the reduction of electric rates, it 

has been proposed by the Oregon Conservation Commission that the 

State construct enough plants to regulate'the market and insure cheap 

prices. It is apparent to all that the revenue policy advocated in the 

East, where water power is scarce, is not applicable to a sparsely 

settled State, where water power is abundant and taxable wealth is 

needed.

We have in the streams of Oregon something over 3,300,000 horsepower, which is now running to waste. To produce this power in 

steam engines would consume 36,000,000 tons of coal annually, 

which, at $4 a ton, would be worth $144,000,000. We are beginning to appreciate the fact that this power is of no value unless put 

to use, that there is only a very small market at prevailing commercial 

prices, that the higher the tax the less power will be used and the 

lower the tax the greater the use, provided prices are based on cost 

of production rather than on the principle of all the traffic will bear. 

It is apparent that the using of all this power during the life of the 

present generation will be a benefit rather than an injury to posterity so long as franchises are limited to a reasonable period.

BIGHTS ON DESCHUTES BIVEB. 

PLAN OF DISCUSSION.

Having outlined above the general nature of a water right under the 

old and the new laws of Oregon, and having disposed of the question 

of riparian rights, we are now in a position to discuss the water-right 

situation on Deschutes River and its tributaries. These rights will 

)?e summarized briefly under three heads, as follows;
WATEE EIGHTS AND APPEOPBIATIONS. 147

1. Eights initiated under the new water code since February 24, 

1909.

2. Old rights which have been adjudicated and recorded under the 

new water law.

3. Old rights which have not yet been adjudicated, and which are 

therefore more or less indefinite.

Only the more important rights or claims will be discussed in detail. 

A summary will be presented at the close, giving an estimate of the 

total area irrigated in 1912.

EIGHTS UNDER NEW WATEE CODE.

All rights to the use of water on Deschutes River or any other 

stream in the State which have been initiated since February 24, 1909, 

are on record in the office of the State engineer at Salem, Oreg.

Up to December 1, 1912, a total of 183 permits have been approved 

by the State engineer, authorizing the diversion and use of water 

from Deschutes River and its tributaries. Of these permits 24 are 

for domestic supplies, f26 for irrigation, 16 for power projects, and 

17 for the purpose of storing water.

These works when completed will cost $2,329,735 and will irrigate 

87,837 acres with 498 miles of main canals. A total of 11,702 horsepower will be developed and 153,507 acre-feet of water stored. The 

date for beginning construction, completing the same, and for 

applying the water to beneficial use is fixed in each case, and proof 

showing progress of work must be filed each year.

To irrigate this land will require 1,098 second-feet at the rate of 

1 second-foot to 80 acres. Owing to the porous nature of the soil, it is 

believed that perhaps 50 per cent of this water will ultimately find its 

way back to the stream for use by lower appropriators.

The principal permits for irrigation cover 12,560 acres near Sisters 

to be watered by storage in Blue and Suttle lakes at the head of 

Metolius River, the water to be conveyed across the low divide to the 

west and south of Black Butte; 11,627 acres to be watered by pumping plant from Opal Springs in T. 12 S., R. 12 E.; and 3,230 acres 

from Deschutes River in T. 15 S., R. 12 E.

The proposed reservoir capacity is made up largely by the 32,300- 

acre-feet Wimer reservoir site located west of Laidlaw and to be filled 

by a short feed canal from Tumalo Creek, the 22,000 acre-feet of 

storage at the head of Metolius River in Blue and Suttle lakes, 

and 95,000 acre-feet to be stored in Crescent Lake, at the head of 

Deschutes River for the irrigation of 31,160 acres just south of the 

proposed Benham Falls reservoir. This latter right, however, is 

claimed also as of an early date by filing under the old law.

Water-power permits authorizing the development of 11,695 

horsepower have been approved under the new law. Two of the
148 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

largest sites filed on are located in the deep canyon near the mouth of 

Crooked River and below the point where it is possible to divert water 

for irrigation. One of these projects contemplates the development 

of 5,000 horsepower in sec. 11, T. 12 S., R. 12 E., the other 1,000 

horsepower in sec. 11, T. 14 S., R. 13 E., and both are expressly 

limited in such a way that the applicants can not object to the subsequent diversions or storage of water for irrigation at points on the 

stream above.

The only other power permit of importance was for the development of 5,000 horsepower at Pringle Falls, on the West Fork of 

Deschutes River. This permit, however, has been involved in 

litigation and is believed to have been canceled by the court.

OLD RIGHTS DETERMINED.

All old rights to the use of water on Squaw, Tumalo, and Paulina 

creeks and Crooked River, including the tributaries of these streams, 

have been adjudicated and recorded under the new law.

The present status of irrigation on these streams, as shown by the 

record, is as follows:

Irrigation rights on Crooked River and Squaw, Tumalo, and Paulina creeks.

Creek. Irrigated 

land.

Acres. 

27,960

7,072

3,058

530

38,620

To be 

irrigated 

witnin 

fixed 

time.

Acres.

9 ins

25,120

174

34,702

Total.

Acres. 

27,960

16,480

28,178

7fU

73,322

The total area irrigated on these four streams is therefore 38,620 

acres. On three of these streams rights have been initiated for the 

irrigation of 34,702 acres in addition, but sufficient time has not 

yet elapsed within which completely to apply the water to use.

OLD RIGHTS INDEFINITE IN SCOPE. 

RECORDS.

All water rights which were initiated prior to February 24, 1909, 

and which have not yet been adjudicated are more or less indefinite. 

They are based either upon a notice and record in the county courthouse or upon the actual diversion and use of water without such 

record.

To examine the county records relating to Deschutes River and 

its tributaries would require a trip of approximately 1,550 miles,
WATER EIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 149

starting from and returning to any one of the following county seats, 

where some information is known to be recorded: Prineville, in Crook 

County; Moro, in Sherman County; The Dalles, in Wasco County; 

Eugene, in Lane County; and Klamath Falls, in Klamath County. 

The inconvenience of this system is in striking contrast with the new 

system of a central office with reliable records.

To illustrate the indefinite and almost worthless character of these 

county records a summary has been made of a' part of the records in 

one of these counties. The recorded claims to the waters of Deschutes 

River and its tributaries above the town of Bend, in Crook County, 

alone, amount in the aggregate to 61,000 cubic feet per second, or 

about 40 times the ordinary summer flow of the stream.

Although most of these recorded claims can be disregarded, a few 

are known to be alive, as work has been prosecuted with some degree 

of diligence from the date of initiation of the right. On a number of 

others, one or two men have been continuously employed for a number of years in an attempt to show diligence if such rights are ever 

questioned. On still others little if any actual work has been performed since 1909, but some form of litigation has been in progress 

which the claimant believes will operate to suspend the statutory 

requirement of performing work with diligence to maintain the right.

DESCHUTES RIVER AT BEND.

A careful examination of conditions discloses the fact that a 

sufficient number of these old filings have been kept alive to consume 

more than the entire summer flow of Deschutes River at Bend for 

irrigation if all are carried to completion.

Some of this water, however, must be allowed to pass Bend in order 

to supply prior rights at Cline Falls, which are claimed by diversion 

and use without the posting of the usual notice. At this point a 

power plant has been constructed of sufficient capacity to pump 

for irrigation approximately 14 second-feet of water to a point 95 

feet above the river. This power water has also been fully appropriated for irrigation by ditches which it is proposed to construct from 

the foot of Cline Falls to irrigate lands on both sides of the river below.

Water rights at Bend are somewhat complicated by the recent 

construction of a 14-foot dam across Deschutes River for the development of power. This dam serves also to maintain a pond for the 

storing of logs in connection with a sawmill.

At the present time only a small part of the available flow is being 

utilized owing to the limited power market. If, however, this 

market should increase in the next five or six years so as to require 

the entire flow of the stream, it is apparent that no further diversion 

or storage, other than by those having prior rights, would be possible except through purchase or condemnation of this power plant.
150 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Adjoining Bend on the east side of the river is a tract of land 

approximately 12 miles wide by 25 miles long, which will ultimately 

be irrigated by a system of canals now in process of construction by 

the State under the provisions of the Carey Act. Water for this 

system will be diverted from the river through two intakes, one of 

which is located about 4 miles south of Bend, or above the power 

plant, the other about 1 mile below this power plant. During 1912 

approximately 15,878 acres were irrigated in this project. On its 

completion and the putting of water to beneficial use in accordance 

with present plans, about 450 second-feet of water will be diverted 

at the intake south of Bend, and 880 second-feet at the intake north 

of Bend, or a total of 1,330 second-feet. The water for this latter 

diversion can be utilized for power, as it must pass over the dam at 

Bend and can still be made available for irrigation below. The 

water diverted above Bend will diminish to that extent the power 

value of the Bend plant, as the right for irrigation is believed to be 

prior in time. These figures as to vested rights to water represent 

only the judgment of the writer based upon a field investigation.

Besides these two large canals, there are two others, which contemplate the ultimate irrigation of about 9,000 acres each, in the vicinity 

of Bend. These rights, together with a few small rights which are 

believed to be vested, can, when completed, utilize a total of 1,600 

second-feet of water in the vicinity of the town of Bend. This is 

approximately 25 second-feet in excess of the mean flow during 

August, as averaged for a seven-year period, without allowing for 

water necessary to satisfy rights at Cline Falls.

BENHAM FALLS SEGREGATION.

It is proposed to irrigate a 75,000-acre tract, containing about 

60,000 acres of irrigable land, located in a compact body approximately 20 miles east of Bend, by a canal from Deschutes River, diverting water near the head of Benham Falls. This project is known 

as the Benham Falls Carey Act segregation. Water is claimed 

under the old law from the regular flow of the stream for about 10,000 

acres, or 143 second-feet, the balance to be stored in what is known 

as the Crane Prairie reservoir site, on the West Fork of Deschutes 

River. A 40-foot dam 2,000 feet long will submerge at this site 

8,290 acres of land and store 187,000 acre-feet of water, if available.

Most of the return seepage from these irrigation projects in the 

vicinity of Bend will find its way into Crooked River to the north; 

little will return to Deschutes River between Bend and Cline Falls.

ABOVE BENHAM FALLS.

The most important unadjudicated right to water above Benham 

Falls is that claimed by the Deschutes Land Co. for the irrigation of
WATEE EIGHTS AND APPEOPBIATIONS. 151

31,000 acres which has been segregated to the State in Tps. 21, 22, 

and 23 S., R. 10 E., for reclamation under the Carey Act. Water 

for this tract will be obtained partly by direct diversion from the 

East Fork of Deschutes River but largely by storage in Crescent 

Lake at the head of the stream. A 30-foot, dam at the outlet of 

this lake will store 92,000 acre-feet of water. It is believed that 

fully 20 per cent of the 510 second-feet of regular flow and stored 

water, ultimately to be applied to this tract between May 15 and 

September 1 of each year, will return as seepage to the stream during 

such period, which amount will approximately equal the regular lowwater flow. This project so far as its effect on lower rights is concerned can therefore be disregarded.

POWER FILINGS.

A number of large water-power filings were made under the old 

law near the mouth of Deschutes River, and are claimed still to be 

in good standing, although little actual work appears to have been 

done. It is said that these sites have been involved in litigation 

for a number of years and that these uncertainties have made construction work impossible. Even if such claims are ultimately held 

to be invalid, the value of these sites for power development can not 

be seriously impaired by subsequent diversions above for irrigation, 

as practically all the large claims in the vicinity of Bend are already 

prior in time and no other extensive appropriations are possible 

except for water storage.

A filing on Pringle Falls in T. 21 S., R. 9 E., on the West Fork of 

Deschutes River, may detrimentally affect the storage of water at 

the proposed Crane Prairie reservoir site, or in Odell Lake, or in other 

basins on the headwaters of this stream. This claim has been involved in litigation for some time. Its exact status may be difficult 

to ascertain until such time as a comprehensive adjudication of all 

rights on Deschutes River has been carried to completion.

The proposed diversion of Odell Lake by tunnel through the crest 

of the Cascade Mountains for the development of power on Salt 

Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork of Willamette River, is one of 

those cases in which the public is vitally concerned. This project 

proposes that water sufficient for the irrigation of perhaps 30,000 

acres would be transferred from one basin, where irrigation is essential to the production of crops, to another where irrigation is not 

absolutely necessary. The increase in taxable wealth, resulting from 

the use of this water for power development in the Willamette Valley, would be small compared with that resulting from its use for 

both irrigation and power in Deschutes Valley. Probably 50 per 

cent of the water used for irrigation will return to the stream for
152 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OREGON.

still further duty in irrigation or power development below. This 

application was made under the old law, but if it were made under 

the new water law it could be denied upon the ground that it is a 

menace to the general welfare of the public.

Aside from these large irrigation and power projects in process of 

construction, the extent of whose claims to water are more or less 

indefinite, it is believed that no other great uncertainties exist. The 

total area of land now irrigated through small ditches from the many 

tributaries of Deschutes River other than those mentioned above 

is unknown but will probably not exceed 15,000 acres. The streamdischarge records now available show the amount of water at different 

points in this district which remains after such land has been irrigated.

SUMMARY OF IRRIGATION RIGHTS.

It therefore appears that there was a total of about 70,000 acres of 

land actually irrigated by Deschutes River and its tributaries during 

1912, as follows:

Acres. 

State Carey Act projects near Bend........................... 15,878

Arnold and Swalley ditches, near Bend (estimated)............ 2,000

Crooked River and its tributaries.............................. 27,960

Squaw Creek................................................ 7,072

Tumalo Creek................................................ 3,058

Paulina Creek............................................... 530

All other projects (estimated)................................. 13, 502

70,000

Water rights have been initiated under the old law for the irrigation 

of a large additional acreage and work is now progressing on these 

projects with more or less diligence, as follows:

	Acres. 

On adjudicated streams. .................................... 34,700

On Carey Act projects near Bend, State segregation lists 6 and 19. 77,220

Arnold and Swalley ditches, near Bend...................... 16,000

Benham Falls segregation.................................... 60,000

Deschutes Land Co., above Benham Falls.................... 31,000

All other projects (estimated)................................ 10,000

228,920

Permits have been issued under the new law for the irrigation of 

56,677 acres from Deschutes River and its tributaries, after deducting 

the claim of the Deschutes Land Co., which is filed under both the old 

and the new laws.

The total area in process of reclamation is therefore approximately 

285,600 acres. It is doubtful if water rights for all this area will 

ever attach under the present date of filing or claim, and it is believed 

that some of the water thus appropriated will eventually revert to 

the public and be subject to reappropriation.
WATER EIGHTS AND APPROPRIATIONS. 153 

APPLICATIONS PENDING.

In addition to water permits as summarized above, there are now 

pending before the State engineer's department for water in this 

basin 41 applications, which will be acted upon as soon as surveys are 

complete and the necessary information furnished as required by law.

Definite action on a number of large water-power filings on the 

main stream between Benham Falls and the mouth of Metolius 

River has been suspended several years because of uncertainties.

If all the irrigation projects in the vicinity of Bend are ultimately 

completed in accordance with present plans, there will be no water 

left in the summer months for these prospective power plants. 

Furthermore, if these irrigation projects are not completed and the 

water becomes available to satisfy subsequent power permits which 

have been approved, it would practically defeat for all time the 

irrigation of several hundred thousand acres of land in Crook County. 

It is believed that such a condition would menace the welfare of the 

public within the meaning of the statute to such an extent as to 

warrant the State engineer in referring such applications to the water 

board for consideration as to the public's interest in the matter. 

Such board has power to direct the refusal of these applications if 

public interest demands.

NEW USES FOB CHEAP POWER.

Within the last few years many new uses for large amounts of 

cheap power have been discovered. Where it costs $40 to $60 per 

horsepower per annum to produce power in large steam engines, it 

can be produced under favorable conditions from falling water at $7 

to $15 per horsepower per annum. At such low prices for electric 

power the manufacture of aluminum, carborundum, calcium carbide, 

and many other products in the electric furnace has been made a 

commercial success. The electric production of iron and steel appears 

now to be safely beyond the experimental stage. Fertilizer is now 

being made by extracting nitrogen from the air by the use of electricity. Cheap power can be used in many chemical processes, such 

as the making of oxalic acid from wood waste. It can be used in the 

home for the production of light, for cooking, for ironing, and, under 

favorable conditions, for heat. Many uses have been found for 

electricity on the farm and it is even claimed that electricity properly 

applied will greatly stimulate plant growth. The pumping of water 

for irrigation on any extensive scale depends upon the ability to 

procure a permanent supply of cheap power.

The rapid development along these lines is well illustrated by the 

Norwegian nitrate industry. In 1903 25 horsepower and four men 

were employed in the making of artificial fertilizer from the air; in
154 ' DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

1911 200,000 horsepower and 2,000 men were employed to keep pace 

with the demand for these products.

It would require a capital investment of about $860,000,000 to assure the production 

of an amount of Norway saltpeter equal to that now consumed by the civilized world, 

assuming that sufficient cheap water power were available. 1

The rapidity with which the electric furnace has been perfected 

for the production of iron and steel opens up another field for the 

utilization of cheap water power.

Three tons of pig iron per electric horsepower-year has been produced in Sweden, and Prof. Richards,' of Lehigh University, believes 

that with a large furnace of perhaps 100 tons daily capacity as much 

as 5 tons per horsepower-year can be produced.3

These new and rapidly developing industries wherein large quantities of cheap electric power can be used should not be overlooked 

in the framing of a State and national water-power policy. The 

maximum State charge of $2 per horsepower-year may not prove a 

serious handicap where the wholesale rate for power is $40 to $80 per 

horsepower-year, whereas it may be prohibitive for those plants 

attempting to supply power to the new industries which can not 

afford to pay more than $7 to $15 per horsepower-year.

There is much power in Oregon which can be developed and sold in 

the vicinity of the power plants at such low prices.

*

COOPERATION. 

METHODS.

Owing to the joint control of both land and water resources by the 

State and the Nation and to the inadvisability of either the State or 

the United States attempting independently to carry out a comprehensive policy, it appears advisable that these agencies cooperate not 

only for the investigation of irrigation and power projects but also in 

the construction of such projects.

Because few if any large irrigation projects can be found in the 

State where the land is largely in public ownership, the United States 

reclamation act has about reached the limit of its usefulness to Oregon 

unless the Government is willing to undertake large projects where 

the lands are principally in private ownership.

It will doubtless be conceded that money invested within a State 

from the reclamation fund is not a gift to that State. It is made a 

lien on the land benefited and must be paid back in time, including 

interest, for that portion obtained from the $20,000,000 bond issue, 

voted by Congress to supplement the reclamation fund. Since these 

funds are inadequate to meet all demands, it seems that the State

1 Norton, T. H., Utilization of atmospheric nitrogen: Dept. Commerce and Labor, Bur. Manufactures 

Special Agent series No. 52, p. 76,1912. 

»Eng. Soc. Western Pennsylvania Proc. for March, 1912, p. 96.
WATEE EIGHTS AND APPEOPEIATIONS. 155

directly benefited should not hesitate to extend its credit in supplying 

additional funds. This can be accomplished without increasing the 

burden of taxation, as the full investment with interest must eventually be returned to the State.

For seven years the State of Oregon has been cooperating with the 

United States Geological Survey in stream gaging, water-power investigations, and making topographic maps. In 1912 $56,000 was 

expended jointly on such work, each party contributing equally. 

No friction has resulted, and the work has been carried out more 

economically and efficiently than could have been accomplished by 

the State alone. This successful experience has suggested the plan 

of extending cooperation to include another department under the 

Secretary of the Interior. The plan, though involving larger expenditures, is therefore not an experiment and is the logical outgrowth of 

former experience.

Cooperation with the United States Reclamation Service in irrigation investigations was authorized in February, 1913, and $50,000 

was appropriated for the purpose. An equal amount was allotted 

from the reclamation fund within a few days thereafter by Secretary 

Fisher, and on May 5, 1913, a contract was executed between the 

State engineer and Secretary Lane providing for the joint expenditure 

of such funds.

This contract provides that the State engineer shall withdraw the 

necessary water and the Secretary of the Interior the necessary land 

for the protection of the projects under investigation. The information collected will be published eventually in order to stimulate 

development by either private or public funds. The plans and 

water rights for any project or unit thereof will be turned over for 

construction to an irrigation district or other organization satisfactory to the people interested on repayment to the State and the 

United States of the cost of such investigations and the giving of 

assurance that the work will be carried out in harmony with the 

public interest. If it is undertaken by public funds, the State's share 

of the cost must be returned to a revolving fund to be used for similar 

investigation of other projects.

The usual promoters' profits will thus be eliminated, as full information, secured by the State and National authorities, will be available to 

private capital in all parts of the world. If the project looks attractive, capital can thus deal directly with the interested parties without 

the necessity for paying promotion costs.

If private capital can not thus be enlisted, the information will be 

available so that the necessary constitutional amendment and laws 

can be enacted whereby the credit of the State can be advanced to 

accomplish the work. It is common practice for a city to lend its 

credit for the construction of street and other municipal improve-
156 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

nients, and no reason of public policy appears why the State should 

not do likewise for the construction of those projects which are beyond 

the reach of its citizens and which are the basis for the future growth 

and prosperity of the State.

In voting millions of dollars for such new enterprises the people 

must be assured that the money will be wisely expended and 

eventually returned with interest. To do this will require a stable 

and experienced organization which can follow the work closely 

throughout a long period of years. Not until every dollar contributed is returned can the venture be considered a financial success. 

Constant shifting of responsible officers in such complicated work is 

sufficient to cause disaster.

To obtain the advantages of an organization free from local influences, it may be advisable that the States cooperate with the Nation 

in the construction of such projects. The United States reclamation 

act has now been in successful operation for more than 10 years 

and its work has been generally carried on with success. It would 

be much easier to expand this organization than to create a new one 

which would doubtless repeat all the mistakes that are necessarily 

attendant on the starting of a new organization. The work could 

be carried out by the Secretary of the Interior acting in cooperation 

with a State officer. It is believed that the construction of both 

irrigation and power projects on a large scale can be brought about 

more quickly through such a plan of cooperation than by each State 

acting apart from the Federal Government. It is believed that by 

this plan of cooperation the friction which now exists between those 

favoring State control and those favoring national control will soon 

die out.

ADVANTAGES OF COOPERATION.

The average cost of water per acre under irrigation projects of the 

United States Reclamation Service is claimed to be less than that 

under similar projects built by private capital, and the difference is 

accentuated by the better quality of Government work, better drainage provisions, and more dependable water supply.

When it is remembered that the total excavation by the United 

States Reclamation Service on the 8,325 miles of irrigation canals and 

ditches constructed in the various western States up to December 31, 

1913, exceeded that for the Culebra section of the Panama Canal, it 

becomes apparent that the United States must have a well organized 

and efficient machine to carry on this work.1

"The United States Reclamation Service gets more actual work 

for a dollar than do the Harriman lines," according to H. T. Corey, an 

engineer who for 8 years was connected with the Harriman lines in

i See Eng. Record, July 11,1914, p. 58.
WATEE BIGHTS AND APPEOPEIATIONS. 157

California, Arizona, and Mexico.1 This statement was based on 

knowledge as to costs on the Salt River, Yuma, and Orland projects 

of the Government.

It would thus appear that to divide the risk and insure safety in the 

investment of funds, the States desiring to facilitate the development 

of irrigation could not do better than at least to start out in cooperation with this larger and more experienced organization.

Irrigation by pumping can never be made a success until long-time 

contracts for electric power can be obtained at very low rates. The 

experience of irrigators under gravity canals in watching the water 

rates increase with their ability to pay has caused many western 

States to make water appurtenant to land, thus doing away with 

the common carrier canal. Not only the water but also the power 

must be tied to the land for successful irrigation with pumps.

The advantages of cooperation in the development and distribution of power to municipalities should be apparent to those who favor 

municipal control, as all the economies of a great electrical system, 

with its different plants operating under varying water conditions 

and varying loads will be made available to the cities. For several 

years such a plan has been in operation in the Province of Ontario, 

Canada. Power is purchased from private companies at Niagara 

Falls at $9 per horsepower per annum and is now supplied to over 

30 cities at $15 to $40 per horsepower per annum. The local 

distribution of the power by the cities increases these prices somewhat to the consumer. It is reported that Toronto, with a population of 400,000, located 90 miles from the Falls, is now being supplied with power at $15 per horsepower per annum. As a consequence of such low rates the use of power has greatly increased and 

the various communities have made rapid growth because of the 

establishment of new industries.

UNIFORM STATE LAWS.

Uniform State laws and reciprocity between the States in granting 

the use of water has been suggested as a solution of water-right difficulties. This plan, however, seems impracticable and does not 

overcome the question of divided control with the United States.

Without some powerful and uniform pressure from outside the State 

there is little likelihood of ever obtaining uniformity in State laws. 

Reciprocity might give temporary relief in adjoining States, but 

many streams flow through or border three or more States, thus 

complicating matters.

Even in adjoining States reciprocity has not worked well.. In 1911 

the State of Oregon authorized the diversion of water for use in

> Am. Soc. Civil Eng. Trans., vol. 76, p. 718, Dec., 1913.
158 DESCHUTES RIYER, OREGON.

adjacent States. Idaho refused to pass a similar measure, and 

recently its supreme court, in the case of Bailey v. Robison, held 

strongly to the doctrine of State control and refused 'permission 

to divert water to Montana after a ditch had been constructed under 

a permit issued by the State engineer. California at the same time 

passed a law prohibiting the diversion of water for use outside the 

State.

After all the effort which has been made in the Western States to 

secure an equitable apportionment and distribution of the water 

resources, it is apparent that a satisfactory solution has not yet 

been reached. There are many problems which vitally affect conditions within the State but which are beyond its control and which, 

if unsolved, will vitally affect the peace, safety, and general welfare 

of the Nation.

NEEDED LEGISLATION.

There is great need at the present time for a thorough overhauling of all State and national laws relating to water to the end 

that the present confusion and uncertainties be eliminated. No 

plan of stream control can be successful unless it is in harmony with 

the laws of nature and is framed with the idea of overcoming not 

only legal but also physical difficulties. The stream basin is the 

logical unit for administrative purposes, therefore joint control by 

the State and Nation will probably eventually prevail. Some 

problems must doubtless be left exclusively to the State for solution, while others come more properly within the scope of the National 

Government.

The question as to the right of the United States to derive revenue 

from water-power development in the West or on navigable streams 

in the East and-the necessity of adopting some comprehensive plan 

for the control of Mississippi River may require solution in the near 

future. Even in the Eastern States it can not be said that rights 

to all the public waters have become vested and nothing remains to 

be accomplished by legislation, for the riparian owners can not 

require that the devastating floods in the Ohio, Mississippi, and other 

rivers continue. If the various States and the nation contribute for 

the construction of reservoirs, there must be some law establishing 

and protecting priorities in reservoir flood-water rights, just as we 

have in Oregon for any storage project. The point at which these 

reservoirs must cease storing water for power or navigation must be 

designated each season by some interstate or National administrative 

officer in accordance with such law for the protection of prior riparian 

or vested power interests, and those using such stored water when 

released should pay in proportion to the benefit, if any special privilege is derived. This will necessitate the determination and recording
RELATION OP GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OP POWER. 159

of existing rights as a basis for protection and also as a basis for new 

development.

In the Western States the serious complications arising in the 

equitable apportionment of benefits as to interstate waters will 

compel in the near future some action by Congress.

In other words, there is great need for the adoption by Congress of 

some comprehensive administrative system relative to interstate and 

navigable waters corresponding in character to that needed for the 

establishing and protecting of rights within a State. Such a system 

can be established without in any way injuring vested rights but for 

their benefit and protection, and it can be made to conform with the 

varying laws in the different States. In many Eastern States and 

most Western States the ordinary flow of most streams is fully appropriated, and some flood water and storage rights have been established. 

As these storage rights increase in number, size, and importance the 

difficulties which are now agitating the West can be anticipated in the 

East. The same law, therefore, which applies to the West should be 

made to apply also to the East.

THE RELATION OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF WATER POWER IN THE DESCHUTES BASIN.

By W. B. HEROY.

LEGAL BASIS FOB FEDERAL CONTROL.

Federal control of water-power development and its electrical 

transmission rests on the constitutional prerogatives of the General 

Government "to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among 

the several States and with the Indian tribes" and "to dispose of and 

make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or 

other property belonging to the United States." Through the first 

arises its control over navigable waters and water-power development incidental thereto, which has been referred to by Mr. Lewis. 

Since Deschutes River is not regarded as a navigable stream, a discussion of the powers of the Federal Government in regard to navigation is not germane to the present report. The control of interstate 

commerce vested in the United States might be exercised if the water 

power generated were transmitted across State lines. There are no 

important power markets in other States within practicable transmission distance of the Deschutes water powers and, in fact, power 

developed on White Salmon River in Washington is transmitted 

into the State for use in the city of Portland and vicinity. It appears 

probable therefore that the United States will have no relation to 

the situation from this view point.

The power of Congress to control the disposition and use of public 

lands is? however, of the utmost importance in relation to the future
160 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

utilization of the water-power resources discussed in this report. The 

Federal Government holds public lands both as sovereign and as 

proprietor. As sovereign its property is alienable only with its consent. Guaranties have without exception been inserted in the 

enabling acts creating the various States and in their various constitutions, maintaining the integrity of its control of public lands 

against possible encroachments by States or individuals. Thus public 

lands are not subject to condemnation except where such condemnation may have been authorized by Congress, and they may be appropriated only in so far as the Federal statutes direct. Because of the 

ownership by the United States the lands are also free from taxation 

by the State. In its capacity as proprietor the United States may 

do with its land all things which any other proprietor may do, and the 

lands of the United States have all the appurtenances which the lands 

of any other owner may have.

When public lands are adjacent to watercourses, their rights in 

the water flowing in the adjacent streams are, as has been suggested 

by Mr. Lewis, somewhat indefinite. It seems clear, however, that 

under the act of July 26, 1866, and under the desert-land act of 1877, 

Congress has sanctioned the appropriation of the waters flowing over 

public lands subject to State and local regulations. Where such 

appropriations have actually been made and the water put to beneficial use in accordance therewith, lands still in public ownership may 

have thereby been deprived of a certain portion of the absolute property right originally appurtenant to them in waters flowing over or 

past them. But since the authority to appropriate the waters of the 

public lands is purely permissive it is also clear the Congress may 

at any time resume complete control of the unappropriated waters or 

legislate to any needed extent regarding them. In such a case State 

statutes or local regulations relating to the unappropriated waters 

would of necessity become ineffective in so far as they might conflict 

with congressional enactments. The resumption of complete control 

over unappropriated waters flowing over public lands would, however, 

as Mr. Lewis suggests, create a dual system of control without apparent advantage to the State, the General Government, or the public 

generally.

The chief relation which the public lands bear to the present problem arises from the fact that it is necessary to utilize portions of them 

for the emplacement of structures, and to overflow other portions as a 

result of construction of dams. In both of these cases the consent of 

the United States is necessary. This consent may be given by Congress in a general enactment not requiring administrative action by 

the officers of the Federal Government. On the other hand, Congress 

may empower the administrative officers to authorize the use of the 

public lands for the purposes needed. Frequently the concurrence
"RELATION OF GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OF POWEE. 161

of both the legislative and executive branches is necessary, Congress 

defining the extent of the rights to be acquired, specifying the class 

of grantees, and fixing the conditions under which the grant is to be 

used, and the executive branch determining compliance with the 

statute and compatibility with public interest before making the grant 

effective by approval.

The earliest act of Congress dealing with rights of way across public 

lands for the utilization of water is section 9 of the act of July 26,1866 

(sec. 2339, R. S.). This act is of the first type above mentioned. 

Its language is broad and general in character, the terms describing 

the various purposes for which the water could be used being especially inclusive. All rights to occupy the public lands for ditches and 

canals rested upon this act until the passage of the act of March 3, 

1891 (26 Stat., 1095), relating to rights of way for irrigation and the 

act of May 14, 1896 (29 Stat., 120), relating to rights of way for the 

development of electric power.

The question as to the effect of the passage of these later acts on 

the acquirement of rights under the act of 1866 has been much discussed. Though the Supreme Court has not yet been called upon to 

decide the question, the decision of the United States court of appeals 

of the eighth circuit in a case relating to the statute (United States v. 

Utah Power & Light Co.), filed November 14, 1913, is at present 

controlling. Because of its complete exposition of the relations of 

these various acts and of the powers of the Federal Government it is 

here inserted in full:

The United States brings its bill of complaint against the appellee, defendant below, 

by which it seeks perpetually to enjoin said defendant from maintaining, in whole or 

in part, an alleged unlawful and tortious possession and occupancy of certain public 

lands in Cache County, State of Utah, now forming a part of the Cache National Forest.

Appellee is a corporation organized for the purpose of supplying electrical power to 

all who may desire to purchase and use it. Since December, 1900, it, and its predecessor in interest, have been engaged in the continuous operation of certain hydroelectrical power works, situated on Logan River in the county and State aforesaid. 

These works comprise a reservoir and a flume or conduit for conveying the flow of 

water from the reservoir to the power works, pressure pipes and power-house station, 

all equipped with the necessary machinery and apparatus. The reservoir, flume, 

and conduit are situated wholly upon and within the lands of the United States.

It is alleged in the bill that the defendant power company holds no permission for 

the construction, maintenance, or use of said reservoir, flume, or conduit, nor any 

permission or authority to occupy or use said lands for the purpose stated from the 

United States or from any of its officers duly empowered by law to issue or grant the 

same; this, of course, stands admitted. Appellee claims to have acquired whatever 

rights it possesses under and by virtue of the customs, laws, and decisions of the State 

of Utah, as recognized and confirmed by section 9 of the act of Congress of July 26, 

1866, appearing as section 2339 of the Revised Statutes, as follows:

"Whenever, by priority of possession, rights to the use of water for mining, agricultural, manufacturing, or other purposes, have vested and accrued, and the same are 

recognized and acknowledged by the local customs, laws, and the decisions of courts, 

48348° WSP 344 14 U
162 DESCHTJTES BIVEE, OBEGON.

the possessors and owners of such vested rights shall be maintained and protected in 

the same; and the right of way for the construction of ditches and canals for the purposes aforesaid is hereby acknowledged and confirmed: Provided, however, That whenever, after the passage of this act, any person or persons shall, in the construction of 

any ditch or canal, injure or damage the possession of any settler on the public domain, 

the party committing such injury or damage shall be liable to the party injured for 

such injury or damage."

The Government claims: (1) That rights of way for power companies can not be 

acquired under this act, because such companies and their purposes were not contemplated by Congress at the time of the enactment of these laws, and were not, therefore, within the intent and meaning of those acts. (2) That in any event Congress has 

since made specific and comprehensive provisions defining the procedure by which, 

and the extent to which, the use of the public lands may be granted and acquired for 

the purposes of generating, manufacturing, and distributing electric power; that this 

legislation withdraws such uses from the terms of section 2339 of the Revised Statutes, 

if they were ever included therein. The legislation referred to is that of May 14,1896, 

29 Statutes, 120, which reads as follows:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 

in Congress assembled, That the act entitled 'An act to permit the use of the right of 

way through the public lands for tramroads, canals, and reservoirs, and for other purposes,' approved January twenty-first, eighteen hundred and ninety-five, be, and the 

same is hereby amended by adding thereto the following:

"SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him, to permit the use of right of 

way to the extent of twenty-five feet, together with the use of necessary grounds, not 

exceeding forty acres, upon the public lands and forest reservations of the United 

States, by any citizen or association of citizens of the United States, for the purposes 

of generating, manufacturing, or distributing electric power."

The Government's position is that this act, of subsequent adoption, making specific 

and comprehensive regulations respecting a subject conceived to be embraasd within 

the terms of the prior more general act, withdraws that subject from the operation of 

the former act to the extent to which it is governed by the special provision and is 

pro tanto a substitute for the general statute formerly governing the subject matter. 

Under the authority of this act the Secretary of the Interior fixed and promulgated 

general regulations; and it is contended that since that time, as against the United 

States, no rights could be acquired in the public lands for purposes of generating, 

manufacturing, or distributing electric power except in conformity with the act of 

1896 and the procedure thus established. The exclusive control of Congress over the 

disposition of the public lands is asserted. The alleged rights of appellee were 

attempted to be created since the passage of the act of 1896, and the regulations promulgated thereunder, to wit, December, 1900.

A motion to dismiss, substituted under the new equity rules for demurrer, was filed 

by appellee. The court below, being of opinion that the defendant had title to a 

right of way for its pipe lines and reservoirs under section 9 of the act of July 26,1866, 

and was, therefore, under no obligation to proceed under the subsequent legislation, 

sustained this motion and dismisses the bill.

It is suggested, rather than insisted, that appellant is not entitled to equitable 

relief, because its remedy at law is complete and adequate. This point, though 

raised in the briefs for appellee, was not urged at the oral argument. While ejectment would seem to afford adequate relief, nevertheless the proceeding in equity 

has been recognized and approved. (United States v. Brighton Ranche Co. (C. C. A.), 

26 Fed., 218; Light v. United States, 220 U. S., 523.) However, we agree with the 

trial judge that under the new equity rules the objection, if well taken, does not 

justify a dismissal, and that the question, therefore, need not be determined.
RELATION OF GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OF POWER. 163

From the briefs the claim of right asserted by appellee would seem to be twofold in 

its nature. First, that the power company is entitled to be maintained and protected, so long as it may desire, in the use of rights of way over the public land, which 

it claims to have acquired for the purpose of putting water to a beneficial use under 

the customs, laws, and decisions of the State of Utah, as recognized and confirmed 

by section 9 of the act of Congress of July 26, 1866 (Rev. Stat., sec. 2339); that by 

said act and by the construction and use of its reservoir and flume, it has permission 

of the highest and most solemn kind from the United States Government to occupy 

the land in question. Second, that it is protected in its tenure because that tenure 

is authorized by the laws of the State of Utah, exercising sovereign and exclusive 

jurisdiction with respect thereto.

The proposition that absolute and perpetual rights in the public lands may be 

acquired for private gain by mere appropriation without purchase or compensation, 

and in the exercise of a State sovereignty which transcends the constitutional power 

of the Congress, is .a somewhat startling one, and must be considered first. The 

Constitution of the United States (art. 4, sec. 3) provides that "Congress shall have 

power to dispose of and make all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or the property belonging to the United States." This is the supreme law of the 

land and embodies an express grant of power to the National Government. (Light v. 

United States, 220 U. S., 537; Kansas v. Colorado, 206 U. S., 89.) It has been construed to mean that title and rights in and to the public lands are created by the acts 

of Congress, and must be governed by their provisions whether they be hard or 

lenient, and that no rights whatsoever can be obtained in the lands of the United 

States except as Congress may consent. (Rector v. Ashley, 6 Wall., 142; Frisbie v. 

Whitney, 9 Wall., 187; Emblem v. Lincoln Land Co., 184 U. S., 660; Wilcox v. Jackson, 13 Peters, 498; Jourdan v. Barrett, 4 How., 169; United States v. Chicago, 7 How., 

185; Butte City Water Co. v. Baker, 196 U. S., 126; Kansas v.' Colorado, 206 U. S., 

46; Light v. United States, supra.) After quoting this provision of the Constitution 

the Supreme Court, in Jourdan v. Barrett, at page 184, said:

"For the disposal of public lands, therefore, in the new States, where such lands 

lie, Congress may provide by law; and having the constitutional power to pass the 

law, it is supreme; so Congress may prohibit and punish trespassers on the public 

lands. Having the power of disposal and of protection, Congress alone can deal with 

the title, and no State law, whether of limitations or otherwise, can defeat such 

title."

Wilcox v. McConnel [Jackson] dealt with public lands within the State of Illinois. 

Concerning the asserted power of the State to legislate respecting the title to such 

lands within its borders the court said:

"The effect of this would be, not that Congress had the power of disposing of the 

public land," and prescribing the rules and regulations concerning that disposition, 

but that Illinois possessed it. That would be to make the laws of Illinois paramount 

to those of Congress in relation to a subject confided by the Constitution to Congress 

only. And the practical result in this very case would be, by force of State legislation, to take from the United States their own land, against their own will, and against 

their own laws."

In Camfield v. United States (167 U. S., 518) it was held that the Government of 

the United States may legislate for the protection of its lands, though such legislation 

may involve the exercise of the police power; and may complain of and take steps 

to prevent acts of individuals, in fencing in its lands, even though done for the purpose of irrigation and pasturing. In the opinion Mr. Justice Brown, speaking for the 

court, said:

'"While the lands in question are all within the State of Colorado, the Government 

has, with respect to its own lands, the rights of an ordinary proprietor, to maintain 

its possession and to prosecute trespassers. It may deal with such lands precisely as a
164 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

private individual may deal with his farming property. It may sell or withhold them 

from sale. It may grant them in aid of railways or other public enterprises. It may 

open them to preemption or homestead settlement; but it would be recreant to its 

duties as trustee for the people of the United States to permit any individual or private corporation to monopolize them for private gain and thereby practically drive 

intending settlers from the market."

In Light v. United States, supra, the United States had suffered its public lands to be 

used for pasturage; and there thus grew up a sort of implied license that those lands 

might be used ao long as the Government did not withdraw its consent. The court 

held that the "failure to object, however, did not confer any vested right on the 

complainant, nor did it deprive the United States of the power of recalling any 

implied license under which the land had been used for private purposes." It held, 

further, that the "United States can prohibit absolutely or fix the terms on which 

its property may be used. As it can withhold or reserve the land, it can do so indefinitely." But it is profitless to discuss further this asserted power of the State to dispose of interests in the public lands, even though it were admitted that the subject 

otherwise admits of discussion, in view of the express stipulation that such lauds 

shall remain at the sole and entire disposition of the United States. The act enabling 

the people of Utah to form a constitution and State government imposes the condition:

"That the people inhabiting said proposed State do agree and declare that they 

forever disclaim all right and title to the unappropriated public lands lying within 

the boundaries thereof; * * * and that until the title thereto shall have been 

extinguished by the United States, the same shall be and remain subject to the disposition of the United States." (Compiled laws of Utah, 1907, p. 29.)

And in the constitution of Utah subsequently adopted this provision was incorporated in terms and became a part of the organic law of that State. (Constitution of 

Utah, art. 3, sec. 2, Compiled laws of Utah, 1907, p. 45.) Concerning a similar provision in the Minnesota constitution, the Supreme Court has said:

"The provisions of the enabling act and the State constitution, before referred to, 

secure to the United States full control of the disposition of the public lands within 

the limits of the State. * * * It would be a part of the power reserved in Congress 

to determine the terms and conditions upon which title should effectually pass from 

the Government." (Stearns v. Minnesota, 179 U. S., 223-251.)

That a power may be injuriously exercised is no reason for a misconstruction of the 

scope and extent of that power. The Government of the United States has shown 

no disposition to deal unjustly with the States, nor with their citizens in this respect. 

(Stearns v. Minnesota, supra, p. 243; Oceanic Steam Nav. Co. v. Stranahan, 214 U. S., 

320.) We must conclude, therefore, that the power of Congress to dispose of and make 

all needful rules and regulations respecting the territory or other property belonging 

to the United States, including rights of the nature here involved, is supreme; and 

in conferring upon the Secretary of the Interior power to establish such rules and regulations as may be necessary to supplement the legislation Congress acts within its 

constitutional power. (United States v. Grimaud, 220 U. S., 506; Light v. United 

States, 220 U. S., 523; Oceanic Steam Nav. Co. v. Stranahan, 214 U. S., 320.) The 

exertion by Congress of a power which is granted in express terms must supersede all 

legislation over the same subject by the States. (Michigan Central E. E. Co. v. 

Vreeland, 227 U. S., 59^-66; St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Eailway Co. v. 

Hesterly,228 U. S., 702; Gulf, Colorado & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Hefley, 158 U. S., 

98-104.)

To sustain its contention, therefore, appellee must point to-some express grant by 

the Government, or at least to subsisting legislation from which the grant may be 

inferred, or by which its claims have been recognized and preserved. It mast be 

conceded at the outset that statutes granting privileges of relinquishing rights of the 

public are to be strictly construed against the grantee. (Wisconsin Central Railroad
RELATION OF GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OP POWER. 165

Co. v. United States, 164 U. S., 190; Camfield v. United States, 167 U. 8., 518; United 

States v. Minidoka & Southwestern Railroad Co. (C. C. A.), 190 Fed., 491.) Appellee 

relies upon the ninth section of the act of July 26,1866, now section 2339 of the Revised 

Statutes. It is important to consider the nature and extent to confer [differ] or to 

confirm as the case may be. In Jennison v. Kirk (98 U. S., 453) the Supreme Court 

of the United States had occasion to examine that act with this consideration in 

mind. Speaking through Mr. Justice Field, it said:

"The position of the plaintiff's counsel is, that of the two rights mentioned in 

this section, only the right to the use of water on the public lands, acquired by priority 

of possession, is dependent upon local customs, laws, and decisions of the courts; 

and that the right of way over such lands for the construction of ditches and canals is 

conferred absolutely upon those who have acquired the water right, and is not subject 

hi its enjoyment to the local customs, laws, and decisions. This position, we think, 

can not be sustained. The object of the section was to give the sanction of the United 

States, the proprietor of the lands, to possessory rights, which had previously rested 

solely upon the local customs, laws, and decisions of the courts, and to prevent such 

rights from being lost on a sale of the lands. * * *

" It merely recognized the obligation of the Government to respect private rights 

which had grown up under its tacit consent and approval. * * *

"Whilst acknowledging the general wisdom of the regulations of miners, as sanctioned by the State and molded by its courts, and seeking to give title to possessions 

acquired under them, it must have occurred to the author, as it did to others, that if 

the title of the United States was conveyed to the holders of mining claims, the right 

of way of owners of ditches and canals across the claims, although then recognized by 

the local customs, laws, and decisions, would be thereby destroyed, unless secured 

by the act."

It will thus be seen that this legislation constituted no grant of specific rights by 

the Congress of the United States. The efficiency of local customs, laws, and decisions 

to supersede the disposing power of Congress is denied. The purpose was to confirm title to possessions acquired under forms and regulations sanctioned by the State 

and molded by its courts, with the acquiescence and tacit encouragement of the 

Government. The act "was rather a voluntary recognition of a preexisting right of 

possession, constituting a valid claim to its continued use, than the establishment of 

a new one." (Broder v. Water Co., 101 U. S., 274; Atchison v. Peterson, 20 Wall., 

507-512.) In view of the express power conferred upon Congress by the Constitution, 

and reserved to it by the organic law of the State of Utah, it can not be successfully 

urged that such legislation committed the Government to a policy that should be irrevocable. (Light v. United States, 220 U. S., 523-533; Gutierres v. Albuquerque 

Land & Irrigation Co., 188 U. S., 545; United States v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation 

Co., 174 U. S., 690.) In the latter case it was expressly held that the act of September 

19, 1890, did operate to modify and restrict section 2339. The court said:

"As this is a later declaration of Congress, so far as it modifies any privileges or 

rights conferred by prior statutes it must be held controlling, at least as to any rights 

attempted to be created since its passage; and all the proceedings of the appellees in 

this case were subsequent to this act."

It remains then to consider whether the Congress, prior to any possession acquired 

by appellee, had withdrawn or limited the recognition accorded by the act of July 

26, 1866, to such extent that appellee may not rely upon that act in defense of this 

action.

As has been stated, the Government's position is that the act of May 14, 1896, and 

the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, by making specific and comprehensive provision respecting a subject, to wit, the generation, manufacture, and distribution of electric power, conceived to be embraced within the terms of the prior 

and more general act, withdraws that subject from the operation of the former act to
166 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

the extent to which it is governed by such special provision and is pro tanto a substitute for and repeal of the general statute which formerly governed. It is a wellsettled principle of construction that specific terms covering a given subject matter 

will prevail over general language of the same or another statute which might otherwise prove controlling. (Kepner v. United States, 195 U. S., 100; Jackson v. Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway Co. (C. C. A.), 178 Fed., 432; Gilkeson v. Missouri Pacific Railway Co., 222 Mo., 173.)

" If the two are repugnant in any of their provisions, the latter act, without any 

repealing clause, operates to the extent of the repugnancy as a repeal of the first; and 

even where two acts are not in express terms repugnant, yet if the latter act covers 

the whole subject of the first, and embraces new provisions, plainly showing that it 

was intended as a substitute for the first act, it will operate as a repeal of that act." 

(United States v. Tynen, 11 Wall., 88-92; Daviess v. Fairbairn, 3 How., 636; Tracy 

v. Tuffly, 134 U. S., 206-223.)

The doctrine is very comprehensively stated in Hawkins v. Bare, 63 W. Va., 431, 

60 S. E. Rep., 391-393. It is there said:

"Neither the intention to substitute, nor the intention to create an exception from 

the general law, depends upon inconsistency between the new or special act and the 

old or general act, in the sense of repugnancy in terms. It is inconsistency in point 

of intention, an obvious, but unexpressed, repugnancy. It is a mere question of 

whether the legislature intended to make a complete law governing the subject 

matter. If that be apparent, there is a substitution or an exception, as the case may 

be, although there is no express repeal, exception, or substitution; and the two acts 

might be combined by making the later or special one an addition to the older or general one, and treating it as an amendment, whereby a different result would be obtained. In every case of this kind the two courses are open to the court. Both acts 

may be allowed to stand and operate together by treating the later or special one as 

an amendment, and certain results thereby obtained, or the new or special act may 

be considered a substitute or exception, and the old or general statute thereby set 

aside either wholly or partially, and a different result so obtained; and the doubt is 

always resolved by the character and carried into effect."

The Government does not contend that section 2339 of the Revised Statutes has been 

wholly repealed, but merely that the subsequent act of 1896 has withdrawn from the 

operation of that section the subject of generating, manufacturing, or distributing' 

electric power, the manner of acquiring rights of way over the public lands for those 

purposes, and the nature and extent of such rights. We think this contention is 

sound. The terms of the original statute are broad enough to include the specific 

form of manufacture now under consideration. (Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust 

Co., 158 U. S., 601-632.) Control over the disposition of the public lands and all 

rights and interests therein remain unimpaired in the Congress. Evidently that body 

perceived that the time had come when changed conditions and the complex interests 

and relations of our national life demanded that, with respect to this particular form 

of industry, the application of the former act, as worded and construed, should be 

modified and restricted; therefore, it enacted the subsequent legislation. (United 

States v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., 174 U. S., 690-708; Camfield v. United 

States, 167 U. S., 518-524.)

There can be no doubt that Congress intended to and did assume complete control 

of the subject matter and made and authorized specific and comprehensive provisions 

respecting it. This appears not only from the act in question but from other legislation connected therewith and supplemental thereto. (Act of Mar. 3,1891, 26 Stat., 

1095; act of Jan. 21,1895, 28 Stat., 635; act of May 11,1898, 30 Stat., 404; act of Feb. 

15,1901, 31 Stat., 790; act of Feb. 1,1905, 33 Stat., 628; act of Mar. 4,1911, 36 Stat., 

1233,1253.) Laws passed subsequently to appellee's possession can not of course 

affect any vested rights theretofore acquired, but they are pertinent as reflecting and
RELATION OP GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OF POWER. 167

revealing the purpose of Congress throughout this legislation. The acts of 1891,1901, 

and 1911 contain express provisions for revocation or forfeiture; in that of 1891 ia 

found this exception:

"The privilege herein granted shall not be construed to interfere with the control 

of water for irrigation and other purposes under the authority of the respective States 

or Territories."

Obviously, that act was not intended to interfere with the operation of section 2339; 

but no such proviso is found in the act of May 14,1896. That of May 11,1898, contains 

this clause:

Said rights of way may be used for purposes of water transportation, for domestic 

purposes, or for development of power, as subsidiary to the main purpose of irrigation.

It will thus be seen that Congress has wisely adapted and molded its legislation to 

meet the requirements of irrigation in a "dry and thirsty land."

The result is that whatever rights to burden the public lands may have been recognized or confirmed by section 2339 of the Revised Statutes, those involving the generation, manufacture, and distribution of electric power have been withdrawn, modified, and restricted by the subsequent act of May 14, 1896. This later legislation 

became effective prior to the initiation of appellee's claim. The power company 

has not availed itself of the provisions of this later statute; therefore its rights, if any, 

are subordinate to those of the Government. The decree below must be reversed 

and the case remanded for further proceedings in accordance with the views herein

This decision makes it incumbent on those seeking to utilize the 

public lands for rights of way for water-power development to acquire 

rights of way under the specific acts which control. The specific purpose of each is explained by Mr. Grover in the following section.

Inasmuch as any control by the Federal Government of waterpower development on nonnavigable streams, such as the Deschutes, 

rests on the ownership of public lands, it has become a well-established 

national policy to retain in public ownership land essential to such 

power development.

WATER-POWER WITHDRAWALS. 

DEVELOPMENT OF POLICY.

Widespread public interest was first focused on the disposition of 

water powers by two messages of President Roosevelt to Congress in 

April, 1908, and January, 1909, vetoing special acts conferring franchises for the development of water power on the ground that adequate provision for the protection of the interests of the general public had not been incorporated therein. His attitude toward the disposition of water power was also expressed in a letter to the Senate 

Committee on Commerce on March 13, 1908, in which he states:

No right involving water power should be granted to any corporation in perpetuity, 

but only for a length of time sufficient to allow them to conduct their business profitably. A reasonable charge should, of course, be made for valuable rights and privileges which they obtain from the National Government. The values for which this 

charge is made will ultimately, through the natural growth and orderly development 

of our population and industries, reach enormous amounts. A fair share of the increase 

should be safeguarded for the benefit of the people from whose labor it springs.
168 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

While this question of legislative policy was being discussed, administrative action for the purpose of preventing the alienation 

of water power was in progress. The Reclamation Service, under 

instructions from Secretary Garfield, recommended for his approval 

withdrawals affecting approximately 3,500,0 0 acres along western 

rivers in the period from December 4, 1908, to February 27, 1909. 

These withdrawals had their legal basis in part in the general powers 

of the Secretary of the Interior as the supervisor of the public lands, 

and in part in the authority conferred by the reclamation act (act of 

June 17, 1902, 32 Stat., 388) to withhold from disposition public 

lands necessary to reclamation projects. The Forest Service, in the 

period from March to August, 1908, similarly recommended the withdrawal as administrative sites of a large number of small tracts 

within or near national forests, which were believed to occupy strategic positions with relation to future power development. The purposes of these administrative sites as regards power was not, however, 

generally apparent until March 2, 1909, when Secretary Garfield recommended their withdrawal from all entry except under the right-ofway acts, thus specifically holding them for use in connection with 

irrigation and power development. This was one of the last acts of 

Secretary Garfield's administration.

His successor, Secretary Ballinger, undertook almost immediately 

the consideration of the water-power situation and directed his attention to the advisability of retaining in force the first form and administrative withdrawals approved by Secretary Garfield. Fearing as 

a result of his investigation that the withdrawals rested on no secure 

statutory foundation, he directed their revocation, with the result 

that in April, 1909, nearly all the withdrawn lands were restored to 

entry. Strong opposition to this action developed almost immediarely, however, with the result that it was reconsidered. On April 

23,1909, after a conference between the Secretary, the Director of the 

Reclamation Service, and the Director of the Geological Survey, the 

latter was directed to "make an investigation of water-power sites 

on the public domain outside of national forests, which are not included within withdrawals for reclamation projects, with a view to 

securing at the next session of Congress legislation to control and 

regulate their disposition." Investigations were immediately undertaken by the Geological Survey along the lines directed, and as a 

result large areas of public lands controlling streams valuable for 

power development were promptly withdrawn. These withdrawals 

were styled "Temporary power site withdrawals," and were in terms 

in aid of legislation. The first of these withdrawals on Deschutes 

River reads as follows:
RELATION OF GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OF POWER. 169

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTEEIOE, 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, June 29,1909. 

The SECRETARY OP THE INTERIOR.

SIR: In accordance with your instructions of April 23, I have the honor to submit 

the following recommendation, which involves 6,716 acres, 987 acres being entered 

land:

TEMPORARY POWER-SITE WITHDRAWAL NO. 26.

(Deschutes River, Oreg.)

In aid of proposed legislation affecting the disposal of the water-power sites on the 

public domain, all public lands in the following list are temporarily withdrawn, pending examination, from all forms of entry, selection, disposal, settlement, or location, 

and all existing claims, filings, and entries are temporarily suspended. All valid 

entries heretofore made may proceed up to and including the submission of final 

proof, but no purchase money will be received nor final certificate of entry issued 

until further orders.

(Willamette Principal Meridian.)

(List of Lands.)

Very respectfully, (Signed) H. C. EIZER,

Acting Director. 

Approved June 30,1909, and sent to General Land Office.

(Signed) FRANK PIERCE,

Acting Secretary.

During the next session of Congress consideration was given to 

the entire subject of withdrawals of public land, and as a result a 

general act was passed the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847) 

authorizing the President to make withdrawals. A special act (36 

Stat., 855) was passed on the same day as sees. 13 and 14 of the 

Indian appropriation act, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior 

to withdraw water-power sites on Indian reservations. Almost immediately after the passage of the general withdrawal act the President confirmed, under its provisions, all outstanding withdrawals. 

This order, dated July 2, 1910, reads as follows:

DEPARTMENT OP THE INTERIOR, 

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

Washington, July 1,1910. 

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

SIR: In accordance with your instructions, I recommend the withdrawal for waterpower sites of the following areas:

ORDER OF WITHDRAWAL.

It is hereby ordered that those certain orders of withdrawal, made heretofore (listed 

by date and numbers) and including the lands more particularly described and set 

forth below, be, and the same are hereby ratified, confirmed, and continued in full 

force and effect, an$ the lands reserved for water-power sites, subject to all of the provisions, limitations, exceptions, and conditions contained in the act of Congress entitled " An Act to authorize the President of the United States to make withdrawals in 

certain cases," approved June 25, 1910:

(List of lands.)

Very respectfully,

GEO, OTIS SMITH,

Director.
170 DESCHTJTES RIVER, OREGON.

JOTT 1, 1910. 

Respectfully referred to the President with the recommendation that same be

approved.

R. A. BALUNQBR,

Approved July 2, 1910, and referred to the Secretary of the Interior.

WM. H. TAFT, 

President.

The act of June 25, 1910, made certain exceptions to the force of 

withdrawals in that it excluded bona fide settlements, homestead, and 

desert land claims, and mineral claims, except coal, oil, gas, and 

phosphate, from its operation. The act of August 24,1912 (37 Stat., 

497), amended the act in its relation to mineral claims, so that 

only metalliferous mineral deposits were excepted from its operation. 

Since this amendment there has been no legislative action by Congress 

upon this subject.

WITHDRAWALS IN THE DESCHUTES BASIN.

The first withdrawals with a view to utilization or control of the 

water power by the Government were not made until 1906. In connection with the John Bay project of the Reclamation Service, lands 

along Beschutes River in T. 2 S., R. 15 E.; T. 3 S., R. 15 E ; T. 1 S., 

R. 16 E.; and T. 2 S., R. 16 E., were withdrawn on April 25 of that 

year, and in connection with the Umatilla project lands in T. 1 N., 

R. 15 E.; T. 2 N., R. 15 E.; and T. 1 N., R. 16 E., were withdrawn 

on June 25, 1906. These withdrawals, made in accordance with the 

authority of the reclamation act, were in the first form, from all disposition, since the Reclamation Service proposed to use the power 

developed at sites on the Deschutes for pumping water for irrigation. 

They are now in force.

On recommendation of the Director of the Reclamation Service, 

Secretary Garfield withdrew on October 24,1908, under the first form, 

reclamation act, the lands adjacent to the Beschutes and Metolius 

rivers from T. 4 S., R. 14 E., to T. 11 S., R. 9 E. This withdrawal 

was not among those revoked by Secretary Ballinger.

After the Geological Survey was authorized to make investigations 

and recommend withdrawals of water-power sites, the status of lands 

along the Beschutes River was investigated, and certain tracts which, 

though included in the first form reclamation withdrawals for the 

John Bay and Umatilla projects, were entered land and not affected by 

the withdrawal, were withdrawn for power purposes. In addition, 

the withdrawal of lands along the Deschutes was extended to include 

lands in Tps. 11 to 15 S., R. 12 E. This withdrawal, temporary 

power site withdrawal No. 26, was approved by the Acting Secretary 

on June 30, 1909. On Becember 30, 1909, the withdrawal under the 

first form, reclamation act of October 24,1908, was, by the Secretary's
RELATION OF GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OF POWER. 171

order, changed to temporary power site withdrawal No. 66, certain 

lands not valuable for power development or in private ownership 

being eliminated.

On July 2,1910, these withdrawals, as well as others then outstanding in the Deschutes basin, were confirmed and continued, subject to 

the provisions of the withdrawal act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat., 847). 

A withdrawal of the lands along Deschutes and Metolius rivers in the 

Warm Springs Indian Reservation which appeared to be valuable for 

power development was made in accordance with the provisions of 

the special withdrawal act relating to Indian reservations (act of 

June 25, 1910, 36 Stat., 855, 858) on November 1, 1910.

Other withdrawals and restorations, based upon a growing knowledge of the water-power resources of the basin and of the particular 

lands which are necessary for or may be utilized for this development, 

have been made more recently. The following table lists withdrawals 

and restorations in the Deschutes basin in the order of their approval, 

and gives the approximate acreage of each. For completeness, the 

outstanding withdrawals under the reclamation act are also included.

Withdrawals for the control of water power in the Deschutes basin.

Description of order.

Reclamation act, Deschutes and Metolius rivers, power purposes. . . . 

Temporary power site withdrawal No. 26, Deschutes River, Oreg. . . . 

Temporary power site withdrawal No. 62, White River, Oreg. .......

Temporary power site withdrawal No. 63, Crooked River, Oreg. ..... 

Temporary power site withdrawal No. 68, upper Deschutes River, 

Oreg...............................................................

Temporary power site withdrawal No. 66, Deschutes and Metolius

Temporary power site withdrawal No. 125, Deschutes River No. 2. . . 

Power site restoration No. 24, upper Deschutes River. ............... 

Indian power site reserve No. 2. Deschutes and Metolius rivers. ......

Power site reserve No. 288, Deschutes River .........................

Modification of power site reserve No. 66. Deschutes River. .......... 

Power site reserve No. 334, Deschutes River No. 4...................

Modification of power site reserves Nos. 66 and 125, Deschutes River.

Power site reserve No. 294, Deschutes River andTtributaries (Indian

Power site reserve No. 412, Deschutes River and tributaries (No. 6)..

Date of approval.

Apr. 25,1906 

June 25,1906 

Oct. 24,1908 

June 30,1909 

Nov. 16,1909 

.....do.......

Nov. 20,1909

Dec. 30,1909 

Mar. 18,1910 

Oct. 27,1910 

Nov. 1,1910 

Dec. 1,1910

Sept. 23,1912 

Oct. 8, 1912 

Jan. 27,1913 

Feb. 21,1913 

July 23,1913

Oct. 8, 1913 

Jan. 2, 1914 

Jan. 13,1914

Mar. 9, 1914

Approximate 

acreage withdrawn.

24,960 

13,600 

34,735 

6,716 

2,682 

20,820

3,262

14,139 

2,240

""12," 534"

80 

..........

45,120

61,840 

1,960

1,400

Withdrawals in force under reclamation act of June 17, 1902. . . . 83, 6i 

Withdrawals in force under general withdrawal act of June 25, 

1910 (36 Stat., 847)... . .................................... 45, 0(

Withdrawals in force under Indian withdrawal act of June 25, 

1910 (36 Stat., 855, 858)................ ...................... 74,3

Approximate 

acreage 

restored.

..........

20,596

1,990

18,740

106

160

16

?0 

57

74

Total withdrawals in force for reservation of water power.. 203,121
172 DESCHUTES RWEB, OBEGON.

Power site withdrawals outstanding on March 1, 1914, 1 are indicated 

on Plates XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII.

The areas shown are the gross areas withdrawn and no attempt 

has been made to indicate the status of the withdrawn lands. It 

is known that the withdrawals included some areas of entered land 

and a few tracts have doubtless passed to patent since the orders 

were issued, under the special provisions of the withdrawal act. 

By far the greater part of the lands included in power-site reserves 

are, however, still in public ownership.

RAILROAD BIGHTS OF WAY.

The lower section of the canyon of Deschutes River is occupied by 

two constructed railroads the Deschutes Railroad, leased by the 

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co., a subsidiary of the 

Union Pacific, and the Oregon Trunk Railway, which is associated 

with the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad and controlled by 

the Hill interests. The Oregon Trunk Railway crosses Columbia 

River near the mouth of the Deschutes and closely parallels the west 

bank south to North Junction, where it crosses to the east side of 

the river, which it follows to the mouth of Willow Creek. It ascends 

Willow Creek to the plateau north of Crooked River and thence continues southward, crossing Crooked River by a high bridge west of 

Prineville. The line then passes over the plateau south of Crooked 

River, terminating at Bend. Its total length is 156.9 miles.

The Deschutes Railroad leaves the main line of the Oregon- Washington Railroad & Navigation Co. at Deschutes Junction, near The 

Dalles, and follows the east bank of the Deschutes south to the mouth 

of Trout Creek, using the valley of this stream as a means of exit 

from the Deschutes canyon to the plateau. Between North Junction 

and South Junction and between Metolius and Bend the Deschutes 

Railroad uses the tracks of the Oregon Trunk Railway. From the 

mouth of the Deschutes southward to T. 7 S., R. 14 E., the river is 

thus paralleled by two railroad lines, one on each bank, and thence 

to the mouth of Willow Creek by a single line on the east bank.

Surveys for these railroads were made in 1908 and 1909. Applications for rights of way under the act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat., 482),

i Power-site reserve No. 425, approved March 9, 1914, was created after the preparation of Plate XXVEt 

and is not shown thereon. It includes the following areas:

Wittamette meridian.

T. 12 S.. B. 12 E., sec. 33, S W. J of NE . |. 

T. 13 S.. B. 12 E., sec. 3, lots 7, 8, and 9.

sec. 4, lots 2, 3, 6, and 7, SW. 1 of NE. i, SE. J of N W. J, W. J of SE. J.

sec. 9,NE.JofNE. J.

sec.

 ee.

sec. , , , .

sec. 14, lots 3, 5, 6, and 12, N W. J.

sec.24,SW.JofNE.l.

c. 9,N.JofNE. J.

c. 10, NE. J, N. jof NW. 1, N. | of SE. J, SE. J of SE. J.

e.ll/SW.jofSW.j.

c. 13, lots 12, 13, and 14.
U. 3. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXVI

LEGEND

Lands-wBhdrawtt under 

reclamation act

Power-site reserves 

under act of June 25, 1910

MAP SHOWING LANDS WITHDRAWN BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN TPS. 3 N. TO 7 S., RS. 9 TO 17 E. WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN.
U. 8. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXVII

Power-site reserves 

under act of June 25,1910

"-8S.

.98.

T. 108,

T. US.

T. 12 S,

T. 13 S.

T. 148.

T. 158,

T. 16 S.

T. 178.

R. 10 E. R.11 E. R. 12 E. R. 13 E. R.HE. R. 15 E. R. 16 E.

SCALE 375.000

8 20 MILES

MAP SHOWING LANDS WITHDRAWN BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN TPS. 8 TO 17 8., RS. 9 TO 16 E. WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN.
U. S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WATER-SUPPLY PAPER 344 PLATE XXVIII

T. 18 S.

Lands withdrawn under 

reclamation act

Power-site reserves 

under act of June 25,1910

.195.

.20S.

.21 S.

.228.

T. 23 S.

T. 24 S.

T. 25 S.

T. 26 S.

T. 27 S.

MAP SHOWING LANDS WITHDRAWN BY FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN TPS. 18 TO 27 S., RS. 6H TO 13 E. WILLAMETTE MERIDIAN.
RELATION OP GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOPMENT OF POWEB. 173

were promptly filed by both companies and construction work was 

pushed forward with great rapidity, so that by the summer of 1910 

it had practically been completed throughout the canyon. The road 

was completed to Bend in 1911.

From time to time the right of way applications filed by the companies for various sections of their roads have been approved by 

the Secretary of the Interior, the last maps having been approved 

January 20, 1914. Some of the maps were approved subject to a 

stipulation on the part of the railway that it would "elevate its 

tracks * * * in suclj. manner as may be deemed necessary by 

the Secretary of the Interior for the purpose of utilizing to the best 

advantage any public lands * * * for the conservation or use 

of power, power sites, or power purposes." The greater portion of 

the rights of way was, however, granted without stipulations or 

agreements on the part of the railroad companies to make provision 

for the development of water power from Deschutes River.

The relation of the Oregon Trunk Railway or the Oregon Trunk 

Line, as it was first incorporated, to Deschutes River, is essentially 

the same as that of the Deschutes Railroad. The Oregon Trunk 

Railway is at first but a few feet above the Deschutes, but at the 

west line of sec. 21, T. 2 N., R. 15 E., the railroad begins to climb, 

and on the south line of sec. 35 of this township it passes the Moody 

dam site with the subgrade at approximately 332 feet, United States 

Geological Survey datum. In this 5 miles the average gradient 

is about 0.54 per cent. From the Moody dam site southward the 

grade is level to near the east line of sec. 31, T. 1 N., R. 16 E., at 

which point the subgrade is about 45 feet above low water in Deschutes River. The railroad then rises approximately with the river 

to sec. 5, T. 1 S., R. 16 E., where the subgrade is 33 feet above low 

water. A second elevation of the tracks relative to the river then 

begins, culminating at the dam site in sees. 5 and 6, T. 2 S., R. 16 E., 

where the railroad is 120 feet above low water. Having passed this 

point, the railroad continues at the same elevation and in consequence 

is only 25 feet above low water in sec. 27, T. 2 S., R. 15 E. The 

railroad then ascends with the river to sec. 26, T. 3 S., R. 24 E. Here 

the railroad begins a third rise with relation to the river, which reaches 

its maximum in. lot 2, sec. 3, T. 4 S., R. 14 E., where clearance has 

been provided for a 70-foot dam. The gradient then again becomes 

flat, and in sec. 8, T. 4 S., R. 14 E., the subgrade is 20 feet above low 

water and probably not over 5 feet above high water. A line just a 

few feet above high water is then followed until the railroad leaves 

the river at the mouth of Willow Creek.

Provision has thus been made by the railroads for the construction 

of only three high-power dams on the lower Deschutes at the Moody,
174 DESCHUTES BIVEB, OREGON.

the Reclamation, and Sherar Falls power sites. At only one site does 

the present location of the railroads permit the complete utilization of 

the water power as outlined by Mr. McCaustland in another part of 

this report (pp. 124-132). At the Moody site the railroads are 150 

feet above the river 30 feet less than the proposed height of the 

dam at that site. To secure this additional head at the present time 

would require the relocation of about 16 miles of railroad if present 

grades are not exceeded. No provision has been made for a dam at 

the Lockit site, the railroads at this point being but slightly above 

high water. Full provision was made for the dam at the Reclamation power site, and no relocation would be necessary at this point 

The Sinamox and Oak Brook sites would, if developed, require the 

relocation of both roads, or about 15 miles of line.

The railroads at the Sherar Falls power site are 70 feet above low 

water as compared with the 88 feet considered necessary, and 6 

miles of each road would have to be relocated to clear a dam of this 

height, providing that the present maximum gradient were not 

exceeded. At the Oak Springs, Maupin, and Frieda sites both railroads are at low elevations. Farther up the river at the White 

Horse Rapids and Coleman sites there is only one track to be relocated. The railroads leave the canyon below the Mecca, Pelton, and 

Metolius sites.

It thus appears that of the 14 sites on Deschutes River only four 

can be constructed as outlined by Mr. McCaustland without interference from the railroads. Provision for partial development has 

been made at two others. At eight sites there is an absolute conflict 

between the railroads and the power developments proposed, and 

such development must await the tune when the power becomes of 

sufficient value to warrant the heavy cost of the reconstruction of 

the railroads. The cost of the Deschutes Railroad alone, in that 

portion along the river, was about $60,000 per mile. 1" The situation 

is further aggravated by the fact that through railroad rivalries rather 

than because of the needs of the country two parallel and competing 

lines were constructed up the Deschutes, either of which would doubtless serve the territory for years to come. Not only must the public 

in the long run pay for the second and superfluous line of road, but 

it is also saddled with the economic loss resulting from the impairment 

of water-power values. It is probable that one line of road so located 

as to allow for the fullest development of the water powers and equal 

in efficiency to either of the present lines could have been constructed 

for a sum much less than was expended for the existing roads.

1 Eng. News, vol. 64, p. 139, 1910.
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER SITES. 175

GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER AND RESERVOIR

SITES.

By N. C. GROVER. 

CLASSIFICATION OF LANDS.

Except as Congress has made special grants of land, no general 

provision has been made for the alienation of lands of the United 

States unless valuable for agriculture or for minerals. Land valuable 

in connection with water-power development, which have passed 

from the control of the Government, have been patented, therefore, 

either as a grant generally as the result of the use of some form of 

script or under the guise of mineral or agricultural lands. Until 

recent years no classification of the public lands, except as regards 

minerals, has been attempted. The withdrawal act of June 25, 

1910 (36 Stat., 847), authorized the President to withdraw for certain purposes public lands valuable for water power or reservoir 

sites. The classification of lands valuable as power and reservoir 

sites, which had been progressing during the two or three preceding 

years, was continued under this new law.

BIGHTS OF WAY.

Land so withdrawn, or other public land desired for use in connection with the development of water power, may be utilized by 

private parties or corporations under one of several right-of-way 

acts which provide different forms of tenure in accordance with the 

use that is to be made of the developed power. Rights of way "f or 

the construction and maintenance of dams, reservoirs, water plants, 

ditches, flumes, pipes, tunnels, and canals" for municipal, mining, 

and milling purposes within or across national forests are granted by 

the act of February 1, 1905 (33 Stat., 628), under general regulations 

to be prescribed' by the Secretary of the Interior, while the act of 

February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790), authorizes the issuance of revocable 

permits for the use of rights of way for power and other purposes on 

public lands, both inside and outside of national forests. Rights of 

way for the development of power as subsidiary to the main purpose 

of irrigation are granted under the act of March 3, 1891 (26 Stat., 

1095), as amended by the act of May 11, 1898 (30 Stat., 404). The 

Secretary of the Interior, by amendment dated January 15, 1913, of 

the regulations approved June 6, 1908, concerning rights of way 

through public lands and reservations for canals, ditches, and reservoirs for irrigation, under the act of March 3, 1891, and under the act 

of May 11, 1898, has denned the meaning of "subsidiary to the main 

purpose of irrigation" as follows:

The words "for the development of power as subsidiary to the main purpose of irrigation," as used in section 2 of the said act of May 11,1898, are not to be construed as
176 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

authorizing a power use which is merely incidental to the irrigation use. An incidental feature of an irrigation project may not be subsidiary; for "subsidiary" implies 

not only that the feature is subordinate and inferior to the main purpose, but that it 

is "in aid of" that purpose and a part of it, although in an inferior and tributary 

capacity. The development of power under section 2 of the said act of 1898 is restricted 

to the development of power exclusively for such use as does in fact aid irrigation, 

as the pumping of irrigation water. Any other use of power developed under said 

section 2 is prohibited.

REVOCABLE PERMITS.

The law under which developments of hydroelectric power must 

generally be made, however, is the act of February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 

790), which provides for a revocable permit in the following terms:

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America 

in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and hereby is, authorized 

and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by Mm, to permit the use of 

rights of way through the public lands, forest, and other reservations of the United 

States, and the Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant national parks, California, for 

electrical plants, poles, and lines for the generation and distribution of electrical 

power, and for telephone and telegraph purposes, and for canals, ditches, pipes and 

pipe lines, flumes, tunnels, or other water conduits, and for water plants, dams, and 

reservoirs used to promote irrigation or mining or quarrying, or the manufacturing or 

cutting of timber or lumber, or the supplying of water for domestic, public, or any 

other beneficial uses to the extent of the ground occupied by such canals, ditches, 

flumes, tunnels, reservoirs, or other water conduits or water plants, or electrical or 

other works permitted hereunder, and not to exceed fifty feet on each side of the 

marginal limits thereof, or not to exceed fifty feet on each side of the center line of 

such pipes and pipe lines, electrical, telegraph, and telephone lines and poles, by 

any citizen, association, or corporation of the United States, where it is intended by 

such to exercise the use permitted hereunder or any one or more of the purposes herein 

named: Provided, That such permits shall be allowed within or through any of the 

said parks or any forest, military, Indian, or other reservation only upon the approval 

of the chief officer of the department under whose supervision such park or reservation falls and upon a finding by him that the same is not incompatible with the public 

interest: Provided further, That all permits given hereunder for telegraph and telephone purposes shall be subject to the provision of title sixty-five of the Bevised 

Statutes of the United States, and amendments thereto, regulating rights of way for 

telegraph companies over the public domain: And provided further, That any permission given by the Secretary of the Interior under the provisions of this act may be 

revoked by him or hia successor in hia discretion, and shall not be held to confer any 

right, or easement, or interest in, to, or over any public land, reservation, or park.

This law applies to rights of way for power on all public lands outside of the national forests unless used for the main purpose of irrigation, and for all rights of way for power on lands within national 

forests unless used for the main purpose of irrigation or for municipal 

purposes, mining, or milling.

DEPARTMENTAL REGULATIONS RELATING TO PERMITS.

The administration of the act outside of the national forests is 

under the control of the Secretary of the Interior, whereas within the 

national forests it is under the control of the Secretary of Agriculture. Each of these secretaries has promulgated regulations pro-
GOVERNMENT PEEMITS FOE POWEE SITES. 177

viding for the issuance of permits under the act. These regulations 

(see 41 L. D., 532, for regulations of the Interior Department, and 

42 L. D., 348, for amendment to these regulations) are essentially 

the same for the two departments and cover the following topics:

1. Preliminary permits for the purpose of obtaining the data required for an application for final permit. Final permits for the construction, maintenance, and operation 

of power plants.

2. Method and place of filing applications.

3. Priority of applications.

4. Protection of the most beneficial utilization of the site and of prior permittees.

5. Evidence of right to divert and use the water for the power purposes contemplated by the applicant.

6. Tenure for 60 years unless sooner revoked by the Secretary.

7. Definition of terms.

8. Bates of compensation for the public lands involved.

. 9. Evidence of citizenship of the applicant or, if a corporation, evidence of incorporation and of authority to construct and operate the proposed power pknt in the 

State in which it is located.

10. Maps and technical information which must accompany an application for a 

preliminary permit for a power pknt of more than 100-horsepower capacity.

11. Maps and technical information which must accompany an application for a 

final permit for a power pknt of more than 100-horsepower capacity.

12. Maps and technical information which must accompany an application for a 

preliminary permit for a power pknt of 100 horsepower or less.

13. Requirements for an application for a final permit for a power plant of 100 

horsepower or less.

14. Obligations which must be assumed by an applicant for a final permit for a 

power pknt of more than 100 horsepower.

15. Amendments to maps and plans under certain conditions.

16. Extensions of time under certain conditions.

17. Transfer of final permit under certain conditions.

18. Action to be taken in case of an engineer's false affidavit.

19. Action to be taken in case of the vioktion by a final permittee of any of the provisions of the reguktions or conditions of the permit.

20. Abandonment of a power project under permit or any part thereof.

21. Procedure in the department from the time of filing of an application for a 

power permit to the issuance of the permit.

FINAL PERMITS. 

FORMS USED.

The form of final permit now followed by the Department of the 

Interior is in general that used in the joint permit of the Secretaries 

of the Interior and Agriculture to the International Power & Manufacturing Co. for the development of a power site on Clark Fort in 

Washington. This permit, which has been published as Senate 

Document No. 147, Sixty-third Congress, first session, is reproduced 

in full below. It shows the essential requirements of the regulations, 

so far as the obligations of the permittee are concerned, but does not 

describe the details of the maps and documents which must 

accompany the application.

48348° WSP 344 14 12 __ ._
178 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

By act of March 4, 1911 (36 Stat., 1253), Congress provided for 

grants, for periods not exceeding 50 years, of rights of way for transmission for electric power as follows:

That the head of the department having jurisdiction over the lands be, and he 

hereby is, authorized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him, 

to grant an easement for rights of way, for a period not exceeding fifty years from the 

date of the issuance of such grant, over, across, and upon the public lands, national 

forests, and reservations of the United States for electrical poles and lines for the 

transmission and distribution of electrical power, and for poles and lines for telephone 

and telegraph purposes to the extent of twenty feet on each side of the center line of 

such electrical, telephone, and telegraph lines and poles, to any citizen, association, 

or corporation of the United States, where it is intended by such to exercise the right 

of way herein granted for any one or more of the purposes herein named: Provided, 

That such right of way shall be allowed within or through any national park, national 

forest, military, Indian, or any other reservation only upon the approval of the chief 

officer of the department under whose supervision or control such reservation falls, 

and upon a finding by him that the same is not incompatible with the public interest: 

Provided, That all or any part of such right of way may be forfeited and annulled by 

declaration of the head of the department having jurisdiction over the lands for nonuse for a period of two years or for abandonment.

That any citizen, association, or corporation of the United States to whom there 

has heretofore been issued a permit for any of the purposes specified herein under any 

existing law may obtain the benefit of this act upon the same terms and conditions 

as shall be required of citizens, associations, or corporations hereafter making application under the provisions of this statute.

The Secretary of the Interior administers this law on public lands 

outside of national forests, and the Secretary of Agriculture administers it within national forests. The regulations of the Secretary of 

the Interior thereunder, dated January 6, 1913 (41 L. D., 454), specify 

that the application shall be presented and considered, except as 

otherwise provided, in the form and manner prescribed by the 

regulations of August 24, 1912 (41 L. D., 150), under the act of 

February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790). The conditions imposed on the 

grantee by these regulations are set forth in the grant of right of way 

to the Great Falls Power Co. (41 L. D., 460, 62d Cong., 3d sess.), 

which is followed in other grants under this act.

PERMIT GRANTED THE GREAT FALLS POWER CO., MONTANA. 1

On this 6th day of January, 1913, the Great Falls Power Co., a corporation organized 

under the laws of the State of Montana, and having its office and principal place of 

business in Butte, in said State, hereinafter called "the power company," having 

heretofore filed under the act of Congress approved March 4, 1911, chapter 238 (36 

Stat., 1253-1254), in the United States land offices at Helena and Great Falls, in said 

State, its applications (designated as Helena 05776, 05777, 05778, 05779, 05780, and 

05781, and Great Falls 05707) for right of way to the extent therein set forth for two 

transmission lines, and for a telephone line between said transmission lines, all substantially parallel, and shown on five maps filed in the said land office at Helena, and 

designated Helena 05777, 05778, 05779, 05780, and 05781, and on the three maps filed 

in the said land office at Great Falls as a part of the application designated Great Falls

162d Cong., 3d sess., Senate Doc. No. 1008.
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER SITES. 179

05707, and all heretofore constructed over, across, and upon certain public lands and 

reservations of the United States under the jurisdiction of the Department of the 

Interior, which applications are now pending in the Department of the Interior, 

hereby renews and confirms its said applications, amending the same, however, so as 

to ask for such right of way for a period of 50 years over, across, and upon the said public 

lands and reservations to the extent of 20 feet on each side of the center of each of said 

lines shown on said maps, the said public lands and reservations to such extent being 

hereinafter called "the servient lands," and by way of further amendment the power 

company, in addition to the matters set forth in its said application, does, in consideration of the granting of the right of way hereby sought, hereby promise and agree for 

itself and its successors that upon and after such grant it will comply with the terms 

and conditions, and will fulfill and perform the promises hereinafter expressed.

1. The power company will, during said period of 50 years, maintain and continuously operate for the transmission of electrical power and for telephone purposes, 

respectively, the lines for which right of way is hereby sought, except in so far as this 

promise and condition may be temporarily waived by the Secretary of the Interior 

upon a full showing to his satisfaction that such continuous operation is prevented 

by inevitable accidents or contingencies.

2. The power company will, within 30 days after the granting of the right of way 

hereby sought, enter into and thereafter fully perform all its obligations under a contract with the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway Co., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Washington, and hereinafter called "the railway 

company," for the sale and delivery of electric power to the railway company, in 

form and-substance as follows:

"This agreement, made and entered into this day of , 1912, between 

the Great Falls Power Co., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of 

Montana, party of the first part, hereinafter for convenience referred to as the power 

company, and the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railway Co., a corporation 

organized under the laws of the State of Washington, for convenience hereinafter 

referred to as the railway company, party of the second part, witnesseth:

"Whereas the said power company is engaged in the business of generating electric 

power or energy from certain hydroelectric works within the State of Montana and 

selling and disposing of said power or energy; and

"WTiereas the said railway company is engaged in operating a line of railway 

which lies partly within the State of Montana, and said railway company is desirous 

of installing equipment and apparatus which will enable the said railway company to 

operate certain portions of its said railway, hereinafter mere particularly referred to, 

by means of electric power: Now, therefore, it is agreed between the parties hereto:

"First. That the said railway company will, as soon as it is expedient for it so to do, 

begin, and that it will prior to the 1st day of January, 1918, complete, the installation 

and equipment of such apparatus, machinery, and motive power as may be necessary 

to enable the said railway company to operate its said line or railway from that certain 

station situated on said line of railway, in Musselshell County, known and designated 

as Harlowton, to that certain other station on said line of railway known as Deer Lodge, 

situated in Powell County, Mont., and that the said railway company will, on or 

before the 1st day of January, 1918, receive and take from the said power company, 

and that the said power company will, as soon as said railway company shall be ready 

to receive and use said power, and thereafter continuously during the term of this 

contract, sell and deliver to the said railway company, in such manner and quantities 

and upon such terms and conditions as may be hereinafter stipulated, the electric 

power herein contracted for.

"It is agreed that the railway company will give the power company two years' 

notice in writing of the date when the railway company will begin to use the power 

aforesaid, but it is understood and agreed that the said date when said power shall so 

begin to be used will not in any event be later than January 1, 1918.
180 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

"Second. Subject to the reservations and in accordance with the provisions of 

Ibis agreement as hereinafter stated, the power company hereby sells and agrees to 

deliver to the railway company and the railway company hereby buys and agrees to 

receive from the power company, electric power or energy for operating its railway 

equal to but not at any one time exceeding, except as provided for in articles 9, ]0, 

11, and 12, 10,000 kilowatts, for the full period of this agreement.

"Third. The said power shall be delivered by the power company at its own sole 

cost, to the stations to be established and designated by the railway company between 

Deer Lodge and Harlowton, not exceeding 5 in number, in such amounts as may be 

required by the said railway company for the operation of its said line of railway 

during the term of this contract. Said power to be delivered in the form of 3-phase 

60-cycle alternating electric current at a potential of approximately 50,000 or 100,000 

volts, as may be jointly agreed upon; provided, however, that the voltage at which 

i?aid current shall be so delivered when once fixed shall not thereafter be changed 

during the life of this contract, except by mutual agreement of the parties hereto.

"Fourth. The power company agrees that it will construct such suitable transmission lines as may be necessary in order to enable it to deliver, and that it will 

deliver, the power herein contracted for at its own cost, to the points, not exceeding 

five in number, as aforesaid, which points shall be located and designated by the said 

railway company between the points aforesaid. The said railway company shall 

receive the current at the points so designated by it at the terminals of air brake, hightension line switches, to be provided by the power company, and shall transform (by 

such apparatus as if may prefer) and conduct it along its said line of railway according 

to its requirements, in such manner as it may see fit.

"Fifth. It is agreed that the power herein contracted for shall be measured at 

each agreed point of delivery by curve-writing wattmeters operated synchronously 

and integrating watt-hour meters, or such approved instruments for the measurement 

of electric current as may be agreed upon by the parties hereto.

" It is agreed that the measurement of the said power shall at all times be under the 

control and direction of the said power company, but that the said railway company and 

its duly designated agents shall, at all times, possess the right to make full inspection 

of the methods employed "and the instruments and apparatus used for recording such 

measurements and to make any tests or examinations which may be necessary to enable 

the said railway company and its agents to determine the accuracy and reliability of 

such methods as may be pursued and such instruments and apparatus as may be used 

for the recording and measuring of the electric power furnished.

"It is agreed that the railway company shall install in its substations such transforming or converting apparatus as, in its judgment, will best meet the requirements 

of its railway operations, provided that such apparatus shall comprise sufficient synchronous machines or other equivalent means to secure 80 per cent lagging or 80 per 

cent leading power factor of the apparatus affected. The railway company hereby 

grants to the power company the right to install and maintain at the sole cost of the 

power company, in the substations that may be established by the railway company, 

Tirrell ragulators, or such other equivalent device as will operate the railway company's synchronous apparatus at any power factor between 80 per cent lagging and 80 

per cent leading of the apparatus affected.

"Sixth. It is agreed that the railway company will, and it does hereby, bind itself 

to give the power company 12 months' notice in writing of the location of the delivery 

points hereinbefore referred to. The power company agrees that it will, upon the date 

so fixed in said notice by the said railway company, and thereafter during the term of 

this contract, continue to either deliver, or hold in readiness for delivery, to said railway company such an amount of electric power as the said railway company shall be 

under obligation to receive and use under the terms of this contract.
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER SITES. 181

"Seventh. It is agreed that the railway company shall, and it does hereby, bind 

itself to pay to the power company, on the basis of measurements made at such points 

of delivery as are designated by the railway company, for the power or energy delivered to it under the terms and provisions of this contract at the rate of $0.00536 (five 

hundred thirty-six thousandths of a cent) per kilowatt-hour, as shown by the instruments provided for in the fifth clause hereof; said payments to be made not later than 

the 15th day of each calendar month for all power or energy received and used by the 

railway company, or which the said company was under obligation to receive and use 

during the previous calendar month.

"Eighth. It is agreed that, after a period terminating one year from the date when 

delivery of electric power shall begin under the terms of this contract, and during 

the remaining term of this contract, from the expiration of said period of one year, the 

said railway company shall be obliged, and does hereby agree, to pay to the said power 

company a minimum amount in monthly periods as aforesaid equivalent to 60 per cent 

of the amount which the said railway company would pay to the said power company, 

provided the full amount of power which the said railway company is under obligation 

to take and which the power company is under obligation to deliver had been actually 

delivered by the said power company to and received and used continuously by the said 

railway company, upon the basis of the rate above provided for. 

"Ninth. It is agreed that the railway company shall have the right, to be exercised 

at its option, such option to be exercised by it giving the power company written 

notice thereof, to receive in additon to the amount of power above provided for, an additional amount of not less than 4,000 kilowatts, nor more than 8,000 kilowatts, provided that said option to take and receive such additional amount of power is exercised 

by the railway company prior to January 1,1923. It being understood and agreed that 

in the event of the said railway company so exercising said option that the amount of 

power which it will call for in addition to the original amount of 10,000 kilowatts shall 

become fixed, and thereafter the said railway company will be under obligation to take 

and receive, and the power company will be under obligation to sell and deliver, during the remaining term of this contract, the amount of power which shall be represented by the sum of 10,000 kilowatts plus the additional amount which the railway 

company shall have called for under the provisions of its said option.

"Tenth. It is further agreed that at.any time subsequent to January 1, 1923, and 

prior to January 1, 1928, the railway company shall have, and it is hereby given, the 

right, to be exercised at its option, in writing as aforesaid, to take and receive from the 

power company, and the power company shall be under obligation to sell and deliver 

to the said railway company an amount of power, in addition to the amounts previously 

provided for, of not less than 3,500 nor more than 7,000 kilowatts: Provided, That if 

the said railway company shall at any time during the period between January 1,1923, 

and January 1,1928, so exercise its option for additional power, then in such event the 

railway company shall be under obligation to take and receive, during the remainder 

of the entire term of this contract, the amount of power represented by the amount 

which the railway company had been under obligation to take and receive, plus the 

amount of power which it shall have called for under the provisions of this option.

'' Eleventh. In the event of the railway company having failed to exercise its option 

for additional power provided for in article ninth hereof, it is understood and agreed 

that the railway company will hereafter possess no right to call for or receive additional 

power except as hereinafter provided for in article twelfth.

"Twelfth. It is agreed that the railway company shall have, and it is hereby given, 

the right, to be exercised at its option, in writing as aforesaid, of taking power in addition to the 10,000 kilowatts herein contracted for, up to the full amount of 25,000 kilowatts at any time subsequent to January 1,1918, and prior to January 1,1928, provided 

it shall have called for under the provisions of this option at least 6,300 additional kilowatts prior to January 1, 1923.
182 KESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

"It is agreed that the provisions set forth in article eighth hereof, with reference to 

the minimum payments which shall be made for power delivered under this contract, 

shall apply in like proportion to the amount which the railway company shall be under 

obligation to take after having exercised its right with reference to any of the options 

herein expressed, the same as said provision covers the rate of payment to be made 

upon the original amount herein contracted for.

"Thirteenth. If the railway company shall be unable, on account of strikes, fires, 

floods, or other causes beyond its control, to receive or use the power herein provided 

for, or some part thereof, then it is understood and agreed that the railway company 

shall pay for so much power only as can be received and used by it during said period. 

If the power company, by reason of any unavoidable cause or accident, or because of 

strikes, floods, or fires, shall be unable at any time during this contract to make delivery 

of power as herein agreed, then the said power company shall not be liable in any sum 

for such failure so caused to deliver power during such period.

"In the event of this contract being suspended on account of any of the reasons hereinbefore enumerated, it is agreed that the period of such suspension shall be added to 

the term of the contract herein provided for, and the contract and all of its provisions 

shall be extended for such period equal to the period of suspension.

"It is further understood and agreed that if the power company shall at any time 

be permanently enjoined, restrained, or prevented by Federal or State interference, or 

by final judgment or decree of any court of competent jurisdiction, from maintaining 

transmission lines or other works necessary to enable it to perform its engagements hereunder, the power company shall thereupon be relieved from any obligation thereafter 

to furnish or deliver power under the terms hereof, and the railway company shall likewise be relieved from any obligation thereafter to take or pay for such power.

"Fourteenth. It is agreed that the railway company shall have a preferential right 

to receive power from the power company, and that up to the full amount which it shall 

have contracted to receive and use the power company will Bell and deliver said power 

before filling any other contract.

" It is agreed that the power company shall hold itself in readiness to furnish all of the 

power herein contracted for up to the maximum amount that the railway company 

shall be entitled to receive continuously so that the railway company shall during the 

full period of this contract, except as otherwise herein provided for, be able to draw 

upon said power company for the full amount of power which it shall be entitled to receive at such times as may be necessary to meet the requirements of its business.

'' Fifteenth. It is agreed that the power company shall have, and it is hereby granted, 

subject to the right of the railway company to prescribe such reasonable limitations as 

may be deemed by it advisable to insure the safety of its business and to provide for 

the safe conduct of the current or energy transmitted, as hereinafter provided, the right 

to construct transmission lines over, across, along, and upon the right of way of the 

said railway company wherever it may see fit, for the purpose of transmitting and 

conducting electrical power or energy, for purposes other than to supply said railway 

company with power, provided, however, that the location of poles and wires shall be 

designated by the railway company, and that notwithstanding such designation, if 

the railway company afterwards requires the use of the right of way or station grounds, 

or any part thereof, for any purpose, the power company will remove, at its own sole 

expense, on 60 days' notice, its poles and wires to another location on the railway company's property, if such location can be furnished by the railway company, or if not, 

to a location outside and off the railway company's property, and that the said power 

company shall so conduct such electrical power or energy as will cause no interference, 

damage, or injury to the said railway company or interfere in any manner with any of 

the operations of said railway company, or the telegraph or telephone service along 

its line of railway. In case the power company extends its transmission lines along or 

parallel to the railway company's right of way, then in that event the power company
GOVERNMENT PEBMITS FOR POWER SITES. 183

will deliver power and hereby agrees to deliver power at such other points along the 

railway line as best serves the purpose of the railway company. The power company 

further agrees to purchase at a mutually agreed upon price and operate at its own expense such transmission lines as may have been built by the railway company on its 

right of way as come within the area of such extension of the power company's transmission lines.

"Sixteenth. It is agreed that the railway company shall have the right to receive 

and use the power or current herein provided for in the operation of its railway and 

for such other purposes as it may require electric power or current incidental to the 

operation of its said railway; but that it shall have no right, and it hereby agrees that 

it will not sell or dispose of any of the electric power which it is entitled to receive and 

use under the terms of this contract to any other person or persons or corporations whatsoever, and that it will not, during the life of this contract, use or apply the said electric 

power or current to any use or purpose other than in connection with the operation of 

its said line of railway, shops, stations, coaling stations, ice houses, and other railway 

uses, either power or lighting.

"Seventeenth. Any and all questions which shall or may arise touching this agreement or the construction or performance of any provision thereof shall be submitted to 

the decision of three disinterested persons to be chosen as follows:

"The railway company shall select one and the power company shall select one, and 

the two thus chosen shall select the third, and the persons thus chosen, after a full hearing 

to both parties and full examination of the matter in dispute, shall determine the same 

in writing, and the decision of the majority of the three persons thus chosen shall be 

final. If either party shall neglect or refuse to appoint an arbitrator on its own part, 

then 10 days after receiving written notice from the other of its appointment of an 

arbitrator on its part, the arbitrator so appointed by the party giving such notice may 

select a disinterested person to act as an arbitrator for and on account of the party so 

notified and refusing or neglecting to appoint an arbitrator on its part, and the two 

thus chosen shall select a third. If the two so chosen in either of the methods above 

provided shall be unable to agree upon a third arbitrator, or shall fail to agree upon a 

third arbitrator, and such inability shall continue for a period of 15 days, then in that 

event the parties hereto shall and may notify the chief justice of the Supreme Court of 

the State of Montana of such fact, and he shall and may appoint said third arbitrator. 

The decision and award of the arbitrators as herein provided, or any two of them, shall 

be binding and conclusive upon the parties hereto with respect to the matters so 

submitted to and decided by said arbitrators.

"If any arbitrator appointed by either of the parties hereto shall neglect or fail to 

act, notice of such failure shall be served upon the party appointing such arbitrator 

by the other party, and in case such party shall fail to appoint another arbitrator, or 

shall fail to cause the arbitrator first appointed to act, and such failure shall continue 

for a period of 10 days, then the arbitrator appointed by the other party may select a 

disinterested person to act as an arbitrator for and on account of the other party, and 

the two thus chosen shall select a third, and the decision and award of such arbitrators 

or any two of them, shall be binding and conclusive upon said parties hereto with 

respect to the matter so submitted and decided by said arbitrators.

"The award and decision of the arbitrators under the provisions hereof shall be 

served by them, or some one for them, upon the parties within 15 days after the time 

when such arbitrators shall make their award.

" It is further mutually agreed that any difference which may arise as to the construction of or the transaction of any business under this agreement by the parties hereto 

shall not interrupt the transaction of such business nor the operation of trains, nor the 

delivery of power, but all said business of either party and operations of trains and the 

delivery of power shall continue in the same manner in which the same shall have 

been transacted prior to the arising of such difference until the matter of difference
184 DESCHUTES BIVEE, OREGON.

shall have been fully determined by the arbitrators as aforesaid, and thereupon such 

payments or restoration shall be made by the respective parties to the other as may 

be required by the decision or award of said arbitrators.

"In case any charge made or item embraced in any statement rendered by either 

party to the other shall be contested and submitted to arbitration under the terms 

hereof, and an award shall be made by said arbitrators requiring payment thereof or 

any part thereof, or in case any failure to comply with any other covenant or agreement 

in this contract is alleged by either party against the other, and the same is submitted 

to arbitration as herein provided and decided by said board of arbitration, then the 

losing party shall pay the amount of such award or comply with the terms and requirements thereof; and if it fails so to do, and such failure shall continue for a period of 30 

days after the service of the award, then and in that event the prevailing party shall 

have the right to terminate this agreement according to the terms and provisions 

thereof for and on account of such failure and default.

"Eighteenth. It is agreed that this contract shall be, and it is hereby made, for the 

full term and period of 99 years from and after this date.

"Nineteenth. It is agreed that the terms and provisions of this contract shall inure 

to the benefit of and its obligations shall be binding upon the successors, grantees, or 

assigns of the respective parties hereto.

"In witness whereof, the respective parties have caused these presents to be executed in duplicate by their proper officers, thereunto duly authorized, the day and 

year first above written.

"GREAT FALLS POWER Co., 

"By , ,

"Its President.

"Attest:

"Its Secretary.

"CHICAGO, MILWAUKEE & PUGET SOUND RY. Co., 

"By

"Its President. 

"Attest:

"Its Secretary."

Said contract having been heretofore tentatively agreed upon by the two said companies: Provided, First. That nothing contained either in this application, or in the 

grant hereby sought, or in said contract, and especially the section thereof designated 

"eighteenth," shall be construed to give to the power company any right, easement, 

claim, license, or permission to hold, occupy, or use the servient lands for the operation 

or maintenance of electrical transmission lines or for any other purpose whatsoever 

after the expiration of 50 years from the date of the grant hereby sought; and the power 

company shall and will, upon the expiration of said 50 years, be deemed and taken to 

be permanently prevented by Federal interference from maintaining transmission 

lines, on the servient lands and thereby relieved under the last paragraph of the section 

of said contract designated "thirteenth" from any obligation to furnish and deliver 

power under the terms of said contract unless and until it shall have obtained from the 

United States the right to occupy the servient lands for the maintenance of such lines: 

Provided, Second. That nothing in this application or in the grant hereby sought, 

or in said contract and especially the section thereof designated "fifteenth," shall be 

construed to give to the power company or the railway company any right whatsoever 

to occupy or use lands of the United States within the railway right of way for any other 

than railway purposes nor as expressing the acquiescence or consent of the United States 

or of the Secretary of the Interior in or to any such occupancy or use; but the power 

company shall and will make due application to the Secretary of the Interior, or other 

proper officer or agent of the United States, for the right to occupy and use such lands 

for other than railway purposes, and especially for any purpose other than to supply
GOVERNMENT PEEM1TS FOE POWER SITES. 185

the railway company with power, and the power company will abide by the decision 

and action of the said Secretary or other officer upon such application.

3. The power company will never, by reason of or in connection with the right of 

way hereby sought or otherwisej have, exercise, or claim any greater or other rights 

under said contract, with respect to prices to be paid for power by said railway company, than it could have rightfully had, exercised, or claimed if the right of way 

hereby sought had been sought and granted without any mention of or reference to 

said contract.

4. The power company will pay annually, on or before February 1 in each year, by 

certified check to the order of the Secretary of the Interior, a rental charge at the rate 

of 5 mills ($0.005) per thousand kilowatt hours for all energy delivered by it over the 

lines for which right of way is hereby sought during the preceding calendar year of 

the decade beginning on January 1,1913, whether said delivery is made to the railway 

company under the said contract or otherwise or to other takers; and during each 

decade thereafter a rental charge at such reasonable rate per thousand kilowatt hours 

so delivered to said railway company and to said other takers as the Secretary of the 

Interior may fix before the beginning of each decade for such deliveries, respectively: 

Provided, That the burden of proving that any rate fixed by the said Secretary under 

this paragraph is unreasonable shall be and remain upon the power company: Provided 

further, That if no rate is so fixed for any particular decade, then the rental charge to 

be paid for each year of such decade shall be calculated upon all energy delivered 

during the preceding calendar year over the lines for which right of way is hereby 

sought at the rate per thousand kilowatt hours fixed for the preceding decade: Provided 

further, That any payment duly made by the power company to the head or other 

officer of any department of the Federal Government having jurisdiction over national 

forests or other reservations of the United States occupied or used by any portion of 

the lines for which right of way is hereby sought, such payment having been made 

as or on account of a rental charge for such occupancy and use for any calendar year 

during the said period of 50 years for which right of way is hereby asked, shall be 

credited upon the rental charge imposed under this paragraph for the same year, but 

such credit shall in no case exceed the total of the rental charge so imposed for such 

year.

5. The power company will install at such places and maintain in good operating 

condition in such manner as shall be approved by the said Secretary accurate meters, 

or other devices approved by the said Secretary, adequate for the determination of the 

amount of electric energy delivered over the lines for which right of way is hereby 

sought, or any part thereof, to the said railway company, and to all other takers, 

respectively, and will keep accurate and sufficient record of the foregoing determinations to the satisfaction of the Secretary, and will make a return during January of 

each year, under oath, of such of the records of measurements for the year ending on 

December 31 preceding, made by or in the possession of the power company as may 

be required by the said Secretary.

6. The books and records of the power company will be open at all times to the 

inspection and examination of the said Secretary, or other officer or agent of the 

United States duly authorized to make such inspection and examination.

7. The lines constructed, maintained, and operated on the servient lands will not 

be owned, leased, trusteed, possessed, or controlled by any device or in any manner 

so that they form part of or in any way effect any combination in the form of an unlawful trust, or form the subject of any unlawful contract or conspiracy to limit the output 

of electric energy, or in unlawful restraint of trade with foreign nations or between 

two or more States, or within any one State in the generation, sale, or distribution of 

electric energy or in the transmission of communications by telephone.

8. The power company will protect in a workmanlike manner, according to the 

usual standards of safety for construction, operation, and maintenance in such cases, 

all Government and other telephone, telegraph, and power transmission lines at
186 DESCHUTES BIVER, OREGON.

crossings of and at all places in proximity to the power company's transmission lines, 

and will maintain its transmission and telephone lines in such manner as not to menace 

life or property.

9. The power company will clear and keep clear all lands owned or controlled by 

^he United States along the lines for which right of way is hereby sought to such width 

and in such manner as the officer of the United States having supervision of such lands 

may direct.

10. The power company will, to the satisfaction of the officer last above described, 

dispose of all brush, refuse, or unused timber on lands owned or controlled by the 

United States caused by or left from the construction and maintenance of its lines for 

which right of way is hereby sought.

11. The power company will pay the full value as fixed by the said Secretary for all 

timber cut, injured, or destroyed on lands owned or controlled by the United States 

in the construction, maintenance, and operation of the lines for which right of way 

is hereby sought.

12. The power company will sell and deliver power to the United States and to the 

State of Montana and to any or all municipal corporations of said State, when requested, 

at as low a rate as is given to any other purchaser for a like use at the same time and 

under similar conditions: Provided, That the power company can furnish the same 

without diminishing the quantity of power sold before such request to any other 

customer by a binding contract of sale: Provided further, That nothing in this clause 

shall be construed to require the power company to increase permanent works or 

install additional generating machinery or construct any transmission line or connection beyond the limits of the servient lands.

13. The power company will do everything reasonably within its power, both 

independently and on request of the Secretary of the Interior or other duly authorized 

officer or agent of the United States, to prevent and suppress fires on or near the servient 

lands.

14. The power company will maintain a system of accounting of its entire power 

business in such form as the Secreatry of the Interior may prescribe and will render 

annually such reports of the power business as the said Secretary may direct.

15. The power company will indemnify the United States against any liability for 

damages to life or property arising from its occupancy or use of the servient lands.

16. The power company with respect to service rendered and power delivered to 

other takers than the railway company over its. lines for which right of way is hereby 

sought and with respect to the prices charged and to be charged therefor will comply 

with all such just and reasonable regulations as may be imposed by any duly constituted Federal, State, or other governmental authority having jurisdiction in the 

premises: Provided, That if, as to any matters promised by the power company in 

this paragraph, the regulations prescribed by the Federal Government, its officers or 

agents, are in conflict with the regulations prescribed by the State or any duly authorized agency thereof, compliance with the Federal regulations shall be deemed and 

taken to be a fulfillment of the promises of this paragraph in so far as such conflict 

extends and no further.

17. The power company will not assign or transfer the right of way hereby sought 

to any other person or corporation whatsoever, except with approval in writing first 

obtained from the Secretary of the Interior or other proper officer of the United States, 

and upon conditions prescribed in said written approval by him: The assignee or 

transferee under any such approval shall take and use the right of way subject to all 

the terms, conditions, and promises in this application set forth, and subject to such 

additional terms, conditions, and promises as may be imposed and exacted by such 

written approval.

18. In respect to the regulation, by any competent public authority, of the services 

to be rendered by the power company or of the prices to be charged therefor, and in 

respect to any purchase or taking over of the works or business of the power company
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER SITES. 187

or any part thereof by the United States or by the State of Montana, or by any municipal corporation of said State, no value whatsoever shall at any time be assigned to or 

claimed for the right of way hereby sought, nor shall said right of way or the grant 

hereby applied for ever be estimated or considered as property upon which the power 

company shall be entitled to earn or receive any return, income, price, or compensation whatsoever.

19. Upon breach by the power company of any of the terms, conditions, or promises 

in this application set forth the United States may have and enforce appropriate 

remedy therefor by specific performance, injunction, action for damages, or otherwise 

in a suit instituted by the Attorney General for that purpose in any court of competent 

jurisdiction. And if any such breach shall be continued or repeated after 30 days' 

notice thereof given in behalf of the United States to the power company, the right 

of way hereby sought, together with all rights thereunder and all moneys paid thereon, 

may be forfeited to the United States by a suit brought on request of the Secretary of 

the Interior by the Attorney General for that purpose in any court of competent 

jurisdiction.

In witness whereof said Great Falls Power Co. has caused these presents to be executed, in duplicate, by its president and agent and its corporate seal to be hereto 

affixed by its secretary, both thereunto duly authorized, the day and year first above 

written.

GREAT FALLS POWER Co., 

By JOHN D. RYAN, President.

Attest:

P. E. BlSLAND,

Secretary of the Great Falls Power Co.

(Corporate seal.)

In pursuance of the provisions of the act of Congress approved March 4,1911, chapter 

238 (vol. 36, Stat. L., pp. 1253 and 1254), and in pursuance of general regulations 

thereunder fixed by the Secretary of the Interior, and in consideration of the promises 

by the said Great Falls Power Co. made and set forth in the foregoing application, the 

rights of way over, upon, and across the public lands and reservations of the United 

States under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior, sought by and described in the foregoing application, are hereby granted for the period of 50 years from 

this 7th day of January, 1913, subject, however, to the general regulations under the 

said act fixed by the Secretary of the Interior and to the terms and conditions in said 

application set forth, such grant, subject to said regulations, terms, and conditions, 

having been found by me to be not incompatible with the public interest. This 

grant does not affect national forests or other reservations not under the jurisdiction 

of the Department of the Interior.

In witness whereof I have subscribed these presents, in duplicate, the day and year 

last above written.

WALTER L. FISHER, 

Secretary of the Interior and 

Head of the Department of the Interior.

FINAL PERMIT TO INTERNATIONAL POWER & MANUFACTURING CO., OF

SPOKANE, WASH.1

FINAL PERMIT INVOLVING POWER. 

[Act of Feb. 15; 1901 (31 Stat., 790). Regulations of Mar. 1,1913.]

DEPARTMENT or THE INTERIOR,

Washington.

Applicant: International Power & Manufacturing Co., Spokane, Wash. 

Principal works: Dam and power plant.

Location: Tps. 39and40 N., R., 43 E., Willamette meridian, Washington, on Clark 

Fork or Pend d'Oreille River.

i 63d Cong., 1st sess., Senate Doc. No. 147,1913.
188 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

Purpose of occupation and use of public lands: Construction, operation, and maintenance of works for the generation, distribution, and use of electrical power. 

Date of initiation of priority: July 22,1913. 

Date of initiation of valid rights as against other claimants: July 22,1913.

AGREEMENT.

The International Power & Manufacturing Co., hereinafter called the permittee, a 

corporation organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of the State of 

Washington, the office and principal place of business of said permittee being at 

Spokane, Wash., being the successor in interest of the Pend d'Oreille Development 

Co., a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Washington and authorized 

by act of Congress approved February 25, 1907 (34 Stat., 931), extended by act of 

Congress, May 20, 1912 (37 Stat., 115), to construct a dam across Clark Fork or Pend 

d'Oreille River, in the State of Washington, for the development of water power, electrical power, and for other purposes, which said dam was to be constructed, maintained, 

and operated in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the act of Congress 

approved June 23, 1910 (36 Stat., 593), entitled "An act to amend an act entitled 'An 

act to regulate the construction of dams across navigable waters,' " approved June 21, 

1906; and the said permittee in accordance with the provisions of the said act of Congress approved June 23, 1910, has submitted, under date of June 3, 1912, to the Secretary of War and the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, plans and specifications and maps showing thte location of such dam and necessary works, and the 

said permittee having heretofore filed in the Department of the Interior an application, designated as Spokane .08319, and including the following-described map of 

location: Map of location of reservoir site and power plant, marked Exhibit Jl, bearing 

affidavit of M. H. Gerry, jr., engineer, and certificate of International Power & Manufacturing Co., by Wilbur S. Yearsley vice president, under corporate seal of said company, filed in the General Land Office, Washington, D. 0., on July 22,1913; and said 

permittee having filed an application in the Department of Agriculture, including a 

duplicate of said map of location, said applications filed in the Department of the 

Interior and the Department of Agriculture, hereinafter called the final application, 

having been made for the purpose of obtaining permission to occupy and use certain 

lands under the jurisdiction of the said departments for the purposes of the act of Congress approved February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790), for the construction, operation, and 

maintenance of certain works, said lands and works being more particularly described 

in and located and shown by the final application, does hereby amend said final 

application to include this agreement, and furthermore does hereby covenant and 

agree, in consideration of and as a prerequisite to the giving of the permission applied 

for in the final application as thus amended, such permission being hereinafter called 

the permit, that the conditions of the permit, each and every one of which shall at all 

times be binding on the permittee, are as follows:

SECTION 1. The following terms, wherever used in this agreement, shall have the 

respective meanings in this section assigned to them:

(a) "Interior Department lands" means lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior for the purposes of the act of Congress approved February 15, 

1901 (31 Stat., 790), and "national forest lands" means lands under the jurisdiction 

of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture for said purposes.

(6) "Secretaries" means the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture.

(c) "Power business" means the entire business of the applicant or permittee in 

the generation, distribution, and delivery of power by means of any one power system, 

together with all works and tangible property involved therein, including freeholds 

and leaseholds in real property.
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER SITES. 189

(d) "Power system" means all interconnected plants and works for the generation, 

distribution, and delivery of power.

(e) "Power project" means a complete unit of power development, consisting of a 

power house, conduit or conduits conducting water thereto, all storage or diverting or 

fore-bay reservoirs used in connection therewith, the transmission line delivering 

power therefrom, any other miscellaneous structures used in connection with said 

unit or any part thereof, and all lands the occupancy and use of which are necessary 

or appropriate in the development of power in said unit. 

(/) "Project works" means the physical structures of a power project. 

(g) "Construction of the project works" means the actual construction of dams, 

water conduits, power houses, transmission lines, or some permanent structure necessary to the operation of the complete power project, and does not include surveys or 

the building of roads and trails, or the clearing of reservoir sites or other lands to be 

occupied, or the performance of any work preliminary to the actual construction of 

the permanent project works.

(h) "Customer" means the purchaser of electric current for redistribution and sale. 

(i) "Consumer" means the user of current at the point of its final conversion into 

light, heat, or power.

(j) "Nominal stream flow" means the sum of (a) the average of the values estimated 

for the mean natural flow for the two-month (calendar) minimum-flow period in each 

successive five-year cycle or major fraction thereof, and (6) the increase in such 

average due to artificial means other than the project works.

(k) "Project storage flow" means the estimated increase in nominal stream flow 

made practicable by the project works.

(I) "Available stream flow" means the sum of nominal stream flow and project 

storage flow.

(m) "Load factor" means the ratio of average power output to maximum power 

output.

(ri) "Total capacity of the power site" means the power estimated to be available 

for transmission, and is determined as the continued product of (1) the factor 0.08; 

(2) the average effective head, in feet; (3) the available stream flow at the intake (in 

second-feet and in amount not to exceed the maximum hydraulic capacity of the 

project works); and (4) a factor, not less than the average load factor of the power system, representing the degree of practicable utilization of the available stream flow, and 

based on the extent of practicable forebay storage and the load factor of the power 

system.

SEC. 2. The permit shall be subject to and the permittee shall be governed by the 

provisions-of the act of Congress approved February 15,1901 (31 Stat., 790), and to the 

regulations thereunder fixed by the secretaries.

SEC. 3. The permit shall relate solely to the occupancy and use of the Interior 

Department lands and national forest lands necessary for the construction, operation, 

and maintenance of such works contemplated by the act of Congress approved February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790), as are described in the final application, to the extent 

of the ground occupied by such works and not to exceed 50 feet on each side of the 

marginal limits of works other than pipe lines and electrical transmission lines and not 

to exceed 50 feet on each side of the center of each pipe line or electrical transmission 

line, in conformity with the location of such works on said lands as shown by the maps 

of location hereinbefore described.

SEC. 4. The permittee shall construct the project works on the location shown upon 

and in accordance with said maps and plans submitted with the final application, and 

shall make no material deviation from said location unless and until maps and plans 

showing such deviation shall have been submitted and approved by the secretaries. 

SEC. 5. Any approval of any alteration or amendment, or of any map or plan, or of 

any extension of time, shall affect only the portions specifically covered by such
190 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

approval; and no approval of any such alteration, amendment, or extension shall 

operate to alter or amend, or in any way whatsoever be a waiver of any other part, 

condition, or provision of the permit.

SEC. 6. The permittee shall begin the construction of the project works and of the 

several parts thereof and shall thereafter diligently and continuously prosecute such 

construction to completion unless temporarily interrupted by climatic conditions or 

by some special or peculiar cause beyond the control of the permittee, within the 

respective periods, dating from the issuance of the permit, specified for such beginning 

and for such completion in the following schedule:

1. Project works as a whole, excepting installation of hydraulic and electric 

machinery, shall be begun within one year and completed within three years.

2. Installation of hydraulic and electric machinery: Machinery of 50,000 horsepower rated capacity shall be installed within three years; and additional machinery 

shall be installed as the conditions of the market will warrant or as the secretaries or 

any duly authorized State agency may direct.

SBC. 7. The permittee shall, after their completion, operate the project works continuously for the development and transmission of electric energy for sale or other disposal, unless upon a full and satisfactory showing that such operation is prevented by 

unavoidable accidents or contingencies, this requirement is temporarily waived by 

the written consent of the secretaries.

SBC. 8. No compensation for the permission given will be required prior to the year 

1923; but on or before the first day of February in each year, beginning with 1924, the 

permittee shall pay, by certified check to the order of the Secretary of the Interior, or 

in such other manner as the secretaries may direct, an amount calculated from the 

total capacity of the power site at rates per horsepower per year varying directly as the 

square of the average price for electric energy charged to customers and consumers of 

the permittee as determined in subsection (c) hereof and varying inversely as the 

square of the proportional development of the power site, as shown by the following 

table:

When the average price in cents 

per kilowatt-hour charged by 

the permittee is as shown by 

this column.

0.8 and over 0.7. ................

If the percentage of development of power site is 

Over 90. 90 and 

over 80.

80 and 

over 70.

70 and 

over 60.

60 and 

over 50. .

50 and 

over 40. 40 or less.

Then the rates of compensation to the United States per horsepower 

per year will be as shown below.

$0.05 

.11 

.20 

.31 

.45 

.61 

.80 

1.01 

1.25 

1.80 

2.81 

5.00 

11.25 

20.00 

31.25 

45.00

$0.06 

.14 

.25 

.39 

.56 

.76 

.99 

1.25 

1.54 

2.22 

3.47 

6.17 

13.87 

24.70 

38.60 

55.60

$0.08 

.18 

.31 

.49 

.70 

.96 

1.25 

1.58 

1.95 

2.81 

4.40 

7.82 

17.58 

31.25 

48.80 

70.40

$0.10 

.23 

.41 

.64 

.92 

1.25 

1.63 

2.06 

2.55 

3.67 

5.74 

10.00 

22.95 

40.80 

63.80 

91.80

$0.14 

.31 

.56 

.87 

1.25 

1.70 

2.22 

2.81 

3.47 

5.00 

7.82 

13.80 

31.25 

55.60 

86.80 

125.00

$0.20 

.45 

.80 

1.25 

1.80 

2.45 

3.20 

4.05 

5.00 

7.20 

11.25 

20.00 

45.00 

80.00 

125.00 

180.00

$0.31 

.70 

1.25 

1.95 

2.81 

3.82 

5.00 

6.33 

7.81 

11.25 

17.60 

31.25 

70.40 

125.00 

250.00 

281.25

It is expressly understood and agreed, however, that 

(a) At any time not less than 10 years after the date for the first payment under this 

section or after the last revision of the rates of compensation the secretaries may review 

such rates after application by or notice to the permittee and impose such new rates 

of compensation, under a rule which shall be uniform for all permittees under like con-
GOVEENMENT PERMITS FOE POWEE SITES. 191

ditions, as they may decide to be reasonable and proper: Provided, That such rates 

shall not be so increased as to result in reducing the-margin of income (including appre- 

. ciation in land values) from the project over proper, actual, and estimated expenses 

(including reasonable allowance for renewals and sinking-fund charges) to an amount 

which, in view of all the circumstances (including fair development expenses and 

working capital) and risks of the enterprise (including obsolescence, inadequacy, and 

supersession), is unreasonably small; but the burden of proving such unreasonableness 

shall rest upon the permittee.

(b) For the purposes of this section complete development of the power site shall 

mean the construction of such permanent project works and the installation of such 

generating equipment as will provide for the full utilization of the total capacity of 

the power site.

(c) The average price for electric energy charged to customers and consumers of the 

permittee shall be determined by dividing the total actual and estimated annual 

receipts from the sale and disposition of electric energy by the total number of kilowatt hours generated: Provided, That in determining said total annual receipts there 

shall be included estimated receipts for any electric energy used by the permittee 

at a price which shall not be less than 2 cents per kilowatt hour, nor less than the cost 

per kilowatt hour of generating, transmitting, and delivering such energy to the point 

of use, taking into account proper operating and maintenance expenses, fixed charges 

and reasonable allowances for renewals and sinking fund: And provided further, That 

if the permittee shall sell or dispose of electric energy to any consumer, said consumer 

being an association or corporation which the permittee owns or controls in whole or 

in part, or in which the permittee may have, hold, or control any interest, direct or 

indirect, by stock ownership or otherwise, the sale price per kilowatt hour at which 

the aforesaid annual receipts from such energy so sold or disposed of shall be computed 

shall not be less than as herein provided for in the computation of estimated receipts 

for energy used by the permittee: And provided further, That if the permittee shall 

sell or dispose of electric energy to any customer, said customer being an association 

or corporation which the permittee owns or controls in whole or in part, or in which 

the permittee may have, hold, or control any interest, direct or indirect, by stock 

ownership or otherwise, the sale price per kilowatt hour at which the aforesaid annual 

receipts from such energy so sold and disposed of shall be computed shall not be less 

than the price paid for such energy by the consumers thereof, nor less than as herein 

provided for in the computation of estimated receipts for energy used by the permittee.

(d) Unless otherwise authorized by the secretaries, the maximum price at which 

electric energy developed by or transmitted from the power project may be disposed 

of to customers or consumers shall not exceed 6 cents per kilowatt hour, and the maximum price at which such electric energy in excess of 2,000 kilowatt hours per annum 

with an average annual delivery of more than 35 per cent of the connected installation 

within the year may be disposed of to customers or consumers shall not exceed 2 cents 

per kilowatt hour, said maximum price being determined by dividing the total annual 

charge to the purchaser by the corresponding total annual delivery to him of electric 

energy. In contracts with its customers the permittee shall specify the maximum 

price of final sale or resale and shall reserve the right to cancel any contract or agreement for sale or resale of electric energy that provides for a price in excess of such 

maximum. Complaint by any customer or consumer of a price paid by him in excess 

of such maximum price will be received by the secretaries in case of and after the failure of his attempts to obtain satisfaction from the permittee or other parties selling 

electric energy under the power system, and thereupon, after notice to all interested 

parties, with opportunity for hearing, the secretaries will determine whether this condition has been violated.

(e) The permittee shall at no time contract for the delivery to any one customer of 

electric energy in excess of 50 per cent of the total deliverable capacity of the power
192 DESCHUTES BIVER, OEEGON.

site; nor shall the permittee deliver to any customer or consumer or use in its own 

manufacturing or other operations any amount of energy in excess of 50 per cent of said 

deliverable capacity if and when there are pending unfilled applications for energy 

from other customers or consumers.

SEC. 9. The total capacity of the power site shall be deemed and taken to be 112,000 

horsepower.

It is expressly understood and agreed, however, that said total capacity of the power 

site may be adjusted by the secretaries annually to provide for increase or decrease, 

by storage or otherwise, of available stream flow to an amount of 10 per cent or more, 

or for increase or decrease of 10 per cent or more in average effective head, or in degree 

of practicable utilization, and that the decision of the secretaries shall be final as to 

all matters of fact upon which the calculation of the capacity or compensation depends.

SEC. 10. The permittee shall pay the full value as fixed by the secretaries for all 

timber cut, injured, or destroyed on Interior Department lands and on national forest 

lands in the construction, maintenance, and operation of the project works.

SEC. 11. The permittee shall pay the United States full value for all damages to the 

lands or other property of the United States resulting from the breaking of or the overflowing, leaking, or seeping of water from the project works, and for all other damage 

to the lands or other property of the United States caused by the neglect of the per- . mittee or of the employees, contractors, or employees of the contractors of the permittee.

SEC. 12. The permittee shall install at such places and maintain in good operating 

condition in such manner as shall be approved or required by the secretaries accurate 

meters, measuring weirs, gages, or other devices approved by the secretaries and adequate for the determination of the amount of electric energy generated by the project 

works and delivered under the power system and of the flow of the stream or streams 

from which the water is to be diverted for the operation of the project works and of 

the amount of water used in the operation of the project works and of the amounts of 

water held in and drawn from storage; and shall keep accurate and sufficient records 

of the foregoing determinations to the satisfaction of the secretaries; and shall make 

a return during January of each year under oath of such of the records of measurements 

for the year ended on December 31 preceding made by or in the possession of the permittee as may be required by the secretaries.

SEC. 13. The books and records of the permittee shall be open at all times to theinspection and examination of the secretaries, or other officer or agent of the United 

States duly authorized to make such inspection and examination.

SEC. 14. On demand of the secretaries the permittee shall install a system of accounting for the entire power business in such form as the secretaries may prescribe, 

which system, as far as is practicable, will be uniform for all permittees, and shall 

render annually such reports of its power business as the secretaries may direct: 

Provided, however, That if the laws of the State in which the power business or any 

part thereof is transacted require periodical reports from public utility corporations 

under a uniform system of accounting, copies of such reports so made will be accepted 

as fulfilling the requirements of this clause in so far as they contain the information 

that may be required by the secretaries.

SEC. 15. The permittee shall protect all Government and other telephone, telegraph, 

and power transmission lines at crossings of and at all places of proximity to the permittee's transmission lines in a workmanlike manner according to the usual standards of 

safety for construction, operation, and maintenance in such cases, and shall maintain 

the transmission lines of the project in such manner as not to menace life or property.

SEC. 16. The permittee shall clear and keep clear the Interior Department lands 

and national forest lands along the transmission lines for such width and in such manner as the officer of the United States having supervision of such lands may direct.
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOB POWER SITES.

SEC. 17. The permittee shall dispose of all brush, refuse, or tmused timber on 

Interior Department lands and national forest lands resetting from the coBstrtactfen 

and maintenance of the project works to the satisfaction of the officer last aforeeaM.

SEC. 18. The permittee shall build and repair such roads and trails a» may be 

destroyed or injured by construction work or flooding under the permit and shall 

build and maintain necessary and suitable crossings for all roads and trails that intersect the water conduit constructed, maintained, or operated und«r the permit.

SEC. 19. The permittee shall do everything reasonably within the power of the 

permittee, both independently and on request of the secretaries or other duly authorized officers or agents of the United States to prevent and suppress fires on or near the 

lands to be occupied under the permit.

SEC. 20. The permittee shall indemnify the United States against any liability far 

damages to life or property arising from the occupancy or use of Interior Depa*tm«at 

lands and national forest lands by the permittee.

SEC. 21. The permittee shall sell power to the United States, when requested, at 

as low a price as is given to any other purchaser for a like use at the same time, and 

under similar conditions, if the permittee can furnish the same to the United States 

without diminishing the quantity of power sold before such request to any other 

customer by a binding contract of saj&! Provided, That nothing in this clause shall be 

construed to require the permittee to increase permanent works or install additional 

generating machinery.

"SEC. 22. The permittee shall abide by such reasonable regulation of the service 

rendered and to be rendered by the permittee to consumers of power furnished or 

transmitted by the permittee, and of prices to be paid therefor as may from time totime be prescribed by the State or any designated agency of the State in which the 

service is rendered: Provided, That for the purposes of this section any such regulation 

shall be deemed to be suspended pending proceedings in the courts of such State, or in. 

the Supreme Court of the United States on appeal from said State courts where such 

proceedings are in the nature of an appeal taken direct from the officer, commission, or 

board prescribing such regulation to said State courts: And provtikdfurffter, That in 

the absence of regulation of service and prescribing of prices by any State agency, 

jurisdiction in the premises will, in their discretion, be exercised by the secretaries.

SEC. 23. Upon demand in writing by the secretaries to surrender the permit to the 

United States or to transfer the same to such State or municipal corporation as the 

secretaries may designate, and to give, grant, bargain, sell, and transfer with the permit all works, equipment, structures, and property then owned or held by the permittee on lands of the United States occupied or used under the permit and then valuable or serviceable in the generation, transmission, and distribution of power: 

Provided, (a) That such surrender or transfer shall not be demanded in the case of a 

municipal corporation unless by condemnation such corporation shall have acquired, 

or unless by proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction it shall have'been determined that such a municipal corporation has the right to acquire the property of 

the permittee situated elsewhere than on public land, or unless such municipal corporation has the power to acquire the property and rights of the permittee in accordance 

with the following conditions: (6) That such surrender or transfer shall be on condition 

precedent that the United States shall pay or the transferee shall first pay to the permittee the reasonable value of all such works, equipment, structures, and property 

to be surrendered or transferred; (c) That such reasonable value shall not include any 

sum for any permit, right, franchise, or property granted by any public authority 

in excess of the sum paid to such public authority as a purchase price therefor; and 

(rf) That such reasonable value shall be determined by mutual agreement of-the parties 

in interest, and in ease they can not agree, by the secretaries under a rule which, 

except as modified by the requirements of this section, sliall be the then existing rule 

48348° -WSP 344--14 13
194 DESCHUTES RIVER, OREGON.

of valuation for power properties in condemnation proceedings in the State in which 

the properties to be surrendered or transferred are located. But nothing herein shall 

prevent the United States or any State or municipal corporation from acquiring by 

any other lawful means the permit or the works, equipment, structures, or property 

then owned or held by the permittee on lands of the United States occupied or 

used under the permit.

SEC. 24. In respect to the regulation, by any competent public authority, of the 

services to be rendered by the permittee or of the prices to be charged therefor, and 

in respect to any purchase or taking over of the properties or business of the permittee 

or any part thereof by the United States or by any State within which the works are 

situated or business is carried on in whole or in part, or by any municipal corporation 

in such State, no value whatsoever shall at any time be assigned to or claimed for the 

permit or for the occupancy or use of Interior Department lands or national forest 

lands thereunder, nor shall the permit or such occupancy or use ever be estimated or 

considered as property upon which the permittee shall be entitled to earn or receive 

any return, income, price, or compensation whatsoever.

SEC. 25. The works to be constructed, maintained, and operated under the permit 

shall not be owned, leased, trusteed, possessed, or controlled by any device or in any 

manner so that they form part of, or in any way effect any combination in the form 

of an unlawful trust, or form the subject of any unlawful contract or conspiracy to limit 

the output of electric energy, or in restraint 'of trade with foreign nations or between 

two or more States, or within any one State in the generation, sale, or distribution of 

electric energy. Except, as in this agreement specifically provided, the permittee 

shall not agree or arrange in any manner whatsoever with any other party generating 

or disposing of electric energy with a view to the avoidance of competition or the fixing, 

maintenance, or increase of prices for electric energy or service.

SEC. 26. This permit shall be indeterminate as to time during compliance with the 

conditions of this agreement by the permittee, or until the United States or any State 

or municipal corporation shall exercise its option to purchase as provided in section 23. 

It is expressly understood and agreed, however, that the permit may be revoked by 

the secretaries, after due notice to the permittee with opportunity for hearing, on a 

finding by them that any part of the amounts due for the compensation or the charges 

herein provided for, after duo notice has been given, are in arrears for six months; or 

on a finding by the secretaries that any of the provisions of this agreement or any of 

the regulations of the secretaries or the provisions of the act of Congress to which the 

permit is subject as provided in section 2 hereof have been violated by the permittee.

It is further understood and agreed that under the terms of said act of Congress "any 

permission given by the Secretary of the Interior under the provisions of this act 

may be revoked by him or by his successor in his discretion."

It is further understood and agreed that at intervals of not less than 20 years, on 

application of the permittee or on demand of the secretaries, this agreement and the 

permit shall be modified to conform to the then subsisting regulations fixed by the 

secretaries under said act of February 15, 1901, or amendments thereto.

SEC. 27. The permittee shall in the exercise of the permission given by the permit, 

at all times conform to and abide by such rules and regulations subserving the purpose 

of any reserved lands of the United States through which right of way is sought as may 

be prescribed by the officer having jurisdiction over such lands.

SEC. 28. The permit does not affect the rights to the occupancy of lands granted by 

the State of Washington or any rights, privileges, or franchises conferred upon the 

permittee by virtue of the act of Congress approved February 25, 1907 (34 Stat., 931), 

as amended by the act of Congress approved May 20, 1912 (37 Stat., 115), entitled 

"An act to extend the time for the construction of a dam across the Pend d'Oreille 

River, Washington," or impair or affect the rights conferred upon the said permittee 

by compliance with the provisions of the act of Congress approved June 23, 1910 (36
GOVERNMENT PERMITS FOR POWER SITES. 195

Stat., 593), entitled "An act to regulate the construction of dams across navigable 

waters."

SEC. 29. On proper application by the permittee under subsisting regulations fixed 

by the secretaries, the permit may be amended to provide for the construction, operation, and maintenance of additional project works and the use of additional rights of 

way for the power project. Any application for such amendment and approval thereof 

shall be in the form of a supplemental agreement and permit so drawn as to become a 

part of the original agreement and permit.

SEC. 30. The permit and the right of way thereby afforded shall be subject to all 

prior valid rights and to a reservation of right of way for canals or ditches constructed 

by authority of the United States.

In witness whereof the permittee has caused these presents to be executed, in 

triplicate, by its vice president and agent and its corporate seal to be hereto affixed 

by its vice president, both thereunto duly authorized, this 28th day of July, 1913,

[SEAL.] INTERNATIONAL POWER & MANUFACTURING Co., 

By WILBUR S. YEARSLEY, Vice President.

Attest:

N. S. COMBS, Jr. 

M. T. BUNCH.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT.

DISTRICT OP COLUMBIA, ss:

On this 28th day of July, 1913, before me, a notary public in and for said county, 

duly commissioned and sworn, my commission expiring November 6,1913, personally 

came Wilbur S. Yearsley, to me personally known, who being by me duly sworn, did 

depose and say that he resides in Spokane, Wash.; that he is the vice president of the 

International Power & Manufacturing Co.; that said company is the corporation that 

is described in and that executed the foregoing agreement; that he knows the seal of 

said corporation; that the seal affixed to the foregoing agreement is such corporate seal 

and was affixed to such instrument by order of the board of directors of said corporation, 

and that he signed his name thereto by like order; and the said Wilbur S. Yearsley 

acknowledged the foregoing agreement to be the free act and deed of said corporation.

Witness my hand and official seal the day and year first hereinbefore written.

[Notarial seal.] E. C. OWEN,

Notary Publie.

My commission expires November 6, 1913.

PERMIT.

In pursuance of the act of Congress approved February 15, 1901 (c. 372; 31 Stat., 

790), and in pursuance of the general regulations thereunder fixed, respectively, by 

the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, and in consideration of 

the conditions made and accepted in the foregoing agreement, permission to use the 

right of way through the public lands and reservations of the United States under the 

jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture 

sought by and described in the application identified in the foregoing agreement is 

hereby given to the said International Power & Manufacturing Co., subject, however, 

to the said general regulations and to the conditions in said agreement, such permission, 

subject to such regulations and conditions, having been found by us to be not incompatible with the public interest.

In witness whereof we have subscribed these presents, in triplicate, on this 29th 

day of July, 1913.

ANDRIEUS A. JONES 

Acting Secretary of the Interior. 

D. F. HOUSTON, 

Secretary of Agriculture.
INDEX,

A.

Accuracy of field data, probability of........ 19-20

Acre-foot, definition of....................... 16

Agriculture, Secretary of, regulations of, concerning rights of way.......... 176-178

Alien's Ranch, near Lava, Oreg., Deschutes

River at................ 22-24,61,63,94

Allingham ranger station, near Sisters, Oreg.,

Metolius River at................ 46

B.

Bold, Oreg., Central Oregon canal at........ 53^54

Deschutes River at................ 27-38,68-69

Deschutes River at Benham Falls near. 24-26,

61,63,66 

diversion of water at................... 149-150

Pilot Butteeaaal near................... 56-66

power plant near...................... 120-121

Tumalo Creeknear...................... 40

Benham Falls, near Bend Oreg., Deschutes

River at.......... 24-26, «1,63,66,68-69

discharge available for power at........ 109-110

diversion of water at..................... 150

evaporation at........................... 88

plate showing........................... 80

precipitation at.......................... 88

reservoir suggested at.................... 81

area and capacity of............... 10ft-101

manipulation of storage in......... 101-105

use of water from.................... 101

Biggs, Oreg., Desohutes River at Moody

near................. 31-33,61,63,66,67

Big Marsh, reservoir siteat.................. 81

Big Marsh outlet near Cfleseent, Oreg..... 21,91-95

"Big River. S-ee Desohutes River, W«st Fork

of. 

Blue Lake, permit for storage of water to.... 147

C.

California, diversion of water to another

State refused by............... 139,158

Central Oregon canal at Bend, Oreg...... 53-54,69

Central Oregon Power Co., plant of, near

Bend.......................... 120-121

Certificates, water-right, issue of........... 135-136

Clark Fork, profile of, figure showing........ 74

Clearwater River, profile of, figure showing.. 74

Cline Falls, Oreg., Deschutes River near.. 29-30,70

plate showing........................... 76

Coleman power site, description of........... 128

mapof.................................. 128

Colorado, suit of Kansas against........... 140-141

Columbia River, profile of, figure showing... 74 

Columbia Southern canal near Laidlaw, Oreg. 58-59 

Columbia Southern irrigation project taken

over by State.................... 105s

Control, definition of........................ 17

Cooperation of Nation and State, proposed. 154-157 

Crane Prairie, proposed storage of water at.. 81,

150,151 

Crescent, Oreg., Big Marsh outlet near ...... 21

Crescent Lake outlet near............. 34,9WJ5

East Fork of Deschutes River at...... 34-36,94

Crescent Lake, description of................ 16-16

permit for storing water ia.............. 147

reservoir site at......................... 81,151

Crescent Lake outlet near Crescent, Oreg.. 34,91-95 

Crooked River at Steam's ranch, near Prineville,Qreg....................... 44-45

description of............................ 13-14

diversion from................... 78-79,108-109

near Post, Oreg.......................... &

irrigation rights on...................... 148

near Prineville, Oreg.................... 62

power development on................. 76,121

permit for......................... 147-148

profile of, figure showing................. 74

springs entering......................... 90

suggested reservoir on, area and capacity

of................................ 117

manipulation of storage at......... 118-120

water of, quality of...................... 85-86

D.

Davis Lake, description of................... 15

not available as a reservoir site.......... 81

Definitions of stream-flow terms............. 16-1?

Deschutes Land Co., irrigation proposed by. 150-151 

Deschutes Power Co., plant ef, on Crooked

River............................ 121

DeschiatesRaikoad, right of way oL....... 173-174

Desdmtes River at Alien's Ranch, near

Lava, Oreg............. 22^2461,63,94

at Bend, Oreg........................... 27-28

comparison of, with Desetmtea River

at Benham Falls................ 68-69

at Bend, Laidlaw, and Cline Falls, comparison of........................ 69-70

at Benham Falls, near Bend Oreg- 24-26,61,63,66 

at Laidlaw, Oreg........................ 28-29

at Mecca, Oreg.......................... 30-31

at Mecca and Moody, comparison of..... 71

at Moody, near Biggs, Oreg.. 31-33,61,63,66,67 

atMoro, Oreg........................ 63,66,67

at West's Ranch, near Bend, Oreg......... 24-26

canyon of, description of................. 76

plate showing....................... 76

constant flow of......................... 64

description of....................... 9-13,74-75

diversions from....................... 79-81,91

East Fork of, at Crescent, Oreg ........ 34-36,94

diversion from....................... 151

107
198 INDEX.

Deschutes River, hydrograph comparing

flow at stations on............... 70

near ClineFalls, Oreg................... 29-30

near Lapine, Oreg....................... 22

plan and profile of. At end of volume, 

power profile of.......................... 122

profile of, figure showing_.............. 74

tributaries of............................ 13-15

water rights on........................ 146-153

West Fork of, diversion from............. 81-82

near Lapine, Oreg................... 36

near Lava, Oreg.................../. 36-37

possible irrigation project on......... 91

Deschutes River and tributaries, discharges

of, comparison of.........:...... 91-95

Deschutes River basin, map of.............. *0

Discharge relation, definition of.............. 17

Diversion, future, effect of, on discharge... 113-116

Domestic use of water, preference given to.. 72

protection for............................ 82

Duty ofwater............................... 89

E.

Elliott's ranch, near Prineville, Oreg., Ochoco

Creek at......................... 45

Equivalents, tables of....................... 17-19

Evaporation from reservoirs, data on......

F. 

Fall River, discharge of...................... 90

Falls on Deschutes River near Bend, plate

showing......................... 80

Forest Service, regulations of................ 144

withdrawals of lands recommended by.. 168 

Frieda power site, description of............. 128

map of.................................. 128

G.

Gaging stations, list of....................... 20-21

Grandview, Oreg., Metolius River at Hubbard's ranch near................ 47

Whitewater Creek at mouth, near....... 49-50

Great Falls Power Co., Montana, text of permit granted to................. 178-187

Grover, N. C., Government permits for power

and reservoir sites............. 175-195

Introduction............................ 9-16

H.

Henshaw, F. F., Availability of the water

supply......................... 86-120

Stream flow............................. 16-71

Heroy, W. B., Developed water powers in the

Deschutes drainage basin...... 120-122

The relation of the Federal Government 

to the development of water 

power in the Deschutes basin.. 159-174

Horse Rapids power site, map of............ 128

Hubbard's ranch, near Grandview, Oreg.,

Metolius River at................ 47

I.

Idaho, diversion of water to another State

refused by....................... 158

Interior, Secretary of the, action of, on withdrawals of water-power lands.. 168-171

Interior, Secretary of the, regulations of. .... 144

regulations of, concerning permits for

rights of way .................. 176-17*

International Power & Manufacturing Co., of 

Spokane, "Wash., text of permit

granted to. ............. 187-195

Irrigation, data on, accuracy of .............. 84-85

existing rights for. ..................... 147, 152

preference to, over manufacturing ....... 72-74

possible projects for. ........ 77-81, 83-84, 91-109

J. 

Jacks Creek power site on Metolius River,

description of... ................. 131

map of .................................. 130

Jefferson Creek power site, description of. , 130-131 

John Day project, withdrawal of lands for . 170, 171

K.

Kansas v. Colorado, suit of ................. 140-141

Kinney,C. S.,cited. ........................ 143

Klamath River near Keno, Oreg., evaporation from. ....................... SS

Laidlaw, Oreg., Columbia Southern canal

near............................. 58-59

Deschutes River at... ................ 28-29,70

Tumalo Creek near ................... 38-40, 62

Wimer canal near....................... 57-58

Lake Creek near Sisters, Oreg. .............. 49

Lake Tahoe at Tahoe, Cal., evaporation from. 87 

Lakes near sources of Deschutes River, description of ...................... 16-16

Land, reclamation of ........................ 11

Lands, public, classification of ............... 175

public, rights of way over ............. 175-178

status of............................. 160

use of water affected by..... ......... 142

water rights on .................... 160-167

withdrawals of, by President, authorized by Congress................ 169

withdrawals of, in the Deschutes

basin........................ 170-172

maps showing ................... 172

Lapine, Oreg. , Deschutes River near ........ 22

West Fork of Deschutes River near. ..... 36

Lava, Oreg., Deschutes River at Alien's

ranch near. ... ......... 22-24,61,63,94

West Fork of Deschutes River near. ..... 36-37

Laws, water-right, need of revision and extension of..................... 158-159

Lewis, John H., Economic distribution of

water of Deschutes River. ....... T2-8&

views of ................................. 11

Water rights and appropriations. ...... 133-159

Little River, a name for upper Deschutes

River........................... 15

Lockit power site, description of. ............ 126

map of.... .............................. 126

Low-water period, duration of ............... 65-48

M.

McAllister's ditch near Sisters, Oreg........ 59-40

McCaustland, E. J., Undeveloped power

sites........................... 123-133

Maupin power site, description of.. ........ 127-138

map of.... .............................. 12«
INDEX. 199

Mecca, Oreg., Deschutes River at..... 30-31,71,116

Mecca power site, description of............ 128-129

map of.................................. 128

Metolius power site, description of........... 129

map of.................................. 128

Metolius River at Allingham ranger station,

near Sisters, Oreg............... 46

at Hubbard's ranch near Grandview,

Oreg............................ 47

at Riggs ranch near Sisters, Oreg...... 47-48,64

description of.................... 14-15,129-130

diversion from........................... 77-78

near Sisters, Oreg....................... 62,67

plan and profile of. At end of volume, 

power development on.................. 76

power profile of.......................... 122

profile of, figure showing................ 74

Metolius River and tributaries, low-water

discharge of..................... 65

Metric measures, equivalents of.............. 18

Middle Fork, a name for upper Deschutes

River........................... 15

Miner's inches, equivalents of............... 18

Moody, near Biggs, Oreg., Deschutes River

at.........31-33,61,63,67,71,114-115,66

Moody power site, description of........... 125-126

map of.................................. 124

Moro, Oreg., Deschutes. River at.......... 63,66,67

Moses Lake at Neppel, Wash., evaporation

from............................ 87

N. 

National control, need for, over interstate

streams....................... 139-141

New York, diversion of water to another State

refused by....................... 139

Nitrogen, extraction of, from the air...... 153-154

Norton, T. H., cited......................... 154

O.

Oak Brook power site, description of...... 126-127

map of.................................. 126

Oak Springs power site, description of....... 127

map of.................................. 126

Ochoco Creek at Elliott's ranch, near Prineville, Oreg....................... 45

Odell Lake, description of................... 15

reservoir site at......................... 81,151

Opal Spring, opals in........................ 14

permit for irrigation near................ 147

Oregon, cooperation of, with United States 

Geological Survey and United 

States Reclamation Service...... 155

irrigation project constructed by......... 150

old water rights in, determination and

record of....................... 134-136

water laws of.......................... 132-134

water-power policy of.................. 145-146

Oregon Conservation Commission cited...... 73

State electric plants proposed b y........ 146

Oregon Trunk- Railway, right of way of.... 172-174

Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation

Co., right of way of............ 172-174

P.

Pacific Power and Light Co., plant of, on

White River.................. 121-122

Paulina Creek, irrigation rights on........... 148

Paulina Lakes, reservoir site at.............. 81,82

Pelton power site, description of............. 129

map of.................................. 128

Pilot Butte canal near Bend, Oreg ........ 65-56,69

Post, Oreg., Crooked River near............. 43

Power, amount of, at different rates of discharge......................... 111-113

development of, from water used for irrigation......................... 116-117

methods of........................ 122-123

permits issued for................. 147-148

possibilities of..... 75-77,83-84,109-120,124

preference to other uses of water over. 72-74 

withdrawals of lands for........... 167-172

market for.................... I........ 123-124

new uses for........................... 153-154

old claims for.......................... 151-152

prices for.......................... 153-154,157

Power plants in the Deschutes drainage -

basin.......................... 120-122

Power-site reserve No. 425, areas included by

footnote, 172

Precipitation, estimated, at Benham Falls... 88 

Prineville, Oreg., Crooked River at Steam's

ranch near....................... 44-45

Crooked River near...................... 62

Oehoco Creek at Elliott's ranch near..... 45

Pringle Falls, claim for water-power right at. 151 

permit for power development at........ 148

Publications, earlier......................... 21

Public interest, protection of................ 138

R.

Railroads, elevation of tracks of...... 10-11,173-174

rights of way of........................ 172-174

Rainfall, effect of, on run-off................. 64

Reclamation,. State project for............... 81

Reclamation power site, description of....... 126

map of.................................. 126

Regulation of Deschutes River for power development, mass curve showing. 112 

Reliability of field data, discussion of........ 19-20

Riggs power site on Metolius River, description of........................... 130

map of.................................. 130

Riggs ranch near Sisters, Oreg., Metolius

River at...................... 47-48,64

Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., suit of

United States against...... 141,142-143

Riparian rights, treatment of.......... 138-139,142

Roosevelt, President, cited.................. 167

Run-off, definition of........................ 16

effect of rainfall on...................... 64

Salt Creek, proposed power development

on............................ 151-152

Second-foot, definition of.................... 16

Second-foot per square mile, definition of.... 16

Sherar Falls power site, description of....... 127

map of.................................. 126

Shitike Creek at Warm Spring, Oreg........ 50

Sinamox power site, description of.......... 126

map of.................................. 126

Sisters, Oreg., Lake Creek near.............. 49

Me Allister's ditch near.................. 59-60

Metolius River at Allingham ranger station near........................ 46
200 INDEX.

Sisters, Oreg., MetoHos River at Riggs ranch

near.......................... 47-48,64

MetoHus Riyernear..................... 62,67

permit for irrigation near................ 147

Squaw Creek near.................... 41-42,62

Snake River, profile of, figure showing....... 74

Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railroad, right

of way of...................... 172-174

Spokane River, profile of, figure showing.... 74

Spring River, discharge of................... 90

Squaw Creek, diversion from................ 78

irrigation rights on...................... 148

near Sisters, Oreg.................... 41-42,62

State control of water, limits of............ 139-141

State laws, uniformity in, unattainable.... 157-158

Steam's ranch, near Prineville, Oreg.,

Crooked River at................ 44-45

Storageof water at Benham Falls........... ' 113

locations for............................. 81-82

manipulation of, studies of............. 96-109

Suttle Lake, dam site at.................... 77

permit for storage of water in............ 147

Symons, Lieut. T. W., cited................ 15

T.

Terms for stream flow, definitions of......... 16-17

Tule Lake at Merrill, Oreg., evaporation from. 87 

Tumalo Creek, irrigation rights on........... 148

near Bend, Oreg........................ 40-41

near Laidlaw, Oreg.................. 38-40,62

permit for diversion from................ 147

possible diversions from............ 78,105-108

suggested reservoir on, possible manipulation of......................... 106-108

Tygh Creek at Tygh Valley, Oreg........... 52

Tygh Valley, Oreg., White River near....... 51-52

U.

Umatilla project, withdrawal of lands for.. 170,171 

United States, control of water-power development by, legal basis for... 159-167 

indirect control of water by............ 142-145

v. Rio Grande Dam & Irrigation Co., suit

of......................... 141,142-143

v. Utah Power & Light Co., decision on. 161-167 

United States Geological Survey, cooperation

of Oregon with.................. 155

. withdrawal of lands recommended by.... 168-

109,170-171

United States Reclamation Servtoe, coopers- *

tfanof, with Oregon.............. 155

efficient work by...................... 15&-157

withdrawals of lands recommended by.... 168,

170-171 

Utah Power & Light Co.,«uit of United States

against, decision on............ 161-167

V. 

Van Winkle, Walton, Quality of water..... 85-86

W. 

Warm Spring, Oreg., Shitike Creek at....... 50

Warm Springs River near............... 51

Warm Springs Indian Reservation, description of........................... 76-77

Warm Springs River asar Warm Spring,

Oreg............................ 51

Water, duty of.............................. 89

laws of Oregon concerning............. 132-134

old rights to, determination and record

of............................. 134-136

quality of............................... 85-86

return of................................ 89-91

three principal uses of................... 72

Water board, Oregon, powers and duttes of. 133-138

Water rights, fundamental principles &f 135-136

mode of granting...................... 136-137

old county records of.................. 148-149

indefiniteness of................... 148-152

pending applications for................. 153

protection of............................. 137

West's ranch, near Bend, Oreg., Deschutes

River at......................... 24-26

White Horse Rapids power site, description

of............................... 128

Map of.................................. 128

White River, near Tygh Valley, Oreg....... 51-52

power plant on........................ 121-122

water of, quality of...................... 85-SS

Whitewater Creek at mouth, near Grandvtew,

Oreg............................ 4&-50

Whitewater power site on Metolius River,

description of.................... 130

map of.................................. 130

Wimer canal near Laidlaw, Oreg............ 57-58

Wimer reservoir, permit for storing water to. 1»7

Z. 

Zero flow, point of, definition of............. 17

o