Consolidated Canal, South of the Salt River, Chandler Vicinity, Maricopa County, Arizona - AZ-55 - Written Historical and Descriptive Data, Photographs
Creators: name: May, Catherine L.
name: England, Shawn L.
name: Sloan, Stephen
name: SRP Research Archives
Publisher: name: Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, Intermountain Region, Department of the Interior
Year: 2023
Subjects: subject: Salt River
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/127/salt-river
subject: Gilbert
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/50400/gilbert
subject: Chandler
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/80815/chandler
subject: Hunt Highway
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/82550/hunt-highway
subject: Mesa
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/24666/mesa
subject: Maricopa (County)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/3900/maricopa-county
subject: Hohokam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/21/hohokam
subject: Huhugam
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/8166/huhugam
subject: Historic
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/culture-keyword/25/historic
subject: Canal or Canal Feature
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/site-type/275/canal-or-canal-feature
subject: World War II
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/124433/world-war-ii
subject: Roosevelt Water Conservation District
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/153780/roosevelt-water-conservation-district
subject: Mesa Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168663/mesa-canal
subject: Great Depression
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/27927/great-depression
subject: Flooding
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/4124/flooding
subject: Consolidated Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168640/consolidated-canal
subject: Historic American Engineering Record (HAER)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171076/historic-american-engineering-record-haer
subject: SRP Canal Lining Project
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171079/srp-canal-lining-project
subject: Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171080/civilian-conservation-corps-ccc
subject: Park of the Canals
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/150885/park-of-the-canals
subject: Salt River Project (SRP)
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171077/salt-river-project-srp
subject: Early Irrigation in the Salt River Valley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171078/early-irrigation-in-the-salt-river-valley
subject: Pose-War Rehabilitation and Betterment Program
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171083/pose-war-rehabilitation-and-betterment-program
subject: Clean-up
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171081/clean-up
subject: Groundwater Development and Supply Along the Consolidated Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/171082/groundwater-development-and-supply-along-the-consolidated-canal
subject: Historic Background Research
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/investigation-type/18/historic-background-research

description: The Consolidated Canal conveys water for agricultural, municipal and industrial uses south of the Salt River. In addition, the canal right-of-way is utilized for three separate and distinct city recreation thoroughfares.
The Consolidated Canal played a crucial role in the development of agriculture in the Salt River Valley, the early evolution of the city of Chandler, and the unification of the Salt River Project’s consolidated southside canal system. Historic portions of the canal featured irrigation structures that aligned with prehistoric Hohokam Indian waterways, and dated from the late nineteenth century, and the early twentieth century.
On October 3, 1890, the Phoenix Herald reported an extraordinary plan of local veterinarian Dr. A. J. Chandler. He intended to unify the already existing Mesa, Utah, Tempe and San Francisco canals into one “great south-side connecting canal.” Dr. Chandler was committed to the development of large tracts of desert land that lay south of the Salt River and the small town of Mesa. The success or failure of his investments hinged on the availability of water, an exceedingly precious commodity. To secure adequate water for his newly acquired lands, Chandler, like the settlers that had come to the area before him, looked to the river that brought life-sustaining water. He envisioned an irrigation arrangement on the south side to mirror the elaborate canal systems supporting successful agricultural production on the north side of the Salt River. At the core of Dr. Chandler’s vision was the Consolidated Canal; success was dependent on completion of the canal and thus, the flow of water to his uncultivated lands. This report will provide a complete history of the Consolidated Canal, from its origins to its emergence in the 21st century as an important component of the Salt River Valley’s urban and rural water-delivery system.