A Historical Study of the SRP Distribution System
Creators: name: Dudley, Shelly
Publisher: name: Salt River Project Research Archives
Year: 2011
Subjects: subject: Salt River Valley
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/geographic-keyword/2784/salt-river-valley
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: 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: Cross Cut Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168631/cross-cut-canal
subject: Salt River Valley Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/154362/salt-river-valley-canal
subject: Consolidated Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168640/consolidated-canal
subject: Zanjero
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/147971/zanjero
subject: Drains
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/94916/drains
subject: Highland Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168641/highland-canal
subject: Lateral System
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168903/lateral-system
subject: Construction Equipment
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168904/construction-equipment
subject: Prehistoric Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168773/prehistoric-canal
subject: Old Cross Cut Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168901/old-cross-cut-canal
subject: Modern Day Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168902/modern-day-canal
subject: Rehabilitation and Betterment
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168907/rehabilitation-and-betterment
subject: Weirs, Checks and Measurements
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168908/weirs-checks-and-measurements
subject: Irrigation Methods
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168905/irrigation-methods
subject: Maintenace and Construction
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168906/maintenace-and-construction
subject: Salt River Valley Irrigation
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168909/salt-river-valley-irrigation
subject: Arizona Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/147603/arizona-canal
subject: Western Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168659/western-canal
subject: Historic Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/3799/historic-canal
subject: Ditches
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/9177/ditches
subject: Grand Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/147548/grand-canal
subject: Eastern Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168665/eastern-canal
subject: South Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168670/south-canal
subject: Tempe Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168102/tempe-canal
subject: Maricopa Canal
valueUri: https://core.tdar.org/browse/other-keyword/168618/maricopa-canal

description: The Salt River Valley consists of nearly half-million acres in central Arizona. It is a semiarid area with alluvial soils suitable for agriculture, but low rainfall makes irrigation a necessity for cultivation. Early settlers knew that a system of canals and laterals was necessary for agricultural production. For sustained growth, the farmers needed a water storage facility. With the passage of the National Reclamation Act in 1902, the federal government authorized the Salt River Project (SRP). As work progressed on the construction of Theodore Roosevelt Dam, the U.S. Reclamation Service acquired a system canals and laterals for SRP.
While this report focuses on the SRP water delivery system, much of the information is also generic to the irrigation systems throughout Arizona. This context history of the Salt River Project water distribution system is arranged in four parts. The first section details the history of the irrigation system of the Salt River Valley with emphasis on the distribution system. The second piece looks at the various structures and associated works that make up the distribution system. The third section examines the impact of the urban landscape on the water distribution system. The last section contains two case studies examining two laterals and their history.