Arizona weekly citizen., 1888-04-07
Irrigation and Storage Rsservolrs.

Within recent years the subject of irri- Z8tICn has become one of great Impor- taucs m large sections of the west and south west. The opening up of the coun- tTy by railroads has called attention to tEe susiset, aud the rush of population @ e-lw ard and the rapid occupation of hT8ble lands consequent to It has made IL worth while to attempt the reclamation Oi desert lands. Irrigation Is by no means a new plan. IL IS as old as history, II rot older Both ID the Old World ana the New the irriRatIDg canal has been sn important factor Tn civilization. The valleys of She Iigris and Euphrates were made the gardens of the worlds cIvlilzs- ton by II, and with the destruction of the system of irrigation the fields once made ferslle by l. agaIn became arid, sandy wastes, The Romans used lrrlRs- ton 70 Inc. ease the prOductivsness of certain parts of the Italian peninsula, and :he old system IS still ID use and makes fruitful three millions and s half acres, When the Spanlards conquered Peru, Prescott tells us, the realm of the lncss was a gtrden m ferulty, owing to s Vast ssyjem O; excellent irrigation ca- Dsis. The AZtecs of Mexico knew the
 
 que Ilhsd kuOwifIge of It to the modern Mexican. iD the . lt river valley n Ari- Zon a the Hemelway exp3citIon has t"und ample evidences of complete eysien of canals which rendered what ls Unw almost desert plain fruitful valley capable of supporting thousands of psuple. IL is DO new plan, then, DO new idea, that IS now being brought into Use Co reclaim and frucsIfy the nou-ars- Oie lands la lhe vast states and territories Cf JEe wess and south west. People Iu the east, where the rainfall Is copious and regular, can hardly reslZs the chan <es that Can bs wrought by the RrtesiaD well, the isrigating canal and the storage reservoir on what they would regard as worthless, arid plains. But wlter works wonders. Each years sees thousands of acres reclaimed. and 1t IS safe to predict tEa, the middle If the twentieth century will find few arid plains wi;hIn .he pr sent bOuu !s ot the United States, but will see instead a tiJurishIng agriculture 10 regions that ore now slm, st desert, and g system snrpR-s ID extent any that tbe world has ever known.
 The idea Of building storage reservoirs IS entirely practicable ID many ssctIons. and indeed II ls ID very many places the Oniy plan by winch c sufficient and re- gular supply of ~ater can bs secured By them the vast volumes of water that pour down the mountain gulcEes and rsvines ID spring times snd fIod the rivers will b5 haEbacded sad uEda tO do servlce during She dry ,cl1O0, vLea the streams are too low 60 permit Uf draining any amount of water from hem fer irri- gstlng purplaes. This question If the stOrsge Of water for irrigation s ore upon which dep Ids in greet part the future of gg7iCul,u-e In Color. d1, New Mexico, AF zglg, Nevada pud rarts of | U4htOr1lH, There are millions rf acres IL thSse states tLas only Ieei irrigation | to make tho U b Jtiy productive A month ! ago the great 0iercsd canal Eas OUeI ed, | and by It l-Tgj sertiOn Of country Iil. | ID the near iu.Ure be brought under s | high state Ct cultivation The story of | this MeTced canal IS very interesting | one. lt ls twenty y-sevcn In'ies long, a | hundred feet vide at the top and seven- | ty at the bottom and ten feet deep. It is | in the heart of the San Joaquin valley, | and by it 300. 1000 acres that have hitherto | been barren will be made fruitful. The | reservoir covers $40 acres and contains | water enough |" IrrIgate 30,0O0 acres to | the depth oi one foot It is proposed to extend tIe canal twenty-seven miles | luther tu the southwest if the holders ot | land Oif-r sufficient inducements. Such | an extension would bs the means of wa teriDg 3UO.CO0 acres more, Such Is the SOTz now going on which ID the nt ar fu- ture Will change what Was long known as the Great American Desert and the Desert Ot Colorado into as productive lands as any on the continent. Water Is all that IS needed to change the desert to 'rlitful t1rms. and water will be secur- Leader.