Arizona weekly enterprise., 1889-02-09
Irrigation Schemes.

The man who even at this day pre- diets that the arid wastes of the Colo rado desert, the dry land generally of California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mex ico, Colorado, Utah and other States and Territories will some day be in cultivation and support a numerous and thrifty population Is looked upon as ever sanguine. Although the man. ner in which water Is to be brought upon these lands is shown to be prac- ticable and not so very difficult, it is hard for the average American to re- alize that 1t will be done at least for centuries to come.
 Yet one who has watched the course of events cannot fail to have noted that very rapid progress is being made in the direction of enterprises that shall bring to the vast plains now covered only with the white and shift ing sands or with the stunted sage brush, a growth of the rarest tropical fruits and flowers, or with billowy expanse of grains and grasses, varied with white farm houses and the towns and villages of prosperous people.
 Plenty of water falls on or near these lands to irrigate them If 1t could only be saved and distributed as needed. High mountain ranges surround them, offering every facility for the storage of water. Reservoirs could be built in these mountains and all the water saved. In southern California private enterprise has already gone to work to do this. The Great Bear Valley | dam in San Bernardino county, the Lake Hemet dam in the San Jacinto valley, the Sweetwater dam in San | Diego county are all completed or nearing completion and will result in the formation of lakes from which sup plies can be drawn for the irrigation of hundreds of thousands of acres of otherwise almost worthless lands. This method of retaining lands is nothing new It has been practiced for thousands of years in India, where the people save in reservoirs the water needed for their crops.
 The state and national governments have lately shown an interest in this method of retaining arid lands Con- gress has appropriated $100,000 for 8 preliminary survey with view to establishing reservoirs in the west fol the retaining of arid lands, and an increase of the appropriation by $50, 900 has been recommended by the House committee. A bill has been introduced into the California Legis ture to submit to the people propo sition to issue bonds for S5 100000 fol the construction of dams to store wa ter for irrigation. It is better tha such reservoirs should be built by the government, as it would be better i all waters were owned and sold by ont or the other of them, as in this way the extortions of monopolies would bt prevented.
 There is probably no way in whicl the wealth of the country could be sc much increased in comparison witt the outlay as by such reservoirs as art contemplated by the state and nation al governments. The Caliiorna scheme would very well supplement that 0 the national government, which con templates the watering of governmen lands only. To incur a state indebt edness of $5,000,O00 would be, o course, very serious matter, but th, increase i'll taxable values and in i'm migration and other advantages cer tain to result from it would, we be lieve, fully justify it.-Los Angele Express.