Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1889-08-28
roMro sAs,n RESERVOIR SITE.

County Surveyor w. NJ. Breckenridge, who was appointed by the board Of supervisors of Maricopa county to in vestigate and report upon the water sYs- tenn of of the valley and its various sites for reservoirs, submitted the following concise repert:
 To the Honorable Board ot Supervisors
 of Maricopa county.
 GESTLEMEN-I beg leave to submit the following report in regard to water storage in Maricopa county:
 After a careful examination of the river find that about 400 yards below the junction of Tonto creek with Salt river, that the river runs through . box canyon, the sides of which are nearly vertical for about 100 feet and then slope back at about to I slope. It is about aoI feet wide at the river edge and the bedrock is very near the surface At this point dam could be erected 200 feet high. that would back the water up Salt river to where the river cuts through the Sierra Ancha mountains, q distance of I6 miles. The valley is wide. and as it is irregular. I herewith give you the dimensions in sections commencing at dam site and measuring up the river:
 First miles, average width, ,,64s feet; average depth, ISo feet. Then a1l miles, average width. :
 miles; average depth. I4o feet. Then I mile. average width. I, sao feet average depth. I3o feet.
 Then roh miles. average width, : miles; average depth, 70 feet. Total, I6 miles on Salt river; besides the water would back up Tonto creek { distance of 10 miles. average width, IA
 miles; average depth. So feet. Total on both streams in cubic feet oa6Se. IaS, 900; add to this 10 per cent for the water that would back up Pint,
 creek, Sallamay and other streams ant gulches, would give total of Io3,oSS.
 o4o, Soc. making the largest reservoir il the United States.
 Limestone and sandstone are il abundance, and about GOO feet bele, the proposed dam site box canyoI empties into the river from the south The material that would have to be takel out of the side of the canyon 10 buil' | the dam would form a waste weir for tn
 river into said box canyon, so that n'
 water from the river, after the reservoi
 was filled, need ever flow over the dam
 thus obviating all wear by water on tn dam.
 There is plenty of timber in the Sierr Ancha mountains fer all building pur. poses, twenty miles from the propose,
 site. A large lime stone ledge crosse I the river about 100 feet above the sit
 which would furnish all lime necessary
 as there is plenty of timber in the vein
 lty for burning it. There are in thu
 Salt river valley which would be covered by the proposed reservoir 4,Ioo acre
 taken up by settlers oi which 67S acre
 are cultivated; on Tonto Creek there ar | 2,o4o acres taken up of which 2a4 ar cultivated.
 Total acres settled on 6, Io4. Total acres cultivated oo2. The cost of building the propose. dam and reservoir would net exceed SI. 500, ,ooo and ii would supply wate enough ee irrigate all the land in th' | valley from the Arizona canal dam |, Yuma.
 The present capacity of the canals it
 this valley is about 6o,ooo inches pe
 second covering a body of s4o.oos
 acres of land of which I6o. 900 ar' under cultivation. It would take over twt years to empty the reservoir with tn,
 canals we have at present running d
 their full capacity, and the water would
 irrigate all the cultivated land So times allowing three inches of water in deptt
 for each irrigation. Very respectfully w. M. BREAKENRIpGE.