The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-10-11
SENATOR STEWART.
He Gives Some Interesting and
Valuable Facts
ON IRRIGATION OF ARID LANDS
In Utah, Nevada and Other Places-The Varl-
Gus Systems of Utilizing Surplus
n Water-Their Value.


problem of Utah, Nevada, California and
Arizona Said Senator Stewart: Let me
say here that 1 agree that the problems to
be considered cannot be limited by merely
artificial political boundaries Of states and
territories, but must be considered from
the stand points of topography and hydro
graphy, which necessarily treat the whole
of the arid and subhumid areas as one
physical, geographic whole. Numerous
questions, you see then, of the highest legal
importance will enter into the settlement OF
the irrigation question"
LAS to Utah, senator, what was it the
committee found?"
'T-That but little over its usually ir-
rigated area of 100000 acres was this year
under cultivation.
''2-That as to the simpler forms of If
rigation and water use, that the Mormon
farmers had solved the legal issues in
yolved. Water rights are land rights
therein. All organized water companies
are always composed of farmers needing
the water. One acre of land represents
one share of water. The same system pre-
walls largely in Southern California.
'''3-That the future of irrigation and its
extension rests there, as elsewhere, on the
possibility of the storage of a stock of snow
and other surplus waters. You want
plain statement not one technical in terms.
Can give it more clearly than by saying
that the rainfall in the valleys or troughs
of the basins now cultivatable will
range in various parts OF the
arid regions from three to fifteen inchesG
1t viii fail, too, as rule, at the wrong sea
son. In the higher foothills it will be
doubled in amount and on the range or
ranges be trippled and quadrupled in depth,
In the high mountains it will have, from
the Rockies to the Sierra Madre in South
ern California, a rain fall of from 40 to l2O
inches in depth. OF this vast total at least
so per cent may be stored, If proper faci-
lities are found and provided. The irrlga-
tion survey is now charged with this work
and it is the first thing to be done. Utah
ana Nevada, as elsewhere, emphatically
prove this.
s'Now my own state" continued the
Senator, is the most unpromislng field Of
all the arid region, yet the engineers work
has so far progressed as to show the ready
reclaimabilty Of at least three million
acres. This it is proposed to effect, by
VEamming and diverting the Humboldt at
Fdts source, thus bringing 100000 acres
under water.
by utilizing the waters of Owyhee
river in the northern portion, and thereby
retaining 100000 acres.
''3-By Il reservoir system among the
northwest foothills, where it is believed
the snowfall can be saved and
by damming lake Tahoe in the Sier-
ras at its outlet, the Truckee river and con-
verting that precipitOus drainage basin,
with its fifteen square miles OF catchment
area, into a vast source OF supply Tor the
irrigation of the Sierra valley and the
bench lands and the sagebrush plains in
WashOe county, near Wadsworth, where
the river now debouches on its way to
Pyramid lake sink. BY damming Lake
Tahoe, that great BODY Of water can easily
be raised four feet.
sit is proposed to make Tahoe, Bonner,
Weber, Honey and Independence lakes res
erYOirs for the Truckee and Carson valley
basins, the latter of which is to be supplied
from a tunnel three and half miles in
length and 900 feet below the
present surface of Tahoe. This great
scheme, if carried out, will reclaim over
two million acres of land now not worth
fifty cents per acre for any purpose. With
water for its service, every uncultivated
acre would sell at $40 each. The three
millions then proposed to be reclaimed
W2Ld have a low valuation at $50, 900, 000
The engineer in charge puts the entire cost
at less than so, 900. One legal issue
. that will arise relates u the use of the
Sierra lakes. They are all within the boun-
diaries of California, yet are all distinctly
identified photographer Iy with the Nevada
basin. As, however, the prosperity OF Ne
vada must largely aid that of California,
there are hopes of a harmonious adjust
ment"
''How about California and Arizona, Sen
GtorG'
at would require all the space you can
give for California should ] enter into any
elaborate statement. That state has al
ready comprised every variety of irrigation
works, except high altitude reservoirs. Yet
it solved these a score or more years since
by placer construction for hydraulic min
ing. In a great degree these are now use
less for that purpose, but it has two of the
largest mountain reservoirs in the world
that of Bear valley in the San Bernardino
basin and the Sweetwater in San Diego.
"While we were at the latter, the com
1nittee were eve witnesses to great crime,
that of wasting several million cubic feet
of water, because the United States court
had ordered the reservoir company to pay
q Matchmaking price for certain waste land
or restore the same to the owner. The
company chose the latter course. To do so
IL wasted millions Of cubic feet of valuable
public proper -y-water. TIE community,
perhaps, deserved little sympathy as 1t was
jury there that awarded $3.50 per acre for
land that was not worth over SIS and for
which $75 had already been offered. The
present shows the necessity Of decent laws
settling the water question.
''Our investigations" continued the
Senator, "have fully satisfied the commit
tee engaged that on public lands the water
must be irreYOcably related to the soil. 1t
also has established the folly of ditch
\ owners striving to retain such property in
order To create a perpetual rental Land
tillers and water users will willingly pay a
large price outright for their water con
veniences and rights, but they viii as
surely, having a vote, legislatively squeeze
the rental plan out for a complete sys-
TEN of community water and ditch owner
ship.
''Water problems for the state are mostly
Of law and administration, based on public
ownership and control; the adoption Of a
good system Of engineering supervision so
as to prevent a duplication of works in
wrong locations, as is the case, for example,
in Kern county. Then, in cooperation
With the general government, plans for the
permanent utilization of mountain and
other surplus water must be adopted and
put under way There are now !, 900 900
acres irrigated, each of which is worth
from fifty TO one thousand dollars.
There are three systems in operation
that of the foot hills and central region,
which is served by small bitches and rather
shallow wells; that of San Joaquin valley,
from MERGED to the adjoining counties, in
which the ditch system is quite large
though often badly and wastefullv placed,
and then the fruit region proper, which has
grown so much of late years and includes
Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardno and
<Sau Diego counties. 1t includes most of the
fcitrus orchards and other semi-tropical
fruit growing area. In it are the cities of
Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, Ana