The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-07-07
The Irrigation Question.

The senate committee appointed to in
arid regions OF the west will soon enter
upon its work, in connection with party
of surveyors sent out to take the prelimi-
nary steps for the construction of national
system of reservoirs. Theory and expert
ence alike favor the reservoir idea, it is
said; and Congress is practically committed
to it by legislation in that connection dur
ing the last two years. The Senate com
mittee is empowered to pass upon the
whole matter, but it will probably confine
its inquiry to the one point of determining
the most feasible and economical plan of
establishing reservoirs at certain convent
ent points. According to the views of sur
veyOrs who have made careful study of
the question, the easiest way to accomplish
the object is to build dams at the mouths
Of certain large gulches in the Rocky noun
tains, and thus store up the water which
comes from the melting SHOWS above, to be
distributed over the desert lands below
when and where by means of canals and
bitches. Both the Platte and the Arkansas
rivers are fed by these mountains, and it is
claimed that an amount of water equal to
the combined volume of said streams at
their highest can be accumulated by this
udulllIIlS plOCCSS, us lCG IS SdGueFcu anu
housed in its season fer use during the
summer
1t is easy to see that the scheme here
outlined involves engineering operations of
a gigantic and costly character. The ir-
rigation enterprises in France, Algiers and
India are insignificant compared with this
proposed great undertaking: and there is
nothing in the history of the ancients, with
all their achievements of that kind, to equal
it. But would such system Of reservoirs
be safe! The recent catastrophe at Johns
town makes this question a pertinent and
serious one. Any one who is familiar with
the streams of melted snow that come
rushing down the Rocky mountains does
not need to be told that their force is re
markable, and that something exceedingly
strong in the way of masonry would be re-
quired to arrest and hold this peculiar
energy. Would it be possible to construct
walls of sufficient resistance to prevent
these hurrying and powerful currents from
escaping in sudden and destroying floods
which wrought such havoc in Pennsyl-
vania? The system Of reservoirs that
would be required to answer the purposes
Of reasonable irrigation in Colorado and
Kansas alone would imply the storage OF
many times more water than there was in
the JohnStown reservoir; and in the event
Of its breaking loose it would quickly over
spread the whole adjacent country like a
lake. 1t is contended by the advocates of
the plan that all danger of this sort can be
effectually guarded against; but there is
manifest room for doubt, nevertheless, and
the Senate committee should give close at
tention to the facts bearing upon point of
so much moment There is good reason to
believe that the arid lands of the west can
be redeemed to profitable uses by irrigation,
and it ought to be done as soon as possible.
At the same time, however, thorough
caution should be exercised in the adoption
of plan, to the end that success may be
reached without inviting peril and giving
chance for an agency of benefcence to be
turned into one of far-reaching Disaster
Globe Democrat