Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-21
WASTE OF OUR AVAILABLE IRRIGATlNG
WATER.


going to waste in the Los Angeles, San
Gabriel and New rivers that would be
sufficient to irrigate every acre of tilla-
BILE land in this country if it
was carefully husbanded and ap-
piled to irrigating uses. Indeed,
but a very small proportion OF the avail
able water of our streams is utilized, and
the exigencies OF a dry season would
arouse our people to the necessity of
greatly enlarging and extending our
irrigating facilities. Nothing, perhaps,
will cause our people to awaken to the
necessity of utilizing every drop of our
available water more quickly than the
hard lessons which season of drouth
would teach.
Those who can look back thirty years
to the condition of these then 'cow"
counties, will remember that it was
season of disastrous drouth that first
taught our people the value OF irriga-
| ton. The whole country had been de-
voted to cattle raising, and mems wealth
was reckoned by the number of steers
they possessed. Land had no value be-
yond that which it had for grazing pur-
poses. There were few vineyards in
choice places in the valleys and near
the missions; corn was raised in small
quantities here and there, but there was
no regular farming, and horticulture
was so circumscribed that it
really counted for nothing ia the
industries of profit in this part
of the state. But when the notable
drouth of the season of 1854 occurred
over the whole state, it was felt with in
tense severity in Southern California.
The cattle were swept away. Men who
had thousands of head, and were among
the wealthy ranch-owners OF these
counties, found themselves suddenly
impoverished. Their land was value
less without stock, and there was no
stock to be had. They were forced to
turn their attention to agriculture; and
from that time irrigation became
an important and increasing factor
in the growth and prosperity
OF these counties. Had it not
been for this destructive season of
drouth, several decades might have
passed before the real value of our lands
would have been demonstrated; and
the development of our county on lines
that have proved so benefcent and
profitable might have been kept back
indefinitely.
Irrigation has really been at the base
OF all the grand development which has
brought our section to its present splen-
did stage of prosperity. Whilst dry
season can have no such terrors for us
as it has for countries that rely alto
gether upon rains for their crops, it
might serve to arouse US to the
Importance Of more thorough
and exhaustive system of irriga-
tion-a system that would utilize
all the available water in our streams,
and that would let none of it go to
waste in the ocean, as it is now going
every day in the year.
The time has come when, instead OF
carrying water long distances in open
bitches, it will be distributed in close
pipes. 1t is estimated that our open
zanja system in this city lost, through
seepage, gopher holes and evaporation,
three-fifths of the quantity taken out
at the tomas before it reached the land
upon which it was used. Such
waste will not long be per-
mit.ed when the acreage to be
irrigated is very nearly equal to the sup
ply Of water available forirrigation. AS
intense farming increases in these coun-
ties, the value of water will become too
great to permit that it should either be
allowed to so to waste in our streams, or
that it should be reduced in quantity by
evaporation or seepage in open bitches.
A dry seaeon would naturally hasten the
period when all our available water will
be utilized by the best and most ap
proved methods of catchment and dis
tribution.