Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-04-18
SOLVING THE PROBLEM.
Water Rights Along the Bio Grande
Discussed by Major W.
H. H. Llewellyn.
The Up-Country Appropriation and
Lower Valley shortage Howt to
Meet the Difficulty.

Major W. II. II. LIewellyn, in conversa-
tion yesterday with New MEXICAN
reporter, called attention to the recent
reports in this journal that parties in Ell
Paso were preparing to test the legality
of certain water appropriations on IT
upper Rio Grande, with view to takirg
some action to stop such use of the water
in the San Luis valley and thereby let it
come down to tho lower Rio Grande.
The major said: II take issue and differ
with nearly all the persons with whom l
have conversed on this subject; and do
not think the appropriations in the San
Luis valley have any effect whatever on
the flow in the lower Rio Grande in south
ern New Mexico and western Texas.
THE SPANISH NARRATIVES
Inform us that the river was dry at Paso
del Norte over 200 years ago. Coming
down to more recent times We know twas
dry in the sixties and again in '79. Sew
eral more dry years are remembered by
the older inhabitants of the valley, and
We are all aware of the fact that there
were no bitches or appropriations other
than few small Mexican acequias in the
San Luis valley at that time to divert the
water from its channel. Tho trouble in
my opinion is that the Rio Grande is q
ToRRRHTIAL STREAM OF THE FIRST
MA0NIrJDH,
Depending entirely upon the rain and suow
fall upon the high mountains'siong the up
per third Of it's course. Whenever there is
year or series Of years of light fall OF
snow and rain, but especially the first, in
the mountains the following season is in
variably dry, and there is shortage of
water. The appropriations in the San
LUIS valley have nothing to do with it;
and in my opinion the thing to do is not
to study up some bothersome suit against
our neighbors but to endeavor to
REMEDY THE EVIL WITH NATURAL METHODS.
The solution of the question according
to my idea 10 in constantly divsrting the
water from the river, spreading il over
the soil by high line canals, storing II in
reservoirs and developing the underfow.
High line canals along tho river will have
constant tendency to increase the fow
Of the river during the low water periods,
because it will be slowly seeping back to
the river during this time from the water
soaked soil. That the flow of rivers be-
comes constant whom irrigation il prac-
ticsd on large scale 10 we'll known fact.
As TO THE uNDERYLow
tho experiments already made show that
every ditch now along the Rio Grande
below Embudo could be constantly sup
piled, if recourse was had to this inex-
pensive process. II is only necessary
from about the point of the ditch head to
sink few test wells to determine the
level of the water plain and then drift
back at the ditch gradient in the water
bearing sand. This really affords The
main ditch we'll of from a mile to three
miles long. have myself personally ex-
amined one ditch in Kansas carrying
800 CUBIC FEET OF wArzs
Per second that draws its supply wholly
from this source. If the intelligent peo-
pie will only advocate such measures We
will not be long troubled with the con-
flicting rights Of Colorado, New Mexico
and Texas to the water Of the Rio
Grande."