Arizona republican., 1894-06-14
THE RIO VERDE CONTRACT.
Details of the Plan of Con
 StruCtion.
The immense Undertaking Is to Be Be Finished Before the
 Year 1896.

The Minneapolis Journal has the fol- lowing to say concerning the Rio Verde canal contract the details of which were not given in the Associated Press dispatch announcing the letting of the contract:
 The contract with Langdon. Linton x Go. calls for the building of about l0G miles of main canal, of carrying capacity of about l,G00 cubic feet of water per second, extending from the head of the canal, which is about one mile above Camp creek, and on the Verde river, to Jle southwestern angle or slope of the White Tank mountains. west of the Fria river; and Ilso the construction of diversion dam. spill way and headgates at the head of the canal and the completion oi rhe Horse shoe storage reservoir 0u the Verde river above the canal head. This st0r- age reservoir will cover an area of 3,4O2 acres and will store S929, 800 900 cubic feet of water.
 The contract contempl4te1 the com pletion of this work on or before De- cember 3l, 1895. The ex expenditure in volved under the present contract will be about $l 500, ,000. The contract now entered into does not provide for the construction Of lateraS and subsidiary canals, which will be constructed by the company and will involve an addi- tional expense The works to be con- structed under this contract will re- claim an area of about 250 ,000 acres. Of this, about 220,000 acres are first class fruit and farm lands and will be . first taken up and cultivated. The re mainder are good lands, but better adapted to fruit cultivation than to ordinary farming uses.
 Wnen initial construction as provided for under the present. c7ntraat shali have been completed, the main trunk canal will be enlarged and extended 10 the westward so that when the system is competed the company will furnish an adequate water supply to irrigate over 100000 acres of land The com pany controls the surplus of flood waters of the Verde and New rivers, the full quantity of $500 cubic feet per second. of flow, which, If it could be all i'm pounded. stored and used, would be sufficient to irrigate more than haif a million acres of land The total amount lO DS tAp5HuHQ Ou Uub SFSIGil WBll GA ceed $3, 100000 In addition 70 the Horseshoe reservoir on the Verde river the company owns three other storage locations, which will be subsequently, utilized.
 Of the land covered by initial con- struction, about 70,000 acres have al- ready been taken up or entered, under the desert land Jaw, and the company has already sold it's perpetual water rights calling for the service of water on 53, 800 acres of the entered lands. The country to be irrigated by these works is near Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, and adjacent to the present settled and developed portion of the Salt River valley. The altitude, lati- tude and climate of these lands are similar in all respects to those of San Barnardino and Riverside, in southern California, and the land is well adapted to the production of the high priced semi-tropical deciduous and citrus fruits.
 The firm of Langdon, Linton & Co.,, at the suggestion of the canal company, lately sent representative to Phoenix, and through him made thorough and exhaustive examination of the enter prise in all it's details. Having become satisfied of the entire practical ability of the enterprise, the Min neapolis firm entered into this contract. Donald II. Campbell, of the engineering firm of Campbell X Anderson, of Denver, Colo, is consulting engineer oi the canal company, and the works to be con- structed have been planned and loca- ted under his direction. Mr. Campbell has been in the city for the past ten days preparing plans and specifications for the construction of the enterprise, and aiding in making the contract for construction.