The silver lance., 1897-08-13
A BIG UTAH SCHEME.
IRRIGATION COMPANY WITH Ci-
OANTIC PLANS.
Contemplate the Impou'"'nk OF sov'or
River Water Into Great bsssns-Tnrcs
Mammoth Reservoirs ana scores OF
xIles of bitches = Men Behind the
Scheme.

Springvi1le, Utan, aug. o.-ISudy an
important step was taken toWaro tne
consummation In Miliarn county tnis
state, of one of the biggest irrlgation
enterprises ever undertaken III tne
West If the project is carried through
II will mean the reclamation of an area
of arid land half as great in extent as
all the land now cultivated in Utah-
The plans of the Lake Bonneville wa
ter and Power Company, when nleo
an application for the segregation OF
223.O 600 acres of land under the ACT
known as the Acceptance OF the carey
Act" involves the utilization Of natural
advantages in the construction OF
reservoir system large enough to irri-
gate a vast domain. The three reser-
voirs to be constructed will be the iarg-
est in this country, the storage system
in consequence the largest, whiie the
tributary land to be irrigated ID tne
greatest in extent of any area IN any
single irrigation system.
The engineering work includes tne
construction of a main canal ninety
miles in length. which will be thirty
feet wide at the bottom and ten 1eet
deep. For seventeen miles this canai
will be built through mountain canon.
Besides the main canal there VIII pe
$50 miles of laterals. The total expense
will be in excess of $2.2oO.0OO. there pc
ing one item alone of S4JO.OOO for the
large masonry dam at the head OF tne
canon.
The enterprise contemplates the I'M
pounding of the waters OF the sewer
river in reservoirs. There will be three
Of these reservoirs in the system, Win
a capacity respectively OF 1O.SU,oo'-
900. 5.445 OOO. 900 and 17.424 .00O.OOO GU
1T In
guaee Of the engineer. give 25O,OOO,
125.O 600 and 100000 acre feet. With full
reservoirs the system will contain water
to irrigate 775OOO acres Of land. Into
these great storage basins will be
poured the waters of the Sewer river,
with its drainage area of $500 square
miles.
The river has a maximum volume or
1850 cubic feet and an average vol
ume of about one-fourth the maximum
stated. A conservative estimate
shows water enough passing between
Its banks each year to irrigate 25O,UOO
acres of land on the basis of one foot
Of water being then required for irri-
CATION. In other words. the annual
volume of the Sewer would cover 25O.-
600 acres OF land one foot deep with
water This. it is believed. will amply
suffice to make the bench lands of the
vast valley to smile with the gifts of
bOunteous nature.
For thirty miles the Oregon Short
Line runs through the center OF the
tract of land to be irrigated and for
six miles of the distance along res
ervoir site. This half dozen miles of
trackage will have to be removed and
a new route found. The Short Line
has agreed to make the change and has
co-operated with the company in ev-
cry way possible. 1t has in view a
colonization scheme. which promises
to he more successful than any ever
before projected in Utah
The land to be irrigated is of hne
quality. and the altitude Of 4.SOO feet
is not too great for the successful
growth of fruits. cereals and root
crops. Millard county is one of the
most fertile sections of Utah, and has
wide tracts Of undeveloped lands, now
waste and unproductive because OF the
difficulty OF irrigation. The contour
Of the country prevents many small
successful irrigation schemes, and for
this reason the people give the greater
welcome to the Lake Bonneville peo-
pie. They are convinced of the Won
derful fertility of the soil, fact dem
onstrated by the filings upon 2O,OOO
acres oi ldnu since the last survey De-
gan.
The lands embraced in the scheme
are entirely in Millard county and
form part of the Sewer valley. a vast
alluvial plain, the prehistoric ha bita-
ton of some race akin to the cliff
Dwellers. judging from the pottery
and stone relics found
The official roster and directory of
the company is: President, NJ. B.
Hirsh of Philadelphia; vice president,
T. B. Beatty of Salt Lake: secretary.
j. A Street; general manager, t. ii.
Cayanaugh of Philadelphia. These
officers. with Robert Frank of Phila-
delphia- Fl. b. Clawson of Salt Lake
and Charles Hirsh of Philadelphia,
compose the board of directors. The
remainder Of the company are Phil
adelphia men, of the millionaire Hirsh
family. The capital stock of the COM
pany is fixed at 100000. of which
S15O.OOO is paid up. portion Of which
has been devoted to the purchase of
water rights along the river in the
area of reclamation.
V. G. Boyne. formerly chief engi-
neer of the Union Pacific, is consulting
engineer of the company. but all of the
work has been done by o. r. Young of
Salt Lake, the engineer of the Mount
Nebo Company.