The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-12-13
Engineer Kelsey's Report on Posi-
bilities of Big Cottonwood.
PROPOSALS TO EXCHANGE
CANAL WATER IN TRADE FOR
CANYON SUPPLY.
Pipe Line From Paper Mill to Fifth
South Street Would Cost S235 GOO
AT a Minimum 100000 Gal
Ions Daily Could Be Obtained
Power Plant Rights.

City Engineer Kelsey submitted TO
the council last evening his long-ex-
pected report of his researches for data
bearing upon the subject of procuring
larger water supply for Salt Lake from
Big Cottonwood canyon. But the re-
port was incomplete, and permission
was given to withdraw it, with the un-
derstanding that the conclusions and
various recommendations should be
ritten up and embodied in the report
by the end of the week.
The important part of the report
deals with the question of exchanging
city canal water for equal quantities
of canyon water and conducting the
pure mountain water to this city in
a pipe line Altogether several score
of Big Cottonwood farmers owning
nearly 1900 acres of land, have gned
proposed agreements showing Their
Willingness to enter into water trading
contracts
Half the Farmers Will Trade.
Below the present route of the city
canal are 1920 acres OF farm land, and
out of this total farmers owning prime
rights to Big Cottonwood canyon for
1862 acres are willing to exchange
even up for canal supply. On the Tan
ner ditch 423 acres out of 1,431 Will ex-
change. Under the big ditch, 1.529 out
of 1858 acres will consent. and the en-
tire 80 acres under the FAIR and Har-
per ditch are reported by Engineer
Kelsey s ready to enter the deal. Own
ers of primary rights to 31S acres un-
der the lower ditch, or nearly half. are
willing to trade outright, sell or ex-
change on condition that TIE city will
furniSn them canyon water for domes-
tic uses Under the Hill ditch are 1863
acres, out of which 233 will exchange
water.
A total of 2,692 acres is above the
contour grade of the citys big ditch
if brought from Utah lake along the
highest possible route. and 991 acres
are between the present route and the
contour line. thereby occurring nearly
LOCO acres additional to exchange water
rights upon.
In other words. the owners of very
nearly cGe-half of all the land under
these canyon bitches which could be ir-
rigated from the city canal, are willing
to exchange water rights. In the upper
part of Big Cottonwood district water
for domestic or culinary uses is OBJ
tanned from the bitches. while below the
canal flowing wells are very common
Amount of Water to Be Traded.
F. Accurate measurements of water in
the bitches named from June 16 to the
end of October of this year show the
daily volume in cubic feet per second
as follows: Tanner ditch, from 2S.9,
maximum, to 81. minimum; big ditch,
1861 TO So; FAIR and Harper'S, 30 to 3;
lower ditch, 10.1 to Is. No measure
menes were obtained from the Hill
ditch.
Since a cubic foot of water by the
standard of flow measurement per sec
ond is equivalent TO $4,000 gallons daily
the volume of water obtainable from
these sources on the exchange plans
would be not less than 6.500,000 gallons
each day. based on the measurements
of minimum flow from late in July to
the time of autumn rains. This is more
than half the quantity of water used in
this city any day in the summer.
To conduct Big Cottonwood water in
a pipe line from just below the old
Light & Power companl. to connect
Wifi, the pipe system on East Fifth
South street, would cost, Engineer KEEL
sey estimates. s235, The distance
would be 552. 400 feet. and the conduit
would have a daily capacity of 25,000,
OCO gallons. Ample pressure would be
obtained.
OF the power rights below the pro-
posed head of the pipe line only one of
any consequence. worth about $4,000.
would have to be condemned, but it
would MOI be so difficult, the engineers
report states, if the city could furnish
substitute other power TO run the grist
mill.