Graham guardian., 1899-06-16
THE COMMITTEE REPORTS.

| To the Honorable Board Q
| Supervisors and people of th
Gila Valley. Kind greeting:
| We, your committee, appointe'
to Investigate the condition of thu
Glla valley waters and the various
other streams tributary thereto
as to hurtful substances flowing
oown the valley, that might b,
considered detrimental to vegeta
,ion and the health Of the people
beg leave to report as follows:
| Mr.. James Colquhoun, Manager
of the Arizona Copper Company
at Clifton laid bare every depart
ment in their works to the valley
portion of the committee who sub
jected every thing to the very
closest scrunity. The arizona
Copper Company take a flume OF
water from the San Francisco riv
er Immediately above the town
and as il flows into the mills it is
perfectly clear, at this season OF
the year, but after passing through
the various departments and the
tanks and machines enroute to the
river, il becomes very rily, being
mixed with what is known as tail
ings. To the casual observer,
without careful thought and in
vestigation, the verdict would be
that itls bad mess to flow into
our river.
From the crusher, the ore now
in form of gravel is divided by
screens and carried to the jigging
machinery where it is subjected to
a thorough washing, the jigging
motion, together with the water
separating the particles of copper
from the sand and gravel, the
metal cllngiug to a rubber belt,
which in turn is washed off by
water. Adopting the principle Of
of gravity, everything gravltates
towards the rlver, but all valuable
materials are checked, allowing
nothing TO escape but sand and
dirt, which has no worse effect on
the water than to make it rily.
To secure the metal from cheap.
er grade of ore, a chemical process
is adopted where acid is used.
From this method comes the
imaginary harm to the waters be.
low. The company make most of
this fluid from iron pyrites found
in the mountains at considerable
cost and could i'll afford TO waste
any OF it in the river; besides
should they Lev any escape it
would prove beneficial rather than
hurtful because OF its neutralising
qualities, beng anti alkali, it
would take care of this hurttuI sub
stance so abundant in the Frisco
river because of the richly mineral
warm springs flowing into il. In
of no ireshets this
spring, the Copper Company are
obliged TO employ men TO remove
the tailings as it leaves the null
of white slhcate
aun red sand which is dumped on
the roads and used to improve the
emhaukments As the finer sub.
stances 60 into the river, 1t leaves
it milky white color mingled
with red Immediately below the
town are several gardens, each of
which are using this milky fluid
for irrigation. Mr.. Hill has about
30 acres, choice land, the most of
which is rented by Cinnamon, ana
under the highest state of cult.
vation in all kinds of garden truck
and orchard; the vegetables are
far in advance and much superior
to those generally raised in the
valley, while the trees and grape
vines lock perfectly healthy and
are loaded with choice fruit. Apri.
cots are just turning ripe. In con.
with Mr., Hill, the com.
mittee was assured that if any
damage was being done to bis
farm Of about l60 acres, he would
likewise be heard from. The gar.
den resembles a white washed field
The sediment in the furIows and
irrigatlng channels being lined
with white formation; while
damp it forms crust, which when
dry Gissolves like so much brick
dust.
There are two more proposl
tions TO be considered, one is the
disposition of the waste liquor
coming from the chemical vats
and the other is the hot mineral
springs. The committee is per,
ieclly satisfied, and trusts the
Board and people are also conr,nc.
ed that no bad effects come from
the talhngs flowing into the river.
II the acid liquor above referred
to was allowed to escape
into the rWer, no harm would
come from it, but it is not. The
refuse liquid called sulphate of
iron is run over into Chase creek
canyon, whore it evaporates ana
sinks, leaving residue which is
preuipated as an insoluable salt OF !
iron that collects in the bottom ofI
the tanks. That portion which
sinks, seems to be acted upon by |
L. No., 1,,,,,o t;on in tho hnd nFl