The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-06
TELLS OF PLANS
FOR IRRIGATION
State Engineer Doremus Sub
mits Biennial Report.
EXPLAINS VARIOUS PROJECTS
MAKES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
CONSERVING WATER SUPPLY.

The biennial report of State Engineer
Doremus. which rs a thorough and ex-
haustive treatise on irrigation and the
schemes to improve it in Utah. has been
fued with Governor Wells The report
deals with the various irrigation propo-
fitions in detail Mr.. Doremus tells how
the irrigation systems can be improved
and what it will require to make the
necessary improvements. He deals with
the propositions that have been proposed
and makes some valuable sugge stions as
20 what should be done The report will
be printed in book form and will be il
lustIated with many half-tone angrav-
ings Of water sites. reservoirs and rivers.
'Whilc the immediate effect of the
shortage Of the water supply throughout
Utah. states the report. has been dis
enlargement and apprehension that IN
some cases approached cOnsternattOn the
ultimate effect promises to be more bene-
fetal than hUTtful. Scarcity has made
plain the need Of some means of 1nSur-
auce against reCurrent draught and led
10 the discussion and development of
plans for utilizing waste water for sup
plementng The supply OF the several r.
riga ton systems. Principal among the
plans which have been developed for this
purpose are those upon which work has
been commenced by the Mammoth Res
ervJir company in Sanpete county and
the Weber Reservoir Power Irrigation
company. The work contemplated by
each company is Of more than ordinary
magnitude and Importance.
The report gives an extended descr1p-
tiOH of the installation of the large pump
ing plant al the outlet of Utah lake and
of .he plans and purposes of the Nam
moth Reservoir company and the Weber
Reservoir. Power & Irrigation company.
Chief among the projects that are be
ing discussed for the betterment of the
strawberry valley and the Bear lake
schemes.
Explains Utah Lake Scheme.
The Utah lake project is the most i'm
pOrtant in ,he estimation Of state En-
riner Dorsmps, as il affects more land
and a greater number of people than any
other project in the state.
plans for improving Utah lake as
source Of water supply have been dis
Cussed IN different forms for ten years
or more. but nothing worthy of the sit
uation and possibilities has so TER been
undertaken Under existing conditions
Utah lake furnishes in ordinary seasons
a partial supply of water to about 5000
acres OF land now Under the canals which
have their sources in the Jordan river. In
seasons o. scarcity. the supply is entirely
insufficient for this area and great loss
I'm crops results. II is thought that the
than is needed to irrigate fully all the
land En- Salt Lake valley which lies below
the lake level The plan now under con
siGeration contemplated d curtailment of
this loss by increasing TIC depth and de-
Creasipg the area of the lake. There is
no doubt that the filled marshes and
lake segregations reclaimed for agricul-
tural purposes would be worth as much
20 Utah county as the increased water
supply would be worth to Salt Lake
county. and that both would be greatly
benefited through such work.
Committees have been appointed and
arc now at work eudeaVOTing to combine
and unity existing interests in order 10
forestall any litigation that might Occa-
sion delay I'm inducing the government To
at once undertake the work. Very salts
factory progress along these lines is be
ing made. and 1t is expected that in
very short time all the necessary prelim-
inaries will have been disposed of and
the way made clear for government &C
ton"
Plan to Divert the Strawberry.
The Strawberry valley scheme cOntem-
plates as boli piece Of engineering work
as any OF the plans mentioned in the
state engineers report. Ii is proposed To
construct an earthen dam about forty
five feet high and 600 feet long across
the main fork Of Strawberry creek 10
form a reservoir for storing the surplus
water Of the creek.
II an auxiliary reservoir is constructed
the double basin viii have capacity of
about g5O.000 acrc-feet. The reservoirel
water will be conducted in a three and
one-half mile tunnel through the noun
tain range into Diamond creek 4 branch
Of spanish Fork river. and the augmented
How of the latter stream will be utilized
on the delicently irrigated land in the
southern part Of Utah county.
Like the other projects mentioned. the
Strawberry valley scheme is a CO-Opera-
tive organization for 5he people and after
fully supplying the now deficiently irri-
gated lands. othar tracts in Utah county
now without water will have been sup
piled. Rather. il is not the establishing
of a new system. but the combining. pre-
serving and extending of the existing If
rigation system.
Referring to the Bear lake reservoir
project. the report observes that stOT-
age capacity of $4,000 acre-feet of addl-
uonal water can be provided by retain
ing the fcod and winter water Of the
lake. The stored water would then be
available for diversion by the canals
which take water from Bear river below
the lake outlet and could be utilized as
supplemental 10 the present right or in
the reclamation Of arid land. or for both
purposes. Interstate rights may present
obstacles TO the execution of any plan
Unless the government itself should un-
dertake the work. Two private CORPORA
ton are Al work upon plans for convert
ing Bear lake into mommoth reservoir.
Grand River Plan Important.
The report mentions the Grand river
canal project as one of importance and
calculated to increase the water supply
IN southeastern Utah and providing
means for irrigating the large 'deltoidal