The Delta independent., 1904-10-21
HOME BUILDING IN WEST
Example Of the Working Of Re.
cent National irrigation Act.
HIGHEST DAM IN THE WORLD
uigantic Reclamation Works in Arizona
How Irrigation Fund Is Created
and How Il Will Be used-End.
less Chain of Arid Money.

Hon. Alexander o. Brodic. Governor
of Arizona. in an article on Irrigation.
appea ring in the October number Of the
Cosmopolitan. referring to the operations
of the National Irrigation Act in the
arid regions Of the West. says in part:
The first application of the new lrri-
CATION law has fallen t" the territory of
A rizoua Three millions of dollars have
been set aside by the Secretary of the
Interior from the reclamation fund for
the construction of a dam Mt the mouth
of the Tnnto creek on Salt river. Work
upon this dam is now under way. Ce-
Inent works to manufacture the cement
needed in the construction of the great
dam are being built also an electrical
power plant. The river is being di-
verted by the construction of tun-
mel through the mountain in order that
there shall be no Interference from that
source during construction.
Immense Reservoir.
THE Tonto reservoir. when created by
the construction Of the dam, will cover
l4OOO acres. The height Of the dam
will be 2iJ feet and the depth of the
water stored at the dam will be lC
feet: the dam will be 1GI feet thick at
the bottom and 1G feet thick at the top.
In length it will he l1D feet at the base
and tc,3 feet at the top. This will he
the highest dam in the world. The stor-
age capacity of the reservoir will be
greater than that of almost any three
artificial reservoirs ever built. sufficient
TO cover 800. 600 acres of land one foot
in depth.
The reservoir will supply water sufii-
cient to irricatc 10000 acres of land.
There are in Salt River Valley about
10000 acres of land suitable for irri-
CATION. Under the present system of un-
"rrtain water supply. only 1lI.n0 acres
are under rultivntion-m"re land. how
ever. than the supply of water warrants.
II was estimated that the flow of wa
= Ter last year would bring full yield Of
crops from about 1,.'s0 acres.
Crop. Always Sure.
The benefits to accrue in Salt River
Valley can thus readily he seen. When
"" consider that from four TO seven cut
,inSs Of alfalfa are possible during the
year in the Salt River Valley. what will
L.. the yield-nade certain by water
stored and ready fog use-undcr the con.
.litions created by the Tonic dam?
With the certainty OF pas'uraSe in the
valley. cattlcmen will engage more ex-
vegetables will seek an open new markc,
in the interior mining districts. and thou
sands Of farms will become more profit.
able II is estimated that a million
and half dollars worth Of alfalfa hay
| and fat cattle are exported from Sal,
| River Valley annually. With a full croE
OF from cpO.0Oo I" :IoOUO acres. the
eaith-pr",lucinS capacity of alfalfa
alone will be- sufficient to pay for tho
reservoir in ic>s time than is allotted By
/ laws to the farmers
Il have felt that the creation of the
| Tonto reservoir is but the forerunneI
of further systems at water storage ia
| aid of irrigation in Arizona: that event
ually upon all streams in the territory
| where proper sitter can be found. irrisa
tion works will he constructed; tha,
! where the food water supply is fount
! sufficient TO guarantee. more than ons
reservoir will be created upon = single
stream in orler that the control of al
surplus water may he had.
| The new era of progress in the nrit
region of the United States has set il
| with an enthusiasm that means success
for as Emerson wrote. Nothing Srea,
| was ever achieved without enthusia sm.
."
1t may thus be seen by the slkht ref
| erence TO this one project. what the gov
ernmcnt is already doing in the arit
States of the West. There are abou
ST .0OO.O 600 now in the recla mation fund
as result of the sale Of government
! lands in the arid States. where irricatio,
opera ,ions are to be established. 1t take
/ hut little stretch Of tn" Imagination I,
pcrcrivc the incaIcuIahle hruetits deS
riue,i to come I" Arid America" durIns
the next quarter Of a century under til,
operations of this wholesome American
1 project.
Explanation of Irrigation Fuad.
| We frequently see mentioned in pa
! rcrs not thoroughly informs-l on thi.
subject. that such and such fund ha,
i--en set aside f"r rsclaiuinS the ari,
, West. Other puhlica tiou>. s~,uallv icuo
| rant Of the true status. hrwail the fac
that the p..,plc Of the sn,irr Unite,
States are to be tax.~i fer the bcnet
of the >par>.ly populated West. Eori
positions ar' untcnablr and are equsll,
widely divergent of the facts pertain
| lug to the situation a. it exists.
Again let i: b. said for the informa
tiou of all interested. and all who car,
, :" h.Srmc interested. that no definite ~
| by Congress for the reclamation of tn,
arid West. The act provides that a,
moneys rrreirsl from the sale OF pub
lie lands in the thirteen States and thre-
! Territories described arr to he turneS
into the fund for irrigation purposes. les,
: per cent.
Easy to Own q Home.
The Act further provides that the Is ne
shall BE- sold 10 sctusi occupants. VIII,
! shall return Ia tho government, in tel
,~Iusl annusi iustAlm"ut<, the cn~t NJ
! bringing water To the land: that il til,
reclamation If h.s.ly vt 100000 acres n
: lsu,l should cNSt Sibpun. Of $40 pei
, aCrr. then 'hr artnal c-rupsnt would b,
rNl~sctrl !" reimburse I" Uncle Sam tbs
$40 per acr' in ten equal annual install
! meats nt 81 per acre each.
\fvrr ten YEARS th" "utirr amount cN
prnd,-i in the ,N'n>truCti"n nf reservoirs
dams and irrigation systems grncrsll
Will r-turu again to tho treasury II th,
luu,~i States. and can thus hr <rut GU
gain on H. fructifriuc mission Of phi
lau;arvpy and home building Meantime