Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-12-07
The Great Project
for Reclamation,
lconclndea from page -

Texas above III paso, and $4,000 acres
In ri paso valley below III Paso.
There will be no good land submerg.
cd by this reservoir. IL will be To-
Gated In New Mexico and subject TO
the operations of y. s. reclamation
service. while the international dam.
which contemplatcs only the irriga'
tion of 3 5000 acres Of land, would
be owned Jointly by W nations.
Vastly Favorable to Enole Dam.
The following Is a summary Of
the results OF an investigation fe'
Gently held by a board OF consulting
engineers on tho designs and csti'
mates for the proposed international
and Engle dams;
1. The proposed Engle reservoir
has a capacity Of two million acre
feet. AZ against about half a million
acre feet that can be provided by
the proposed international reservoir
at I'll paso.
.. Tho Eugle reservoir viii furn.
ish for irrigation six hundred thou
sand acre foot Of water per annum.
while The International will furnish
only one hundred eighty thousand
acre feet.
3. The Engle will lose no water
by overflow while the international
Will waste a very large part Of the
inflow.
q, with d given amount OF water
tho rngIc will present only onehaif
the surface for evaporation that WIN
be presented by the international
K Silt deposits VIII accumulate
with almost double rapidly IN the
~internatlonl Ms IN the Engle.
9. The Engle reservoir Is deep
and narrow. while the International
reservoir Ii wide and shallow: any
process Of sluicing out mud VIII be
nine times "a efficient In tho former
as in the latter.
7. The Engle reservoir Will store
ina entire flow Of the river without
waste and with n minimum evapora'
ton and will prevent disastrous
floods along the valley occupied by
several important towns and by the
santa Fe railroad. while the interna
tional reservoir viii waste the wat
er by overflow. present conditions
producing a maximum OF evaporation
regulate no floods above El Paso'
cover twenty-five Thousand acres OF
good land near El Paso and make
marsh land Of 5000 more acres
above IL and produce unsanitary con
ditions at El Paso.
s The international dam propos
en- to destroy 10000 acres Of good land
Immediately north OF Ei paso. In or
der TO irrigate about $4,000 acres below
Ei raso; while the Engle reservoir
proposes to rrigatc the 10000 acres
Of land that the other would destroy
n 10 irrigate the $4,000 acres DC
low ri paso, and In addition to irr'
gate 10000 acres above In New Mexi
co, d total of 10000 acres all Of which
IL tributary to El paso.
Plenty o. ,rrIoabis Land.
A study Of thew alter supply or the
Rio Grande M measured at San Mar
ciai. regulated by the proposed Enelt
dam, shows that o 1900 acre feet o
water could have bee drawn from
the reservoir. and this IN used an .
basis for estimating the future duty
At the rate Of three and onethirt
feet In depth for irrigation. the wateI
would serve 10000 acres, the sur
veys show irrigable land about as fol
lows:
Above penasco Rock 40.o00a cres.
penasco Rock TO Texas line so,up'
acres,
In Texas above El raso, 2o,oo'
acres.
In Texas below lei paso. 1000
acres.
According TO the above figures III
Engle dam would furnish water 4
10000 acres of land In New Mexico
and 2 COCO acres Ia Texas, or a tota
OF 1870 geo acres OF land above III pasc
and a surplus of water sufficient 10
10000 acres which could be emplie
into the river for use below ID I'aso
Seven Million Dollar Project.
The cost Of the project, includln
the reseryoira nd all diversion works
and canals above El paso, Is ostima
ed at 81, zoe, 900 or $40 per acre on $50
600 acres, This is less than the valu
of irrigated land In this valley. tn
main item Of cost is the dam 81
will require about 500. 600 barrels {
cement q arse amount IT maohinor.
for instance, caused vast damage /
.x.ffnt. g. fmxtal&