The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-05-28
tt. Be GREATEST
DAM IN AMERICA.
Vast Lake TO Hold Four Hundred
Billion Gallons Of Water for x
Irrigation in Arizona.
WHAT THE. WORK WILL MEAN
Reservoir Will Give Relief to
Pcrishing Farms Along
Salt River.
WHAT THE WORK WILL MEAN
BY Guy Elliott Mitchell.

Il
ton constructions In progress Is the
Salt River or "Roosevelt' dam In Ar,-
zona, and considerable criticism has
been made OF the course OF the secre-
tary OF the Interior in setting aside be-
tween three and four million dollars for
this project, which will irrlgatc no pub
lie lands but only those already in pri-
vatc ownership. vastly increasing, OF
course. their value. The work which
/ the government will do under this pro-
ject will double and quadruplc land val
ues. and In fact make much land that
Is now practically useless worth from $40
to 500 an acre. Some 100000 acres
will be irrigated under these works, and
+ the artificial reservoir to be formed by
the Roosevelt dam Will be by far the
largest in the United States with the
incredible capacity of nearly 400 BILL
lion gallons This Is three times the
capacity OF the great Wachusett reservoir
which Is to supply Boston and twice that
OF the famous Croton dam of New York.s
new water works.
The criticism referred to Of building
government works to supply water to
such section as the Salt. River Valley
where the lands are all in private own err
and reclaiming public lands is one which
will not hold upon second thought. The
Salt River Valley has been a i famous
section Of the arid west. Twenty years
4 ago 1t was a vast, flat plain, sklrted by
mountains rejecting the wonderful icolors
and Stints OF the southwest. but nourish-
Ing only the cactus and other desert
plants. The Salt River cut its center,
sparkling live-gtving stream, and pri-
vate capital undertook to utilize its
waters for irrigation and build up
great community. Dams were built,
canals were constructed, and thousands
I of acres were planted to;oranges. lemons.
figs, dates, raislnS and wine grapes. al:
rnonds. pomegranates. and all the fruits
and flowers Of the scmI-tropics. not to
mention broad fields Of emerald alfalfa.
where fat cattle stood knee deep in the
$luxuriant growth. But the valley is
to day crippled and sick. The canal
system laid out was based upon the
heavy annual rainfalls which prevailed
at that time and sufficient data had
not been gathered to show that the
period was one of fat years and that
the lean years OF drouth would surely
follow. They came, however, over the
whole southwest. as can be seen by a 4
study Of the rainfall charts Of that re-
8gion, and the result has been hat&thou-s
sands OF acres Of orchard and farm have
the Desert came In and claimed back his Il
own. 1t is simply question, then, in the
Salt River Valley, and in some other
sections. as to whether 1t is not as good
or better policy for Uncle Sam to save 4
the homes OF several thousand pioneers,
who are perlshInG for want OF wa ter,
as it Is to&reclaim new raw lands, and
put new settlers upon them.
From Brook to a Torrent.
The flow; OF the Salt River Valley Is 4
variable in the extreme. At low water
periods 1t runs something like 100 cubic
feet per second, In one great flood the
river swept down the valley at the rate
I OF 100000 cubic feet per second The
twelfth annual report of the Geological
Survey describes the flood of 1881 as
follows, all Of which ran. uselessly to the
sea for lack Of storage.
"On February II. the discharge was
s35 cubic feet per second. increasing the
next day to $4,000 cubic feet and on the
18th to 27600O cubic feet This was fol-
lowed by second greater SWELL until
on the oath maximum Of $1,000 cubic
feet was reached. z s85,
The Roosevelt dam is to control and
store such floods. About sixty miles
from Phoenix, the Salt River enters a
profound canyon, with lofty, precipitous
walls and a narrow floor in which Is
located the dam site. Above the dam
the canyon opens into wide valleys, pro-
Yiding the most capaciOus reservoir, ( In
the west. ut would probably be i'm
possible to find anywhere in the arid re-
gion.'' said Government Engineer Arthur
P. Davis, the protector Of this magnif1-
cent enterprise, % storage project in
which all conditions are as favorable as
In this one. The capacity Of the reser-
voir in proportion to the dimensions of
the dam is enormous and the lands to
be watercd are of remarkable fertility
with a climate which may be classed as
almost scmi-tropic !"
Mr.. Davis also made the important dis
covcry that material for making good
Portland cement and bricks lies immedi-
ately by the dam site. He states that
the masonry dam now under construc-
ton will be absolutely permanent-"safe.
solid and secure for all ages to come,
a part OF the everlasting hills Of which
IT will become an integral part"
Finding that the prices bid by the
cement manufacturers would add an In
| creased burden Of half a million or
llmore dollars to the payments OF the
irrgators, tho government constructed
an immense cement mill and Will itself
manufacture the 100000 Or more barrels
OF cement needed for the dam. a splen-
did roadway, rivaling the mountain roads
of the Incas, has been built from Phoenix
to the dam, at cost OF over hundred
thousand dollars, The cost of the ems
tire construction, three million and a
half dollars, will be apportioned among
the. lands receiving the water, to be.
paid back to the government in ten an
nual instaments. md no water user
can hold more than 100 acres.
The River to Build It's Own Dam
An interesting feature Of heaconstruc-
ton work Is tho power canal which has;
already been built. The regular flow
of the river has been diverted above the
dam site and at that point is tuWbled
| over tho rocks. generating some 10, 900
electrical horse power to be utilized az
building the dam. It will DO required
day and night for drilling, moving great
rocks pumping, grinding rock and clinls-.
ers, mixing and handling cement and;
handling machinery. The. river Is thus
| being forced to erect Its own dam. After;
the construction. this power, added "a
! large additional power to ba extra cteds
from the heavy fall Of the river below