Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1905-12-15
SANTA FE LANDS
EASY TO RECLAIM
important Report
Made by Engi-
neer Collins.
PERMANENT WATER SUPPLY
Reservoirs Near City Could
Easily Improve Thousands
of Acres.

ciVll Engineer G. A. Collins has
mace survey as to the possibilities
Oh the irrigation Of a large amount of
land IN the neighborhood Of Santa Fe
ana the results Of the survey show
mat there are thousands of fertile
acres that could be reclaimed with
comparatively little cost
IN the Salt River Valley in Arizona
and in the Mesilla Valley New Mexico
the cost of reclaiming land Will be
about SO an acre. Engineer Collins
estimates that land here could be re,
claimed for S2S.5O an acre. His re-
port is as follows:
Mr.. Collins Report.
The possibility of irrigating the
Iesuque and the Santa Fe Valleys
from the Little Tesuque River is ex.
cellent.
With this object in view, recently
made a reconnaissance of the upper
lesuque watershed and the divide be.
tween 1t and the Santa Fe Valley.
nave taken measurements of the flow IN
the Tesuque for two years, and before
lhat time referred to the government
reports on rainfall and compared them
with the immense area drained. On
careful investigation of this canon
found three excellent reservoir sites
winch would impound an immense
amount OF water by storage.
The flow of the Little Tesuuue is
not sufficient in itself to irrigate very
much land; but by large storage reser
yoirs it would irrigate an immense
area.
mere is one reservoir site in the
canon where a reservoir 200 feet high
could be built, with length of GO feet
on the bottom and 400 feet on top.
Such a reservoir would necessitate
very heavy construction with rock and
and concrete, but would hold an i'm.
mense amount of water when complet-
ed. 1t would hold back water nearly a
mile up the canon, and would average
500 feet wide, holding enough at one
filling to irrigate about 5000 acres In
the lower Tesuque Valley.
Storage Reservoirs.
BY making cut through the divide
between the Rio Tesuque and Rio San
ia Fe for about 1000 feet, the flow can
come down the arroyo north of the
Federal building and be stored In a res.
ervoir about three-fourths of a mile
north of the Plaza. About this reser-
yor the slope could be parked and
serve as a place of recreation for the
tourists.
From this storage reservoir the ex-
cess water can be carried across the
city In a flume to dry, natural basin
south of the Indian School, and again
southwest to third and fourth natur-
al basin. From each or these storage
basins the land lying west of the San
ia F'e Central Railway may be irrigat-
ed for about two or three miles.
"The flow of the Little Tesuoue
would fill the large reservoir first,
which supply would be saved to irri-
gate the lands in the lower Tesuque
all summer, and not interfere with the
present water rights of those settlers
there. After this first reservoir fills
the flow may be turned south through
the divide and fill the reservoir north
NJ hn nit rv1 hN1
to irrigate about 1900 acres and also
the three natural storage basins near
the Indian school which would hold
enough to irrigate about 800 acres
EACH This system would reclaim ap-
proximately 1000 acres of fine land
near the best of markets and railroads.
Cost to Reclaim.
The government is paying $40 per
acre for reclamation in the Mesilla
and the Salt River Valley in Arizona.
Now 1000 acres at $40 per acre would
allow us $2S0,000 for this work but
100000 would build such system in
substantial manner, each acre cost.
ing but $3.50.
"The U. S. government is doing a
great deal in the development of ir-
rigation works in New Mexico, where
the drainage area falls on U. S.
forest reserve, as is the case in this
plan.
''If Fred Plummer of the U. 8. for
estry bureau could visit this drainage
area and measure the flow, he would
undoubtedly recommend to the gov
ernment the construction of this sug-
gested system. The government has
a large corps of civil engineers pur-
posely to investigate the flow of
streams rising on the forest reserves.
in view Of taking them up, to construct
irrigation systems.
IF the enterprising citizens of San