East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-05-28

FTOJect Engineer JOnn Il, whistler
who has been designated as the
father OF the Umatilla irrigation pro.
Ject, gave detailed review OF the
survey, location and construction OF
the project at Hermiston yesterday
and readers Of the East Oregonian
will find much information In his ex-
cellent compilation OF statistics.
The address is as follows, In full:
There is hardly anything / can say
to you as project engineer that would
be more appropriate than to relate
some Of the more important matters
concerning the development and
construction OF the project.
Statistics, l know, are usually dry,
but / fancy project statistics will
hardly seem as dry today as they
would year or less ago.
The first Investigations made by
the reclamation service in this region
were made in the spring and summer
OF 1903 by James G. Camp, now pro-
Ject engineer for Minidoka project,
Idaho.
Lines had ben run to determine
whether 1t would be feasible to divert
water from Snake river onto these
lands; although not round feasible to
do so, there appeared to be good
project for diverting Umatilla waters
onto the lands west of the river, u.s.
ing Juniper basin as storage reser-
voir site.
At that time we were looking for a
much cheaper and larger project, and
although the possibility of the pres
ent project was noted by Mr. Camp,
1t was not even reported upon because
1t would plainly be expensive.
Start on West Side.
Preparations were made to con-
struct the west side project In the
early spring OF 1905. but deep test
derlayed to a greater depth with sand
and a board of engineers finally re-
jected II.
Investigations were then made of
all possible storage sites in the Una
tilla river drainage basin, and as a
result the present project was consid-
cred sufficiently attractive to Justify |
the withdrawal from entry of all gov
ernment lands, which was done by |
order OF the secretary dated August
16, 1905, and the surveys proper may |
be said to have begun with this date
Project Recommended.
The project was recommended by |
a board of reclamation service engi- |
neers October 27, 1906, and was ap-
proved by Secretary Hitchcock De-
cember 4, 1905. and s1,00O,000 set
aside for its construction.
The work of making detailed sur
veys. locating the storage feed canal
and putting down test pits at the dam
site and along the feed canal was
carried on during the following win
ter and spring. and in the latter part
of June 1907, bids were opened for
the construction of Cold Springs dam
and the storage feed canal.
The contract for construction of
the storage feed canal was awarded TO
the Puget Sound Bridge and Dredging
of Seattle as the lowest bid
der All bids for construction of the
dam were rejected as being too high,
and II was re-advertised.
All of the bids received from the
second advertisement. opened Sep
tember is, 1906, for construction of
the dam were also rejected as being
too high, and the work has been car
ried on by day labor or so-called force
account.
Although the total cost of the dam
has been more than the estimate of
the engineers, II has been largely
due to certain changes that have been
made in the design.
Details of Cost.
An estimate of the cost based on ,
the actual quantities and the unit .
prices of the lowest bid received
shows that a saving of between forty r
and fifty thousand dollars has been !
made by doing the work by force ac- |
count ,
The amount will depend very 5
largely upon the salvage for the g
equipment. This equipment for the
of the dam alone cost =
over $115,555, and the salvage has y
been placed at $4,000. I
The equipment in part consists of r