The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1909-03-19
MILLIONS FOR IRRIGATION
Secretary Garfield Approves the
Contract for the Grand River
Project

Project.
Secretary of the Interior Garfield
yesterday formally approved a con-
1 tract with the Grand Valley Water
| Users association, of Grand juno
| ton, Colo, to construct an irriga-
ton system officially known as the
Grand River project. The approx
innate cost will be s2,5OO,O0O, and
the area reclaimed will be about 5O,-
| 900 acres, including nearly $4,000
acres of government land. The
project is. located in valley which
is said to contain some of the most
valuable orchard land in the world.
The plans provide for main ca
nal of Sc miles in length, tunnel
1000 feet long, and dam SO feet
in height and 600 feet in length
across Grand river. Several years
will be required to complete the pro-
ject.
The signing of the contract makes
it possible to begin legal proceed
ings to acquire the necessary rights
of way through number of orchard
tracts, and suits for condemnation
will be initiated at once.-Ex.
The above from an exchange
shows what is being done in some
parts of the west in the way of ir-
rigation. Take Colorado, Cali
fornia, Montana, Idaho, Washing
ton or any other state where irriga-
ton is practiced, give them a stream
like Rapid Creek and see what they
would do with it. Instead of few
ranchers scattered mile or so apart
as it is here three would be flourish
ing farms on every eighty to one
hundred acres. To any one who
has travelled in Rapid Valley it has
been a matter Of surprise that the
waters of Rapid Creek have not been
utilized for irrigation more than
they have been. In this valley be-
tween Rapid City and the Cheyenne
river there are $4,000 acres of which
$4,000 acres would ge irrigable
land il the Iowa Ditch Co.'s project
was extended as proposed to the
Cheyenne river. AS it is only about
5000 to 5000 acres are under ir-
rigation. The cost of this ditch
extension would not exceed $1,000
an acre for the land reclaimed. This
estimate includes storage reser-
voirs at all available sites. The
enormous amount Of water that
'ould be conserved by a system Of
storage reservoirs can be appreciat-
ed only by those who have investi-
gated the subject. On the line of
the ditch above mentioned one res
ervoir site is two miles long, one
mile wide and has an average depth
of twenty feet. During the season
when water is not needed for crops
and in times of heavy rains that oc-
cur every summer this reservoir
alone would catch and save millions
of gallons of water that otherwise
would go to waste. This is only
one of numerous reservoirs that
could be established. The addition
al 10000 acres that could be made
irrigable by the extension of the
ditch on the high bench land on the
north side of the valley would be
worth $500 an acre. Take pen
Gil and paper and figure what this
would mean in increased taxable
value of the land, also it's market
value as whole. Divide into 100
acre tracts, all occupied, means 700
additional families or 5000 to 1000
increased population, all dependent
more or less upon Rapid City for
supplies. The farmer who owns
stock in the lower bitches and is
using water, could be consolidating
with the larger and higher ditch,
get as much water as he now is en-
titled to and through the great de-
velopment that would follow the
building of this ditch, would realize
a handsome advance in the value
of his land The government is
expending millions of dollars for re-
clamation projects while here at our
very door thousands of acres of fer
tile land can be made as productive
as any on earth without the building
of an expensive dam and at com
paratively small cost per acre re-
deemed This should be local
enterprise and with united effort
and push by those interested it
could easily be put through. Sim
liar DrOipctS are carried ont all
over the west. Why not here?.