The Ordway new era., 1909-11-26
NE evNNls0N TUNNEL
~, million Dollars and Ono Years
Time Necessary to Complete
Immense Undertaking

,slect Ia oulufau" u '"' '"'''"
,so,.l. designed 10 convey supple.
.-o,al water from the Gunnison river
,a,hs Unr0mpahgfe valley. lnvesti-
..,on. by the reclamation engineers
~, in the summer OF 1902. About
,so ooo had previously been expended
!, the state Of Colorado on the tunnel
,,s and wisely abandoned. Finally
~ engineers reported that the tun'
- sould cost 81 .0s0, 600 and the dis.
,,bo,iag systems approximately
r,m0J additional. This latter
,,u the report says, may not be
rs.idered Is part OF the expenditure
A. the diYcrsiun OF water into the
rseonpahgre valley, as the resi-
e,uts might provide for such distrr
,u,on II the diversion from the
sgnnI,nu were performed by the
,v,tnment." II was also reported
,hIt "therc are about 100, 900 acres
,hieh can be reclaimed below the
n,he,t point reached by the pro
,.ed dlstfibutIve systems. or this
,rbabiy 60, 900 acres are lands already
lied upon-presumably private hold
h,.-the remaining 10 900 acres being
n,ernmeut lands" quote from
,nse l4G, First report OF the Reclama-
too Service.
Based upon these estimates II was
t.clded to undertake the project.
through the agency Of local water
usrs' association contracts condi-
toned that the water should not
o,t TO exceed 80 an acre were signed
b the land owners. When IL was
.oand that s25 an acre was a gross
Underestimate, the original water
u,ers' contracts were recalled and
g,hers purporting to obligate the
ssbscribers to pay pr"poriioDately
he final cost OF construction were
sb,iltuted. | am Informed by able
attorneys that the government can
r.yer enforce these. In support OF
lhe revised contracts "A Typographical
survey, concluded In 1906 following
three years construction based upon
lhe original estimate OF 100 900 acres
hyOying some millions Of dollars
neantime expended, reported that
there are nearly 10000 acres of irri'
gable land under the tunnel project,
d which seventy-tive per cent. are
Flyate holdings and about 3S .0O0 acres
Ne public lands.
significantly, no classification Of
these lands appears in the, reclama
ton reports. Therefore. IL Is still
tily guess how much of these pub
Ac lands is likely to be reclaimed.
Asopposed to this amended estimate,
oased upon my personal acquaintance
Nth the local conditions extending
over period of twenty-five years, i
ssert that there are no more than
iw'VVO acres altogether under the
oahnlson tunnel project reclainable
-d these not more than $4,000 acres
10 private holding are irrigable and
s@th reclaiming, and not more than
'sVO acres are irrigable and worth
feclalming of the 3s, 900 acres of the
paollc lands. This estimate closely
0'ffesponds with the first reclamation
report referred to, or this entire
s'eage about 10000 acres are in ac-
'uai cultivation, Of which through
.HV appropriations about 3O,000 acres
na'e Practically sufficient water
supply. do not believe these will
e'e' purchase tunnel water on reclaim
sum terms. The remainder of the
pnate irrigable lands may take
water.
very much doubt II there are
,eal,y 10000 acres OF government
.aa4 which will accept the require
!. u'enIs and ever pay proportionately
."e fecouped cost Of water to the gov
.'unent 1t is that certain private
,ap''al intelligently directed would
NY N.Y. uadertake to reclaim these. Now,
S"ever' w. 1t Is given out to the public
-,n uaO 'ne price Of reclamation water
~. m not exceed $35 to $40 an acre as
,ss aseu upon the belated Typographical
,.poro That there are 1900 acres of
'eaoie lands. Since the water
~. lIs.s are required to pay the proper
~. rua.e cost, which can only be deter
,ueu Ut the end, even after seven
s s IL is still surmlse as to how
,ss s''i iand can and will be reclaimed
sill be. avs So''
ABOUT $500, 900 have already beer
4 S"ueu soo ae upon the tunnel alone
sIm.,' ss.'oVo more than the original es'
iss @e' The additional cuhcrete lin
.es ~ ss,moering, work upon the pQrtals
" diversion structures. .xiIl cost sp
nj IssIl-