Arizona republican., 1909-05-03
HOUR FOR EMULATION
CONTINUED from page 3D.

and the basin filled, if the ensuing two
and one half years shall furnish an
nually a rainfall and river flow equal
only to the rainfall and river-flow of
the lowest recorded year, there VIII
still be sufficient stored water to ir-
rigate 100000 acres for that length of
time two and a half years, at the rate
of four acre feet per year" This is
without taking into account that the
longer the land is thoroughly irrigated,
the less water it will need; the more
bitches that are cemented, the less
will be the waste; or a dozen other
things might be mentioned as reasons
why, if four feet is ample now. it will
be more than is needed in the years
to come.
1t is most appropriate now to refer
once more to a song of pessimism
that was tediously sung by many
croakers before the construction of
the dam was begun and for a long
time afterward. Less has been heard
about it recently, and it is hoped ii
may never again be a popular one.
1t is the old fearsOme cry that there
would never be water enough to fill
the reservoir. 1t is admitted that
there may be individual years when
the basin could not be filled, but it is
believed there will be more years
when il can be more than filled than
there will be short years when il
cannot be filled. With the big storage
capacity, sufficient to carry protec-
ton for a couple of years, the ques-
ton arises if there were larger capac-
ity why could not more water be
carried over from the big years, and
more land be reclaimed. That might
be the case and it might not. II de-
ponds upon with what regularity the
big years may be depended upon, or
whether they are all punched or
reasonably well scattered. All that is
subject of careful study and esti-
mate right now on the part of the
reclamation service, and in due time
it may result in more good news than
most people have yet dreamed of for
the valley, for the dam can easily be
made wider and higher whenever il
is proved desirable to do so, even
practically to the top of the big can
yon walls.
For the present it is sufficient TO
revolve in ones mind the probabili-
ties of being able to fill the b,:sin
and keep it full Just to give tho
reader an idea of the volume OF the
river when it is closely attending Il
business, the following may be quoted
from the remarks Of Engineer How.
ard Reed: "On December I6, 1908, J
visited Granite Reef dam in company
with Dwight b. Heard. Had the flow |
nf Tor Nsff
sion continued for ten days, a suf.
ficient quantity would have passed L
fill the basin. Though not that higf |
all the time the river has carried |
good volume all winter, and a. |
recently as April %, 1909 there wa.
measured at Rheims station 5,372 sec |
ond feet in Salt river. and 42i sec
ond feet in the Verde, total o. |
over 100000 inches. or 1882 acr,
feet per day If that flow, measured |
one day last week were to continue
for 100 days, il would almost equa
the filling of the reservoir" AnC |
residents of the valley know that the
river stage for the past weeA or 81
has been nothing extraordinary for
the present winter. These observa-
tons, Of course, have been made dur
ing good" year. but certain it is
the basin could have been filled time
and again during the last year. Will,
the exact data is not yet available
few people can be found who do not |
believe there are more years that tho |
basin can be filled than otherwise
and during these good years kept full
against the starting of any UNUSUAL, |
Try season.
Agricultural Expansion.
1t will next be quite interesting t.
note by comparison of figures, tn,
progress that has been made in tn,
cultivation of valley lands already
rs the first fruits of reclamation con