Arizona republican., 1909-05-11

little more. The supply has not been cut off entirely at Roosevelt at any time. for about four thousand inches are running through the penstock tun- nel from the power canal all the time. That is not large quantity; but. with the flow of the Verde, there were about 12,000 inches passing Richins station yesterday. Assuming that the Verde is carrying 5000 inches and s0,000 inches will come from Roosevelt, there should be ample in the river for pres ent necessities after the dam is topped. in about three days Of course, there is no actual assurance that the normal flow will not shrink, and it is quite certain that it will a few weeks later; so the work in the tunnel will be push
 ed with all possible speed. The ditches are now wet and carrying a small amount of water, and everything has been well watered to date. The grain crop will, most of it, be beyond the need of water in two or three weeks, and some of it is now past the irriga
 tion stage. That which does need it, though, must have it very soon to do any good. The wise farmer will, there fore, be careful and economical in the use of his water for the time being and refuse to worry.
 To those who may possibly criticise the condition of the tunnel, little ex- plantation will be timely The sluicing tunnel was never intended to serve as the regular outlet of the reservoir after the dam is finished. In fact, once the work is completed, the gates may be closed, and not opened again for years, except in an emergency. or to see that they are in perfect order. The normal outlet from the reservoir will be through the big penstock, ten feet in diameter, placed through the dam sev- enty-five feet above datum, dIscharg- ing through the big power house, where it will turn the turbine wheels for the development of electric power before it flows down the river to perform its irrigation functions. This penstock is completed. but cannot yet be used for tapping the reservoir for the reason that the machinery below it is not yet in place. and to open it up now would be to destroy the pOwer-hOuse. An auxiliary supply will come from the penstock tunnel. into which the power canal is now discharged for the turn ing of the wheels now operating the preliminary power plant used fin the construction of the dam. The capacity of these two penstOcks is ample to irrigate the valley. so that after the project is completed. the sluicing tun- mel will be needed only when 1t is de- sired to "sluice" the bottom of the basin. or to drain it, should that ever be found necessary.
 But, during the construction period, the sluicing tunnel was designed to do just what it has been doing, only the demand upon it has been greater than was anticipated. The river has been high for months. and in order to ac- celerate the construction of the dam and keep the contractor above high water whenever possible, the power canal has been in commission almost from the time it was constructed. And in its construction it was lined above the gates and the latter put in as quickly as possible, so the river could be controlled. It has been planned to leave the lining of the lower part of the tunnel until later. when it could be done. if found desirable, while the Neiu' Hdu SVOu IiO" VI hitci e4iO masonry had all been laid, so its use would rot be needed in any emergency condition. But, as explained above. the long continued use of the unlined portion by such a terrific current has made it the part of wisdom to close the gates and take the stitch in time that will save nine. 1t will be better to get along now with the economical use of water for a few weeks. than to open the gates and take a chance of losing the gates and the stored supply.