The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1909-02-19

reclamation service project was
1856, 900, or a little less than $35
per acre, which is to be repaid to
the United States in ten equal an
nual installments without interest.
The cost Operating is shared by
the land served and aggregates about
$2.75 per acre per year. Since the
cost of the plan may be likened to
the cost of water right from asditch
or reservoir system, 1t will be- seen
that this cost of installation is not
at all high. as many water rights
cost $50 or more per acre. At Pals
ade, Colorado, power irrigation has
attained large proportions. practic-
ally all of the valuable fruit land in
that section being irrigated by water
pumped from the Grand river The
Palisade irrigation district has 5000
acres under it's ditch, portions of
which have been sold for as much
as $4,000 per acre. 1t is evident
that such high prices could not be
obtained If the pumping plant were
not as substantial as. and did not
furnish water with the regularity of.
any gravity ditch or reservoir sys-
tenn. This plant has total capacity
of about $4,000 gallons per minute,
or over 1000 inches divided into five
units with a total of about 1000
horsepower It's neighbor, the Mesa
county irrigated district, irrigated
$500 acres with a pumping plant of
about 700 horsepower in two units.
Both of these plants use water pow
er to drive the pumps, utilizing a
fall of IA feet that is secured by
power canals leading out of the
Grand river.
The Redlands Irrigation & fP5wer
company installed an excellent
pumping plant near Grand Junction
in 1907, taking water from the Gun
nison river near it's mouth in order
to supply both their wheels and
pumps. This plant was designed to
irrigate $500 acres lying 1872 feet
above head water in the canal The
wheels operate under 80 feet head
at which each will give about 700
! horsepower. Legal complications
have hampered the success that it
/ deserves
| To the north of Denver electric
power is supplied by the Northern
Colorado Power company to all cities
and towns within a reasonable dis
lance of one another, their lines run
ming beyond Fl Collins and Greedy.
In the recent extension of the bond
issue of this company, it contem~
plated reaching out for a pumping
load as large as could be obtained
rates to be made so reasonable that
motor-operated pumps could be used
in many places where it was pre-
viously thought power could not be
used. Since an irrigation pumping
load is heaviest during the time that
the demand for power for LIGHTING
/ is lightest, the company is able to
make very reasonable rates for such
service. The extension of the power
lines of the Central Colorado Power
company is also looked upon with
favor by irrigation farmers. as cheap
power is what they are all looking
for Motor-operated pumps may be
run constantly without further at
tention than oiling once or twice in
"a hours, and the item of cost of
labor to operate such pumps is thus
almost entirely eliminated. The emf
nent success of the three motor-oper-
ated pumps installed by Mr. A. J.
Eaton, near Eaton, Colorado, attests
to the value of such installations.
Land lying % feet above an irrigat-
ing ditch and never before irrigated,
was planted to potatoes and a crop OF
$4,000 bushels gathered from 125
acres. Electricity is therefore as
sisting in the production of the fam
GUS "Greely Spud.'
Gasoline engines have been used
for years for comparatively small
acreages and low shifts, and have
proven a boon to the farmer in need
of power that costs but little when
running and nothing when idle.
At Green River, Utah, steam en-
gines driving centrifugal pumps are
being used at three plants Of con-
siderable size. The Elgin Power e
Water company has a 100 horse
power engine and 12-inch pump.
The water is lifted 81 feet above the
Green river and distributed tahS0O
acres of fruit land. A considerable
portion of this land was set to
noachoc in 1o07 ou5 pou pracan.S