The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-07-10
THIS IMMENSE IRRIGATION PROJECT
MEANS MUCH TO SALT LAKE VALLEY


ter. and meetings have been held daily
in Salt Lake or Ogden, in which the
officers of the Weber Reservoir, Power
and Irrigation company and the eastern
men have taken part. After the Og-
den meeting was held a few days ago,
announcement was made officially that
the capitalists have definitely agreed TO
finance the proposition and that funds
will be available as soon as the prelim
mary steps can be taken under the law
to form the irrigation district II was
furthermore officially announced that no
time will be lost in getting the land
owners i'm line TO form the irrigation
district The first step provided for by
the statute is the filing of a petition
with the county commissioners Of the
couny III which the greater amount of
land 10 be benefited is located, which
in this case will be with the Davis
county comm ssioners, asking them to
order an election for the voting of bonds
and the election of three directors who
are 10 have charge of the affairs of the
district If two-thirds vote favorably,
the district is formed, the bonds are
voted and the directors are elected, and
thereafter the directors have general
charge of the expenditure Of the dis
trict funds. In conducting the affairs
of the district three divisions of the
lands, as nearly equal as practicable,
are made. and one director has imme
diate charge of each district.
II is estimated that the carving ont
of the great undertaking will require
an expenditure Of $3.750,000, which is
at the rate Of $l2J an acre for the 30,
600 acres of arid lands that il Is pro-
posed to embrace. In this the 5000 to
10000 acres Of semi-arld lands are not
included, though provision will be
made for embracing such lnsullicicntly
watered tracts by allowing the owners
of such lands TO petition into the dis
trict after ii is formed. The stipula-
tion has been made that the lands shall
not be bonded for sum greater than
Sl2j per acre As has been said, the
entire So 100000 issue of bonds. which
will, if voted, bear per cent interest,
will be taken at par by the eastern
capitalists, whose representatives are
now in Utah They are sand TO be Chi
cago people. but their identity has not
been made known. The bonds Will run
for twenty wears. No interest will be
charged during the first two years, or
until the water IS turned into the canal,
after which time, and during the ten
wears following. the landowners are re-
quircd TO paw only the interest an
nualv Tn the eleventh year not less
than , per cent of the principal will
be called for; in the twelfth year. 6
per cent and so on in increasing ratio
until at the end of the twenty year pc
Rod, the principal will all be paid and
the canal system will be the property
of the landowners.
1t will require three or four months
10 effect the organization of the district
on the lines provided by the statute. but
II is hoped that the coming autumn
will see the election held. and in the
event that the people decide to pro-
cced, the promoters and the capitalists
who are to back the project promise
water for the immense tract OF land
by the year 1911. 1t should be said
that while the officers of the Weber
Reservoir, Power ard Irrigation com
pany are fathering the proposition, they
from the transaction. They hold the
reservoir site. an immensely valuable
property, and they have done a vast
amount of work whipping the project
INTO shape. but the officers who were
seen recently declared that they are
ready to turn over all their holdings, in
Guiding sites, maps, estimates, etc, 10
the district as soon as it. is formed, and
all they expect is to have the new or
ganization reimburse their stockholders
for the amounts actually paid out,
which Will approximate S25 600. with
probably some other small expense still
10 he incurred. The personnel of the
board of directors Of the concern is suf-
hcient evidence of good faith, The of
Gcers, are: W: II. Rich of Morgan,
president and director; G. Christensen
Of Ogden, vice president and director;
Thomas L.. Allen Of Coalvllle, secretary,
treasurer and director. John G.. NJ.
Barnes of Kaysvile, director: James
Green Of Hooper, director: iIeber J.
sheffield Of Kaysvillc, director; Nephi
Sargent of Hoytsville, director; Joseph
IL, Grant of Wood S Cross, director.
As to the details of construction of
the canal system, ii has been given ont
that the water will be stored above
Echo. and as needed. will be conveyed
INTO the river channel 10 a point above
Peterson, Morgan county, where dam
will bc built aud from which point two
canals, one on the south side of the
river to water Davis county lands, and
one on the north side to irrigate Weber
county farms. will be constructed. They
will follow the line of the Union Pa
cifc track through Weber canyon into
Salt Lake valley. AT the mouth Of
the, canyon the canal viii be $40 feet
above tho river bed, this elevation be
ing sufficient TO cover practically all
tillablc lands in Davis and Weber coun-
ties, In ALL something like fifty miles
of main canal Will be required. not in
Guiding branch canals and laterals that
viii be needed for distribution. The
additional cost of laterals will be borne
hy the district, and all landowners will
get the water AT the same figure,
whether near the canal or IN n more
remote location, thus equalizing the bur
deu.
Those who are working for tho pro
,l,Yx-t aCft
They point out that water will increase
the value of all tho land it touches
many fold. and although the cost is
heavy, the advantage to the Individual
landowners, to the county and 10 the
state VIII fully. compensate for the out
lay. 1T will open a new horticultural
and farming district that probably has
no equal in Utah,
In few days a circular letter will
be issued informing property owners of
the proposed organization of an rri-