East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1910-08-20
WILL INVESTIGATE
DIFFERENT PROJECTS
ASSISTANT TO STATE
ENGINEER ON TOUR
Percy 4. Cupper Will Visit all Of
Carey Act Projects in Eastern Ore
gon-Lewis Unable 10 Make Trip.

According TO dispatches from Salem,
a complete investigation Of eastern
Oregon's Carey act projects is to be
made by Percy A. Cupper, assistant
to State Engineer John II. Lewis. He
will leave the state capital Monday
morning and will visit everyone OF
the projects in the eastern part Of the
state
State Engineer Lewis is unable to
leave just at this time, owing to the
pressure Of business in the office and
from the fact that he almost daily ex-
poets to be called upon to take the
projected trip down the Columbia
river for the purpose of settling the
Oregon Washington boundary line
matter He has also been subpoenaed
to appear at water right case in
The Dalles.
AS the trip through the state, half
OF which has been completed is be-
ing carried out under instruction from
the Water Board, the State Engineer
decided not to postpone it further
and sends his assistant The infor-
nation collected by Cupper will be
used by State Engineer Lewis in MAX
ing reports TO the Desert Land Board
and the Secretary Of the Interior, as
required by law, before further steps
may be taken in furthering the Carey
act projects.
Mr.. Cupper will be at Ironsides Au-
gust "a to inspect the surveys of Will
low creek, made in connection with
the water right adjudications before
the Board of Control He will be
present at a hearing at Ironsides Au-
gust "a, and at Vale. August %. F.
NJ. Saxton. superintendent of Water
Division No. 2, will take the testi-
mony in these water matters.
On August 81 testimony will be
taken at Vale on the adjudication Of
rights on Cottonwood creek, in NAL
heur county. Cupper will then exam
inc the engineering features of Har-
per Basin, a 10,0OO-acre project,
southeast of westfall. This will be
inspected principally to ascertain the
sufficiency of the water supply and
the feasibility of the reclamation plan.
From these points Cupper will go
to Jordan Valley, on the Idaho line,
for similar inspection of the 50,-
000-acre Carey act proect. Water for
this scheme will be stored in Idaho
! by a 150-foot dam on Jordan creek,
a few miles over the line. This ap-
pears to be one of the most prom
Using projects initiated under the wa
ter laws of 1909, in the opinion of the
State Engineer.
Cupper then proposes to inspect ths
Pine Valley project, in Baker county
This includes 10000 acres and th'
lands are within a few miles of TIL,
Snake river. Transportation facili
ties for this scheme have alread.
/ been provided through the construc
tion Of a railroad down the Snak
river from Huntington to the Oxbov
power project.
/ The Eagle Valley project will ais,
be in line for an inspection. Her,
are 10000 acres under the Carey ac
and are located a few miles south o
Pine Valley The water here is de
. rived partly by storage and partly b.
the regular flow of Eagle creek. Cup
per will proceed by stage from thi
2 point to the Lower Powder valley
l where there is a project of 5000,
D acres.
/ Mr.. oupper hopes to gather suffi
cient information here to complet
the report on the water supply an,
!. this will probably complete the cir
2 cult of the state projects which ha
2 been undertaken by state Enginee
Lewis this summer. He previousl
:. inspected all of the projects throug
l the Deschutes country and in south
8 ern Oregon.
His report of progress on his re
!. turn from that trip was exceedingl
8 flattering to the general develop
9 ment of oregon and he believes tina
his assistant will return from easter
Oregon with reports that are equal
| as pleasing