Imperial Valley press., 1910-11-19

An inspection of the Alamo channel from the Hanlon heading to Sharps was made this week by Receiver Holabird, who is making a thorough examination of the whole irrigation system of the valley. Col. Holabird was accompanied on the trip down the Alamo by Engineer Clarke, Fore man Wm. Best and Allen Kelly of the Press.
 The party went to the heading by rail on Monday morning and pro- ceeded down the Alamo in row boat carrying such camp outfit as was re- quired. The Alamo was carrying about 1,400 second feet of water and rowing easily with the current an half miles an hour was maintained Frequent stops were made for eX- animation of the banks and of de- hIressions through which water was l escaping from the channel which serves as the main canal of the system.
 Where dredging has been done and the river is confined between high spoil banks, it would be possible to carry more water than is now coming through the gates, but there are many miles of low natural bank only few inches above the water surface, and any considerable increase of flow would overtop the bank and flood large areas on both sides of the canal. Escape of water to the northward would cause damage to lands on that side without endangering the canal, but there are points along the south bank where breaks might cause the whole volume of the Alamo to leave the channel and pour down the slope to find it's way into the New River cut and that would put the entire system out of business.
 Continuous deposit of silt in the Alamo has raised the level of the sOOtIOhl anu oCCl lSdoCu Illc capacity of the channel, ana that pro- cess will continue, modified in some degree by dredging and shortening of the course with cut offs, until it be- comes necessary either to confine the river between high levees along the whole course of more than fifty miles and to build structures for control of the flow, or to abandon the river channel and build canal from the heading to Sharp's. Probably it would cost more to convert the Alamo into a satisfactory canal than to build a proper canal along more direct course.
 It was apparent to the party of in spection that the Alamo was carrying close to it's maximum capacity at 400 second feet and that another two hundred feet could not be carried safely without levees at several points on the south side. A levee or tapoon across the head of the old bend that leads to the Alamo Mocho is neces- sary and will be built. The C.-M Go. i$ taking out at this point new canal I1so carry water to it's cultivated lands south of the line and has large force of men and tea.ns at work Surveyor Perry, who made the survey for the new canal, found fall of five feet in 1,S00 to the south, and if the Alamo should break out at that point the channel would be drained quickly.
 North of the Alamo is a large tract of land in Mexico supposed to be the property of the Sociedad, the Mexican company controlling the concession under which water is conducted through Mexican territory to the American canal system All this property and the canals in Mexico are in the hands of a depostario, 1or re- ceiver appointed by the Mexican court. But much of the land Is occupied and claimed under sQuatter right by Mex ican farmers, who not only think they own the land but act as if they owned