El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-08-26
IRRIGATION IS
GROWING IN
THE STATE
Texas Has Many Big Pro-
jects on Hand-Dr. Pear
son Is Promoting One.
MARIA BACKS A
BIG UNDERTAKING

San Antonio, Texas, Aug. 26.-Presi-
dio county, in the big bend Of the Rio
Grande, is about to enter the list OF
counties in which irrigation plays san
important role in the general prosper
ity of the people Eleven miles south
OF Maria, the county seat. a great dam
across Alamita creek canyon is be-
ing constructed. This dam will collect
and hold the flood waters Of 496 square
miles, and 1t is expected that suffi-
cient amount of water to irrigate be-
tween 5000 and 10000 acres will be
thus conserved Although the rain
fall in this section of the state is un-
der 10 inches per annum, dashing
showers frequently occur in the near
by mountains, sending flood OF wa
ter into the canyon across which the
dam is being constructed.
The dam now under construction
across Ala1nita creek canyon is 992
feet long, built Of reinforced con-
crete, with 81 buttresses 16 feet apart
supporting an inclination Of 40 de-
grees The face wall is AZ inches thick
at bed rock and Is inches at the crest
OF the dam. The reservoir will cover
1920 acres and viii, impound $4,000
acre feet OF water.
sam FeNpe Sprlngs.
At Del Rio, Va. Verde county, 1000
acres Of land are annually irrigated
by waters from the San Felipe springs.
These springs are among the largest
of the state, flowing a minimum OF
100 cubic feet per second and a maxi
mum of $50 cubic feet These springs
discharge enough water to irrigate
q. 900 acres without conserving the
waste waters. but as large terri
tory subjec. to irrigation belongs to
an unsettled estate, only 1000 acres
have been developed. On the land un-
der irrigation, some of the finest mel
ons, fruits and truck produced In the
state is grown annually
To Dam Pecos and DEVILS Rivers.
A plan to irrigate approximately
$50, 600 acres In Val Verde, Kinney,
Uvalde and Maverick counties has been
proposed to construct dams across the
Pecos and Devils rivers in Val Verde
county. joining the flow of the two
streams, and storing the water in I'M
mense reservoirs to be conducted by
canal and viaducts to the rich lands
in the counties named The Devils
river alone has a flow of 500 cubic
feet per second, while the Pecos VIII
contribute largely to this volume
Great Pearson Project.
The Pearson project on the Medina
river is one of the greatest Dr. f.
S. Pearson, who is heavily interested in
large projects in Mexico. will build a
dam across this Texas stream at
cost of s6.0o0,o00. There will be suf-
ficient water impounded to irrigate
more than $1,000 acres
Developing Artesian Wells.
Flowing wells arebA eng developed
in Uvalde county, and, although the
area thus far tested covers scarcely
100000 acres, it is believed that a
much larger territory will eventually
be added to the district. Irrigation by
artesian wells, the flow OF which is
assisted by air compressors, or by
pumps, is in its infancy in this section.
but according to hydrologists. Uvalde
county is well within the artesian belt.
Maverick county is also within the
artesian belt, but with few individual
exceptions, the lands irrigated lie
along the river and are watered by
means of pumps lifting the water d.
rectly from the river to the laterals
In the fields. Several large farms and
many smaller ones are irrigated in the
vicinity of Eagle Pass in this manner.