El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-10-14

sources is just beginning to be under
stood Whereas a few years ago the
irrigable area was placed al ouO,UvV
acres IL is now plain that II IS closer
20 four million acres Three years ago
the state engineer was severely crttl-
cized for eEaggeratton when ne mace
the statement that New Mexico WOutQ
ultimately irrlgate Two million acres
Now he is criticized for his conserFa-
within these last three years more
than $50 applications for permits 70
appropriate water for irrigation nav
been filed. covering an area OF over
two million acres. This amount IS u
course in excess Of what viii actually
be developed by these 1llingss now
ever within the same period u ltIl-
cation projects have been conn tslsl,
exclusive Of the government prOJeclss
~ projects have been partly completed
and II others have begun consJr uo-
ton. These are chiefly diversion anu
STORAGE projects The most cousS1 W
tive estimate now places the acrea-se
which viii be reclaimed by diversion
and storage alone at 3,OOOstUv acres
no this must be added another MI
lion acres which VIII be reclalll5Q ~
pumping. Important pumping proJects
are already under ~" 55.5-.-- a. INA
Roosevelt county, Demlng IN 4----9 100
bounty and in the Estancla Fa+leg anu
these are but the beginning OF many
such systems
There is an estimated half mllllon
water horsepower available. from the
waters of New Mexico and IN many
places the fail IS so great thar gwen
amount Of water viii genefs4Ie eno ~, =
mower TO pump several rlIlles lAaL
amount from the ground. More tnan
% water power filings nave Deen
made within the past two years cou-
templatinE the development q No
than goo 600 hOrsep over. ETaC Llcdlly
All land which can be irrigated by On
rect diversion has passed into pIlVeSs
ovy-nersbiu- but there IS considerable
area still open to entry which may pe
reclaimed by pumping or Dy sila1I
me Greater part Of the recent irri-
arion construction has been IN norIn-
ern and eastern New Mexico dlllous--
projects are under way in almost every
county in the state The conStructlon
IS Of the most substantial character,
the works being built to endure ana
nv most modern engineering meInods-
Reinforced concrete, steel ana me tWO
combined are being used extensively
Government Projects.
The United States government
fhrouen the reclamation service has
completed two important lrflgaJlo4
projects In New Mexico; the Carlsbad
project at Carlsbad in Eddy county
retaining over 10000 acres; ana the
Hcndo near Roswell in Chaves county,
which is to reclaim 10000 acres II Is
probable that the AtE4sld-tA N---9-- ff---
be extended in the near future.
The third government project, the
GREAT FIeDhant Butte storage project
IS now under active CONSTRUCTOR I 20
miles north of FL PasO on the RIO
Czraude This project. which VIII cost
an estimated 100000 70 complete
viii reclaim no. 600 acres OF land In
sierra and Dona Ana counues, New
Mexico and 10000 acres In Texas ana
4be PepubIfc Of Mexico. It viii form
49, Htr-N reservoir
world backing up the waters OF the
Pfo Crande into a lake 80 miles long
and having storage capacity OF
. 500. 600 acre feet 1T VIII require -FOUR
~ Give wears to complete the project;
but IN the mean time the first unit
the I,eesburg diversion dam, Is In ser
vice and is supplying water to z5OOg
acres IN the fertile Mesiila valley OF
Dona Ana county
Congress .in 1903 extended the terms
of the Carey act to New Mexico ana
several important irrigation proJecLs
act. The act in New Mexico Is admin
istered by a Carey act land board. OF
which the state engineer is the eIecu-
tive officer
District Irrigation Law.
The legislature Of 1909 adopted what
fz known as the district irrigation law
Under This act which has been success
fully applied in Colorado and other r.
rigated states. community OF 4a.ilu
owners may associate themselves to-
ret1er I'm an IRRIGATION district and
may bond tleir lands, as community
- secure funds to be used in con-
structing irrigation works Already
two such districts, one in San Juan and
the other in san Miguel county, have
been formed in New Mexico and con-
structfou OF both projects IS under way.
Prices Of TrrlEated Land.
The number Of irrigation projects IN
New Mexico Is so large, and the vari-
ance Of location. Improvements. etc,
IS so great that It is difficult to give
a very accurate range Of prices at