Lovelock tribune. (Lovelock, Nev.) 1898-1912, 1911-04-20
HUMBOLDT STORAGE RESERVOIRS
KEY TO THE IRRIGATION SITUATION OF THE VALLEY

have difference in elevation of
about three feet. The deepest water
will be 25 feet and the average
depth about 16. There are eight
dykes to build of total length of
two and one half miles. The reser-
voirs will store 5000 acre-feet of
water and it will take ninety days
to fill them At
1t is not the intention of the COM
pany to compete the reservoirs to
the capacity of 75,0Og4acre feet at
the start. TkNnHwilt probably store
half this ansp IA then let the
reservoirs pay for themselves as
furthur improvements are made. Tw
big items of initial expense will be
the two outlet gates, one from the
upper reservoir and one from the
lower to cost fifteen thousand doll
ars
The capital stock Is half a mill
f4Ob. All but 10000 shares is in
the treasury and 1t is sold at par
only as the money Is needed to ex-
tend the work. The stockholders are
mainly the farmers living under the
Young and Old Channel bitches
with Mr.. Pitt and Mr.. Taylor hold
ing controlling interests. The comp
any has turned down offers for
stock. 1t is in fact close corpora
tit,l 49, 81
After supplying thses1ln Sfaa1sr'
own stockholders the compSfN will
of course have water for sale. S6at
the price of water rights will 'be hH6'
not yet been fixed. But many a,
farmer in times past would haves
paid four dollars an acre just Tor
second irrigation to save croH of
wheat or alfalfa. 1t is safe No
say that water right in the rese&- /.
voir will be worth forty dollars an
acre just as Fmeans of insurance. /
Even at half that price, the reser-
voir property will be WORTH Isssi mill !
ion dollars In dry year, and ever
year is bound to be dry in this val
ley, the reservoirs will pay for
themselves in the sale of water for
one season. That is the Dutchman's
one per cert. y
The engineer of .the project is
d. w. Hayes of Reno, assisted by
John A. Runner of Lovedck. For ten
years, Mr.. Hays. was with the gov
ernment reclamation service. He is
now making the final surveys.
The writer in times past has often
declared through the columns of the
Tribune that storage reservoirs at
the Humboldt House would double
the value of the 10000 acres under
cultivation in the Loyeock valley
Senator Pitt modestly places the" in
creased value given by the reservoirs
al thirty-three1and third per cent
Let US make casual Estimate Of!
what land is worth In this valley
with an assured water supply Sen.-
ator Pitt one season some years ago
cut an average of eight tons of alfal
III W ChCa dciC iioih loo lie
average yield for three cuttings in
the valley is five tons per year
Last year alfalfa was worth ten
dollars per ton in the stack. sa'
Last year Senator Pitt harvested
an average yield of 90 bushels 1of
wheat from $50 acres. OF this, 10
tract 55 acres were plowed up ,lfal-
ia land careful record vas
kept and the return was 72 bush us
to the acre. What is land wor. h :
tnat will grow ~ bushels of dollalt
what to the acre? | leave the''
question unanswered. |
But the possibility of such crops =
gives the assurance, that some day
every drop of water in the Humboldt
river will be conserved. The Hum
boldt House reservoirs are 800 feet
higher than the town of Lovelock "a
miles away Much good land lies
btween and the stored water will
be used over and over again before
1t reaches the lower vally.
The Humboldt river water will al
so be needed in Dixie and other val :
leys farther up. When that time H.
Continued ON Page 12) ~.