El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-03-04
MAY DISPOSE
Of SURPLUS
WATERS
New Act Adds to POSSIBLE
ties of the Elephant Butte
Project.
ARIZONA SOCIETY IS
FORMED IN CAPITAL

1oiO OIduue valley III Vue COHStIuCilOE u
the Elephant Butte dam, aided by
specific legislation passed at this session,
has made possible an era of development
the ultimate certain results Of which are
but dimly realized by the majority Of
: the persons in the region affected.
Articles detailing the bare facts that
J the Elephant Butte dam when completed
f; will irrigate a minimum of $4,000 acres
{ in the United States, and $4,000 acres
in Mexico have frequently been printed,
while the fact that specific legislation
4 providing for the leasing of the power
generated at the dam, and its use to
deveolp the valley in the multiplicity OF
ways in which electricity can be used
has also been given much publicity, but
another measure has Just become a law
which adds still further to the pOssibili
ties before the valley
Selling the Surplus Water.
This new law is entitled an act
authorizing contracts for the disposition
of waters of projects under the reclaim
alton act and Tor other purposes. Its IN
tent is to provide for the selling of any
surplus water to companies. associations
or individuals who viii use it in the
irrigation Of lands not originally in
cluded in the project. 1t also allows
reservoir of larger capacity than the
reclamation service might otherwise
build or canals OF larger carrying
capacity than originally intended, pro-
vided the additional cost of cOnstIuc-
Hion Is borne by those who will use the
additional water stored over and above
the amount originally signed up. The
purpose OF the act IS TO arrange for the
utilization OF all the water available or
bring under irTigatiOn all the land that
might possibly be cultivated although
1t is or was not included in the original
project.
While this law is applicable to all the
reclamation projects Its application 10
the Rio Grande project viii permit of the
irrigation of lands outside of the original
1850 acres in Texas and New Mexico
TO the extent of the water impounded.
1t cannot be determined exactly b. esti-
mating, Just how much water viii be
available. Seine years there viii be more
than others, in the lower units Of the
valley, water will run back into the river
which has been used once in irrigating
further UP the river. just how much
this viii amount to is not known At
any rate. the figure set. los. 600 acres,
Is the minimum amount and land in eX-
cess of this amount viii be irrigated, !
Just how much remaining for the future (
to determine. This law makes this sur
plus of water Cbtainable either BY pay
nrent of established water rates from /
bitches already constructed OF planned /
by the reclamation service, or by the i
construction of additional bitches by the /.
parties wanting the water. ard the pay
ment of a nominal water rent I
Utilizing the Water Power
1t is estimated that at the least, I
5000 horse power viii be generated 1T .
the dam, and 1000 horse power, the s
engineers say viii run an electric line /
from one end Of the project to the 1
other. This would leave $4,000 horse
power for other purposes, chief among
which would be pumping for irrigation.
When 1t is taken into consideration that
aside from the measured flow, which
alone has been counted on TO fill the big
dam and irrigate the minimum of 1885,,
goo acres, that the entire Rio Grande
valley IS undertake by an apparently in
underflOw, additional posi-
Dlllties by the use OF power for pumping
loom up, the limits of which no one can
5Oresee.
In the estimates of power however,
only such as will be generated at the
dam site has been mentioned When it
IS taken into consideration that every
drop of more than Is feet in a canal of
any size viii also furnish power enough
% warrant the establishment of plant
md that a lock lowering the water in
he canal ten feet NAV BY the use of
hydraulic rams raise water either from
he canal or from the underflOw a dis
ance of from so 10 $50 feet. 4 few more
possibilities may be seen which only need
he passage of the next few wears TO
make them actuaities.
And the men who viii profit BY this (
tate of affairs are the men who compose
he Elephant Butte and the FL Paso
valley Water Users associations. who
ave signed up their land some of them
Iardly knowing what they were doing
o repay the government fer making all
hese things POSSIBLE. 1t may cost them {
40 an acre CT SIS an acre, to start with. Z ?
ut the prediction is made thar before !.
he ten years annual payments have all
cen made. not only viii the payments c
e lessened, but towards the last OBJ
lated entirely by the revenues from :
he leasing OF the power and water tax
rom land not now included in the :
reject.
The Boundary Appropriation.
An entire page IN the Congressional
eeord IS needed TO print all the argu- Z
lent which resulted when the para
ralph to appropriate $4,000 to enable s
he international (water) Boundary =
DmmissiOn to continue its work under :
ne existing treaties, came I'D in the :
Onsular and diplomatic appropriation :
III. Before It was finally allowed much :
aluable information on the subject of 70
ne southwestern boundary line of the
nited States was disseminated Mr..
oster of Vermont, chairman of the com
ittee having the bill in charge. was the n
rineipal source of information and he a
1Plained the situation so clearly and so d
lilV that all directors were satisfied a
In the first place the bill carries an Il
lcrease of $4,000 over last year. when II
was only $4,000. 1t was pointed out d
rat the commission would be put to a
'nslderable extra expense on account of Il
he arbitration of the ChamizaI dispute. Il
II. Harrison of New York called atten- e.
on to the fact that there was an appro-
ration of $4,000 for the Chamizal ar
tration- but Mr. Foster explained that |
addition TO that there would be con h
derable extra expense attach TO the I al
mmiSsiOn and II was To A,l~o oaye of ! 20