Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-08-15

tJstem not having been devised, altlouBn
aearly four hundred years have elapsed
since their discovery.
| The great increase in the population of
the United States during the past fifty
| years has forced the people westward In.
to the arid regions, making 1t necessary
TO increase the agricultural area, and
| In order to do this some means of re-
claiming the desert has had to be dis
covered.
Upon investigation many areas were
found where water could be stored or
diverted, and thus made to reclaim thou
| sands upon thousands of acres OF bar
rem waste. but the expense Of doing this
was found to be beyond the pockets OF
the average landowners, and capital could
only be Interested in a very few cases.
| The United States Government was final
| ly appealed to- and the present Reclama.
| ton Service was established under the
| Department of the Interior The service
! has been active for about ten years, and
during that time has succeeded in bring
| ing into bearing thousands of acres of
what was once quite worthless desert.
| Projects have been completed in Wyo-
ming. Montana. Idaho. California. New
Mexico. Arizona, and many other West-
ern States, and the appropriations thus
far from Congress for the work have
been more than sSoCo.ooo. all of which
| will eventually be returned. Those owning
land which has been reclaimed by the
Government have agreed to pay for the
delivery of water thereon at the rate
OF around s3j an acre, same to be due
in ten or more equal annual irstallments,
| .t..tt
OF the project The largest dam thus far
completed is the Roosevelt Dam in the
Salt River Valley Arizona. 1t irrigates
some 100000 acres of land and cost $780,
ON
The largest task vet undertaken by the
Reclamation Service is the Engle or Ele-
phant Butte project in the lower Rio
Grande Valley o. New Mexico. The con-
struction of this plant has been under
way since November. 1910 1t will be com.
pleted in 1911, and will be the largest
and most expensive irrigation system in
| the world. The cost will he more than
slo.c0ooC0. of which 100000 has already
been appropriated by Congress The dam
Is beinS constructed of rubble concrete,
10000 cubic yards being calculated by the
I reclamation engineers as the amount nee
ossary. One end of the great wall OF con-
crete will he ancnoi ed to the Elephant
! Eutte. from which the project takes its
name, and the other end will extend into
! a craa: mountain of rock. The Rio Grande
! Is being diverted through a huge concrete
| fline 80 that the foundation work may
be carried on without interference The
foundation 1.Gc0 feet long and 200 feet
wide, is being laid = feet below the
river bed, Tho dam will be PCS feet high
above the foundation ard I.isO feet long on
Top. 1t will SLOPE M gradually from the
base and a driveway % feet wide will
extend between parapet walls across the
entire length. This great artificial noun
tain Of concrete placed in the channel
OF the Rio Grandc will make the largest
artificial body of water in the world-a
total of 2. lD,N0 acre-feet of stored water,
enough to submerge the entire State of
Rhode Island more than three feet The
lake will cover il.2S0 acres of ground
from 200 feet to IL feet deep and will be
10 miles long and from | to 10 miles
wide. 1t will never go dry and will irri-
gate 10000 acres Of land in New Mexico,
TEXTS and Old Mexico. extending from
/ The dam site. Ia miles north of FL Paso.
down the Rio Grandc Valley. a distance
o. $50 miles. Separate diversion dams and
canal system will b" constructed for Las
| Iaomas, Mcsilla and FL Paso Valleys.
! The diversion dam in the Mesilla Valley,
known as Loasiurg Unit irrigating % 90
acres. Is arcady in operation. OF the $50.
( Goo acres to be reclaimed BY the projects,
ll0,oW are in New Mexico 5000 in Texas.
and 5000 in old MEXICO. the latter being
necessary because Of Mexico claim to
/ prior water rights.
| The Government OWLS all the land i'm
medlately surrounding the great reservoir,
and it has been set aside as a bird pre-
serve. The lake will be- the largest south
of Great Salt Lake and west of the Rocky
Mountains It will have many bays and
iilots. Will be stocked Ivy the Government
with bass and other fish. and vii, afford
camping places for all who desire to take
advantage of them.
Like the Roosevelt Dam in Arizona. this
great body of imprisoned water will serve
another purpose than that of giving life
to the stretches of desert to the south.
1t viii he harnessed al the spillways and
Will furnish power for electricity which
Will be transmitted to cities, mines. and
farms stretching over an area OF more
than q" square mles.--John b. Digger
| In Golfers