El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-08-24
IN
RID GRANDE
VALLEY
(By Felix Martinez, Chairman FL PasO
Valley Water Users Association


try which will cost about $4,000, 600
and includes a dam across the Rio
Grande at Elephant Butte, y. IL, 10
miles north of FL Paso by rail and 125
miles by river, and a system of canals
and diversion dams constructed after
the most approved engineering meth
DDS, extending IS miles below this city.
The government has spent almost
million dollars on work of prepara-
tory nature including a railroad 10 y
miles long from the Santa Fe main
line between Engle and Cutter, y. M,
TO the dam site, to enable material TO
be taken in for the dam, and the engl-
neers have constructed a waterworks
system and laid out tOWnsite at Ele-
plant Butte; purchased the right CO
way for the reservoir consisting OF
over 10000 acres Of lands; have made
soundingS and surveys, erected many
houses and offices for government use
and are now ready for commencing real
work In addition 10 a million dol
lars originally appropriated by con-
gress, th~ government recently award
ed S4.500,00O of the national irrigation
bond issue of S20,00O,0OO to this pro-
iect and S1,S55,0OO from the reclama
ton fund, making a total of $685., 900
now available.
Mammoth Undertaking.
The dam itself is 20 be a straight
rubbIe concrete dam of gravity section
faced with concrete blocks about 1925
the foundation, 210 feet high above
river bed, 200 feet thick at maximum
point 200 feet depth of water at the
face, and 1t viii store 100000 acre
feet of water, or sufficient to cover
2,760, 600 acres of land one foot deep.
The project consists Of a storage
reservoir with a capacity sufficient to
control the runOff of the Rio Grande;
four diversion dams lower down in the
river and four distributing systems
the irrigable lands in New Mexico and
Texas The construction of the dam
enables the government TO deliver
stated amount Of water TO Mexico,
thereby settling the ancient claims
against the United States for water
that properly belonged to Mexico and
fixing forever by treaty the long
standing dispute in regard to water
rights between the two nations, this
feature of the project being covered
by treaty dated May p, 1906 between
the United States and Mexico which
provides that upon compilations of the
project the United States shall deliver
10 Mexico total of $4,000 acre feet OF
water annually in the bed OF the no
Grande at the head works Of the eX-
isting Mexican canal above the city
OF Juarez. In return the Mexican gov
eminent valves all rights TO water in
the Rio Grande above the town of Fort
Ouftman Tex and all claims for past 1
project has had its many fights and
sQuabbIes over the ownership Of the I
waters of the Rio Grande by Texas, 1
New Mexico and Mexico, but all in |
terests were harmOniZed at the ma
tional irrigation congress, held in FL
Paso in 1904 The work of the sur
veys. collection of data, building of
the Leasburg diversion, have all been
accomplished and in four years there
VIII be more than enough water Tor
all purposes in the richest valley in
the United States
To Become Land Owners Property.
As the great dam is being built by
the United States reclamation service
for the valley land owners and is to be
paid for by them, it will become their
property at the end of ten years, sub
iect to government control The land
owners must repay the cost OF the dam
in ten years, in ten equal annual IN
stalmentS without interest, and aIleE
that time they will but pay the cost
of maintenance and administration II
is expected that the water power rights
of the great irrigation system, how
ever. Will bring in a greater return
than the annual expense and that the
water users will be paying dividends
rather than paying for water Eaen
landowner buys a water right with
every acre of land and becomes
stockhoIder in the irrigation proJecI
to the extent of his ownership, ana
ownership is not permitted for more
than $50 acres of land at the time OF
the delivery of water.
Tremendous Water Power.
The tremendous amount of water
power that may be generated becomes
apparent from the fact that the res
erroir will be over 40 miles long, COW
ering 1850 acres, completely o5lit-
Grating several small towns of his
toric Importance between Elephant
Butte and San Marcial, in New Mex
leo, and viii be sufficiently large to
impound every foot of the Tow of the
international stream for three years
Hydro electric power developed from
the storage in the reservoir and from
the water flow through a system of
canals. viii be available for the pump
ing of the waters of the underground
sea in the several valleys, to the
benches and mesa lands, well adapted
by nature for fruit growing, which lie
too high to be reached by gravity
canals During the nonirrigating sea
son which consists of two months IN
the year and two additional months
when little water for irrigation IS re-
Clired. auxiliary power plants VIII be
installed, operated by the cheap coal of
New Mexico. which in connection with
the power generated from the waters
held in leash by the great dam, VIII
furnish power to light the streets and
buildings and operate municipal and
interurban car lines. as well as mills
and industries, Of not only Ell Paso. but
of the entire area of country included
in the great project. and at a lower
cost than the cheap power that helped
make Pittsburg, Pa one OF the great
est Industrial centers of the world.
To Irrigatc Rich Acreage.
The lands to be irrigated include
$50. 600 acres and extend from the dam
site to IS miles below FL Paso. and
include all the rich lands of the Las
Palomas, Rincon, Nfesilla- JuareZ and
Fl Paso valleys. On January ], 1911.
there were under cultivation in this
area a total Of 9.66S acres, an in
crease of 1888 acres over the year
1903. and yet a vast acreage is still
and capable of making
homes for thousands One hundred
and sixteen thousand acres of land are !
vet TO be brought under cultivation in
the immediate vicinity of F. Paso, be- |
tween now and the date when the great :
dam delivers water onto the soil alonE |
its banks and there is water a plenty /
for all these purposes and more
The present cultivated area of So, |
SIS acres is irrigated by diversion /
dams. which the government has com /
pleted as a part of the project, and !
the owners are thus permitted to reap |
returns from their Investment while |
the great dam is under way Four |
and five crops of alfalfa are cut each |
year from the land in any of the val |
ley country surrounding Ell Paso. and |
pears. peaches, plUnls. apples, apricOats, !
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