The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-05-31
RESERVOIRS OF LAKES.

| HESEBvOlhS Of LAhGo
| The Tribune is in favor o. the mems
ure that is being pushed in the Senate
by Smoot to give Salt Lake City the
specific command of the lakes OF the
Big Cottonwood for reservoir purposes.
There had not been any supposition
that there would bc any difficulty about
this when the city negotiated WITH
those who originally filed npon those
lakes for their appropriation. for the
| use Of the lakes as reservoirs to rem
| force the city's water supply. But
the General Land Office at Washington
ruled that special act of Congress
would be necessary TO enable the city
to enter upon the possession of those
lakes according to the negotiations it
had made with those who fled upon
them and sold their claims TO the city
There was a good deal of discussion
about this ruling Of the General Land
Office at the time that it was made,
and the best opinion here Was that the
ruling was made in accordance with a
sentimental conservation policy which
wonld like TO annu every effort or any
person or community TO Get any ben
eft from the natural resources of the
region in which the city or the individ-
ual is located. There seems to be no
objection in the law TO the fling upon
those lakes by the persons who fled
upon them for water purposes. 1t was
only when the city undertook to get
the claims thus fled upon and use the
water for public purposes that remon-
STRANGE was made by the General Lana
undertaken to complete their title, very
likely the same objection would have
been made.
However, since the General Land Of
fee took that position. and insisted
that n special act of Congress was nee
essarv in order TO allow the city to OBJ
tain the use of the lakes that had been
negotiated for with those who claimed
them, it is probably the easiest way
out Of the difficulty 10 get such law
passed There ought t. DC no objec-
tion at all in either House of Con.
gress to the passage OF this bill. IL
Injuries no one, it would DESTROY no
natural right or beauty, since the lakes
would not be drained, and it would
serve useful purpose by giving to
the city in time of need the use of the
water thus stored.
The purpose is to dam mp and utilize
all the lakes and raise them TO level
higher than the natural
one, thus storing very largo quantities
Of water in addition to the natural ca
pacity of the pools formed by glacial
action. By the use Of these lakes, the
reserve water supply of the city would
be very largely increased, and this sup
ply would be available at any time Of
need. though we can scarcely imagine
the taking Of all the water of these
lakes. We trust that the bill may pass,
and see no reason why it should not.
In discussing this question of future
water supply, we,urge upon the city au-
thorities the keeping alive OF the prof.
ect for making a big reservoir up Par
Iey's Canyon at the old Hardy Flat.
There is at point below that fat
natural place for a retaining dam, and
the fat gives ample space for a big
reservoir. The city engineer number
Of years ago, located the position for
such dam, found bedrock easy TO be
reached, so that the foundation of the
dam would be on a firm basis. The
dam could easily be made heavy enough
to resist the pressure of any quantity
Of water at that point, and undoubted
" there could be collected there such
a volume of water as would give the
city reservoir sufficient for any need
for many years to come. We do not
advocate the putting in of that dam at
the present time, but only the keeping
alive of the right of the city to put in
that improvement whenever it sees fit.
a storage reservoir at that point would
be of immense Importance to this city,
and would afford water reserve far
superior TO any available elsewhere,
and that reservoir, in connection with
a series Of smaller reservoirs up City
Creek, for which nature has, in fact,
given ample opportunity, would assure
the water supply of this city for gene
rations in the future.