The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-06-16
FINISHING 4 GREAT ENGINEERING FEAT Build SyphOn Under Col
 Orado River TO TRRIGATE DESSERT Project Taken Up in Arizona as Soon as Roosevelt Dam Was Com-
 pleted-Will Reclaim 1O0,-
 900 Acres of Land
TO IRRIGATE DESSERT
By JONATHAN WINFIELD

opening of the most stupendous piece of engineering ever undertaken by the reclamation service of the interior depart ment.
 Scarcely had the first wave topped the Roosevelt dam, rushing onward toward the desert region which 1t was to irri- gate than the experts of the reclamation service cast their eyes about for some other natural obstacle which they might overcome and thus aid Americans to add to the resources of their country The desert of which the service has re- claimed more than a million acres up to the present time, seemed to be the most profitable place for future work and Di- rector Newhall accordingly sent out let ters to the governors of the desert states asking that the questions of irri- gation, which seemed insurmountable, be submitted to the service for a possible solution.
 The reply from the governor of Arizona "won the prize" and it was decided to try the ingenuity of the service on the following problem:
 The Colorado river, when flowing be- tween the lower part of Arizona and Call ifornia, carries vast amount of water
 
 and fertilization of the Yuma Misa, which at present is entirely barren and sterile because of the lack of moisture. The Gila (pronounced Hila) river. form ing the northern boundary of the measa, Is fclxle stream, seldom remaining in the same place for two consecutive months and oftentimes shifting as much as five or 10 miles in a single season, so it was impracticable to use this stream with a n pnndt1ptfnp wa ar through canals to the mesa For the same reason it was not possible to tap the Colorado above the Gila and run the water down in a canal under the Gila and thence to the mesa, for the Gila would not remain in one place long enough to be undermined
 Therefore the question was how to get the water over the eastern bank of the Colorado so as to irrigate the mesa. E Director Newhall accordingly sent ex- perts from Washington to the southern part of the Colorado and told them to take measurements of the surrounding country and to report 10 him as to the best methods of conducting water to the 100000 acres of arid mesa.
 The experts stated that the only way to accomplish this feat would be to canal the water on the west side of the Colo rado the California side) to point op- posite the mesa, then to dig a subway under the river and by means of the principle that water seeks it's own level," to syphon it under the Colorado and upon the otherside, where it could be dis posed of at will.
 The engineering feat which the reclama- ton service will celebrate the latter part of this month will be the completion of this syphon the largest in the world and an engineering project fit to rank in mag nitude and magnificence of construction with the Roosevelt dam.
 The first part of the services pro- gramme was easily accomplished.
 Some three miles north of the mesa the Colorado was tapped on the western shore and preparations begun tor the building of a canal capable of carrying the most amount of water needed to irri- gate the desert region. This canal was continued down to point opposite the site of the reservoir on tne Arizona side, which was to be constructed later.
 Then commenced the really hard work connected with the project. Prospectors, having sounded the Colorado river at this point, decided that the tunnel under the river would have to be at least 65 feet below the bed of the Colorado in order to be safe, for the sandy nature of the soil fin this region would render 1t liable to landslldes and quicksands, which would endanger the workers were they nearer the surface
 Orders were at once issued for the as- sembling of the necessary apparatus from the east and the enrolling of the sand hogs," who are versed in the art of working inside of caissons under high air pressure These men, for the most part, were recruited from New York. where they had just finished working on the Hudson river tunnels, and, although off cials figured that they would lose about r men-tunnels of this nature demanding a toll of about one life for every month which they are worked-one death only was reported during the entire time the tunnel was under construction.
 After caissons had been sunk to depth of S5 feet on the California side sim liar apparatus was installed on the Arizona bank and the sand was tunneled away to a depth of S3 feet. Then com menced the work of digging the sand from beneath the bed of the river and the in staling of the brick-lined subway, which was to carry the water from one side to the other. Little by little the arduous work continued until about three months ago the entire tunnel was completed and for the first time men were able to walk from one side of the Colorado to the other without getting their feet wet or passing over the water.
 The rest of the project was compara- l lively simple. A large reservoir, capable of holding 50.000000 gallons of water, was constructed on the Arizona side and into this the water from the upper Colorado will be pumped by natural power when the isluice gates are thrown open and the 16 foot tunnel is flooded with the water from three miles up stream. The tunnel has a capacity of 100000 gallons of water minute. but it is not probable that 1t will ever be allowed to reach its full ca pacity, for this would appreciably dimin- ish the volume of the Colorado and cause the imperial valley below to suffer from lack of water. Once the giant reser- voir on the Arizona side is filled only to keep. it at a reasonable level and to properly irrigate the mesa. which. accord Ing to Director Newhall in less than a year will be a veritabls garden spot com parable to the best land of southern Call ifornia.
 The engineers of the reclamation service are proud and rightly so of their achievements, for nowhere fin tho world does there exist a siphon which is com parable to the Yuma project, either in size, in quantity of water carried or in the natural difficulties which had to be overcome With the Roosevelt dam and the Yuma project to their credit in less than three years, the service could well afford to rest on its laurels, but Director Newhall is authority for the statement that the next efeat undertaken by his en- gineers will eclipse both of these won ders and do more than both of them to- gether for the betterment of America and the cheaper living of the American peo- ple What this feat will be the director but ff will ta h