Imperial Valley press., 1913-12-19
Engineer Anderson
Replies to Critic

Editor Press: Dear Sir--In reply to
Imperial Enterprise editorial of De-
cember II, 1918. "Mr. Anderson's
Untenable Position"
Mr.. De Dackin, in an editorial in
yesterdays Imperial Enterprise, at
tempts to straighten out his article
published November 10Th, by chang
ing "the total discharge of the Color
ado river during the same months
five months of the winter) into the
"daily" discharge. The word "daily"
does not appear in his original article,
but in the editorial is used quite fire.
quently.
Mr.. DeRackin's article leads us to
believe the discharge of the Gila, dur
ing the five winter months, is 5000
acre feet, and the total discharge of
the Colorado is less than 5000 acre
feet, from which we are to infer that
the discharge of the Colorago is 1000
acre feet for the five winter months.
At a matter Of record, the Colorado
river, at Laguna dam, had total dis
charge of 2,151,794 acre feet for the
five winter months, of last winter, or
an average of 14,251.4 acre feet per
day, which is over seven times the
amount Mr.. DeRackin will allow even
changing his figures from five months
to one day. The lowest winter dis
charge of the Colorago river at La
guna dam was 1890 acre feet from
November, 1908, to March, 1904, in
elusive, which gives an average daily
discharge of 9,252 acre feet, or more
than four and one-half times as much
during this low period as Mr.. DeRack-
in would have US understand.
The Gila river during five months
of last winter had total discharge of
1000 acre feet into the Colorado river
at Yuma, or an average daily flow of
1872 acre feet, while Mr.. De Rackin
would have us believe the Gila dis
charge is 23O times this amount or
5000 acre feet per day. = r
We cannot, however, overlook the
fact that there are days when the dis
charge of the rivers is great deal
less than the average, although there
have been mighty few days, if any,
that the flow of the Colorado river
goes as low as 1000 acre feet per day,
which would be flow of about 1000
cubic feet per second.
Reference is made to the data COM
piled by Mr.. Holabird, which is said
to demonstrate that the water flow
ing in the Colorado was only suffi-
cient to furnish water to lands now
under the canal system as completed
or projected. This data is very val
liable data, and goes to show that the
estimated amount of water to be used,
when all lands under the present pro-
jected system are under cultivation,
will approximate the minimum sup
ply of water in the river during the
minimum discharge periods of the
winter months.
I thoroughly agree with Mr.. De
Rackin regarding the priority of right
enjoyed by the water users of this
valley under our diversion from Han
Ions heading, but who is the title
to the water vested in? The lands up
on which the water has been used or
the California Development Company.
Also is this water right good for the
10000 cubic feet per second filed on,
or has it lapsed to the actual amount
diverted, about 5000 second feet?
If the filing belongs to the land and
the land saw fit to change it's point Of
diversion, would it not be possible to
obtain a concession from our govern
ment allowing this change? Even if
it comes to such thing as abandon
ing the present heading the people
of the valley through the irrigation
QlSCTlCC, IldS q liiIiiS Cic'c 40 oSSOiiN
to but 34O,OO0 acres Of land, which, in
connection with storage reservoirs in
the Grand Canyon, would be able to
supply an ample amount of water for
the ultimate one million acres irrig
able by gravity and pumping in I'm
'perial county.
Mr.. F. H. Newell, director of the U.
S. r. S., at conference with the di-
rectors of the irrigation district, in
Yuma, November Oath, made the
statement that the Colorado river
water supply was ample for all lands
possible to be irrigated from the Colo
RADIO river, either by gravity or by
pumping and that storage reservoirs
would not be necessary for several
years, but, at a later time, it would
be necessary to construct storage res