The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1914-10-03
GREATER HUM
BOLDTCORPORAT|ON

The president of the Greater Hum
boIdt Corporation was interviewed
last week and after a full statement
of the plans of that company, it cer-
tainly seems that a comprehensive
and practicable water system has
been formulated that will reclaim
many thousands of acres of land.
The plans are based upon present
conditions, which are as follows:
Humboldt valley is divided into
three parts, of nearly equal length.
The upper hundred miles is the water
shed part, and about one hundred
thousand acres are now under irriga-
tion there. The next hundred miles
is practically swamp, and has about
thrty-fve thousand acres under irri-
cation. The lower hundred miles con-
tains about forty thousand acres un-
der irrigation.
After supplying water for the hun
dred thousand acres at the upper
part. there is an average annual flow
into the middle part of about 600,-
900 acre-feet of water, which, proper
ly used, should irrigate four hundred
thousand acres of land; but the loss
is SO great in flowing across the
swamp that the water users at the ex-
trome lower end of the lower part
claim they are short of water nine
years out of ten. This great loss Of
water, amounting to sufficient for the
irrigation Of $4,000 acres of land,
will belong to the party who will con-
struct water system for it's conser-
vation and use.
If no part of the valley was being
irl ligated today, the proper method Of
procedure in providing a water sys-
ten would be to utilize all the water
at the upper end of the valley first,
ard then as the return seepage flow
became available below, take it out
aea ain and again, as often as it return
ed to the surface, until the lower end
WAS reached. By this method the
water would be used several times,
ard the SWAMP lands drained as they
were reached.
Unfortunately for the greatest sue
GERS in the least period of time, this
method cannot be carried out, as the
la DIS under irrigation below must be
| ta'sen into consideration, and what
ever system devised must provide for
| tb delivery to those lands of the
W; ter they have the right to use.
| The. plans of the company are for
th enlargement of the river channel
or new channel where needed, to pro-.
vi for conducting the water across
tt swamp or overflowed lands; stor-
ae reservoirs for holding back the
he wy run-offs in wet seasons and
WI en- not needed for irrigation, for
use in dry seasons or dry parts of the
ir cation season. and diverting sys-
tie S for conducting the water upon
nc lands and providing better irri-
gs ion systems for present irrigated
la Is.
Fhe money to pay costs of construc-
ticn of the works is to be raised by
mt ms of the provisions of the "Carey
Act" and it IS proposed to use part
of the surplus water that will be con-
serged for that purpose, and then ap-
pl, the balance for use upon private
lards and where it will be of the
greatest benefit
The company has selected four
storage reservoir sites that will hold
100000 acre-feet of water had coz
tor survey made of the overflowed
part showing necessity of sixty miles
of new channel, and found where it
can select one hundred thousand
ac es of government land--or as much
as will be sufficient to act for credit
in borrowing the money needed to pay
cots of construction Of the works.
Western Home Builder.