El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-06
Elephant Butte Dam Is Now 81 Per Cent Complete;
Waters VIII Lrigate the Entire Rio Grande Valley

/ AASate the SuDJacenL valleys for a
Whole season but, should occasion ever
! require it, for two whole years of to-
/ tai drouth.
Work Nears Completion.
| Accordingly the work Of building
| the necessary dam was begun. THAT
/ work is now little more than IS
/ per cent completed It is stated thai
actuaI storing of water behind the
! Dig dam viii be begun. It will REQUIRE
! some months to finish the dam. and
/ work on the minor project of building
/ S INVERSION dams and irrigation canals
below IT is well under way
Most of the irrigation canals and
ultches already in use under the com
munity plan will be utilized in the final
Schene- me two great needs of the
/ lands under this project Just at this
! time are: first, more available water
| Tor irrigation, and second, more prac-
ucal tanners with ready cash enough
10 oegln active operations upon the
rleh lands that await their coming.
me first Of these needs is being rap
ldly eIlminated-so rapidly that It may
! fairly be regarded as negligible at this
I time.
me second becomes more crying and
! apparent with every week that passes:
and yet, so perfectly do the laws of
supply and demand adjust themselves.
the prices of available lands are rising
steadily all the time. 1t is safe to
assert that those who come within the
next few months viii be able to buy
at fraction of what the same lands
VIII Dring few years hence.
Dam is of Gravity Type.
Inc Elephant Butte dam is of the
gravity type. 1t is composed of the
usual concrete mixture poured around
huge rocks Weighing three or four
tons each and conveyed from a quarry
ABOUT mile back in the bills to be
dropped, like plums in a pudding. all
through the gigantic dam. IN fact.
these rocks are called plums. The
up and down stream faces Of the dam
are cast against forms, giving them a
smooth, even surface
II is LOO feet long on top. It's max
lmuIn height, from the deepest excava-
ton to the top Of the parapet wall is
SO4-5 feet. Its maximum width of
base is 215 feet.
The roadway on its top will be 16
feet wide. It will contain, when fin
lshed, $4,000 cubic yards of concrete.
For the benefit of those who know
something Of the details of this sort Of
construction, it may be added that ex-
pansiOn joints have been built in the
dam every 100 feet to within 100 feet
Of the top, and thence every so feet
Ihese expansion joints are of the
tongue and groove variety
The foundation of the dam was
grouted TO depth Of 40 feet below
the bottom Of the dam by two inch
holes drilled every ten feet in two
lines from one Side of the eanvon 70
the other The dam is to be faced
with one inch Of grouting blown un-
der heavy pressure from a cement gun. !
making it almost impervious to water.
nevertheless, drainage holes s, 10 and
" inches in diameter and feet from
center to center have been left in
Two lines the full length of the dam, |
opening into chambers which com
municate with a large drainway. In
TACT It would seem that the engineers !
have left nothing undOne which might
in any way, add to the stability and /
effectiveness of this huge structure.
How the Water VIII BE Used.
me big dam viii be provided with 1
slulee gates for turning out excess !
water and getting rid of sediment; /
service gates served by balanced valves |
for turning out the water required for /
use IN the irrigation canals and ditch /
eS; and penstOck gates by which water /
may be released for the operation of !
power plants as needed.
For it is a part of Uncle Sans plan l
that not only will the stored waters !
be used for irrigatinE the valleys be- /
low, but that they may be made to l
turn the wheels of a mammoth hydro
electric plant, to furnish cheap power |
which may be used for pumping water l
upon the lower mesa lands and con- !
verting them into orchards and vine /
yards-and for such other uses as the 4
people living in the benefited sections /
may direct.
Have 200 Miles Of Shore Line.
When the artificial lake behind the
dam has been completely filled by the .
flood waters of the Rio Grande, it will
have shore line of 200 miles. 1t
viii be approximately 200 feet deep
at the dam and will have an average
depth Of about IS feet. It will be
more than six miles wide. It will con-
tain 862,200, 100000 gallons of water
water enough to stand ten inches deep
over the whole state of Connecticut or
fill pipe four feet in diameter long
enough to reach almost 20 times {
around the world
Pleasure Resort Planned.
A spillWay viii be built to provide
Tor the escape of surplus waters after
the big lake is full-and by the way /
this viii be the largest artificial lake
on earth. Plans are already under
way for extensive summer resort fea-
lures at the lake and at Palomas Hot
Springs, six miles below.
The big lake will lie in a rugged
mountain district, Astounding with
game and good fishing streams. 12O
miles north of the city of FL PasO, and
must inevitably become within a few
years veritaDle sportsmans paradise.
Deer, wild turkeys and other game is
very plentiful in the mountains round
about it, Getting il stocked with game
Dish is but matter Of a few years.
However, the thing which makes
this project notable is not the size of
the dam, nor any peculiarities in fits
nor the lake it will create
nor any other minor consideration of
that character. The overwhelming
fact connected with it is the transfer
nation which it is making in the Las
Palomas, Rincon, Mesilla and Ell Paso
valleys
Never We're Desert Lands.
These valleys could never have been
properly. termed desert lands; for
they have always been rich in pOten-
-ial productiTeness. Their soil is a
fertile alluvium gathered along its up
per reaches by the Rio Grande river
and its tributary streams. 1t has
lacked nothing but moisture to make
It yield This moisture is now being
assured by the Elephant Butte Gam
in exactly such quantities
and at such times as the farmer de-
iires
The Las Palomas valley contains,
according to the government surveys, |
$500 acres of irrigable land. Very lit
lie Of this is under cultivation at the I
present time. This valley is the only
1ne of the four not traversed by rail-
ways. It is however, easily accessible
~ wagon road. 1t contains some of
he most beautiful scenery of the
southwest, and among other notable
lttT9cfiOug rarnoue Pa1Or1aS