Elko independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 1915-current, 1915-09-28
CONS THE
STATES WATER.

me
STATES WATER.
THE day is coming when not a drop
OF water will be allowed to 20 to waste
In Nevada.
The state now has more Iand than
1t has water to irrigate it. Therefore
We must conserve our water supply.
Pyramid lake is fifty miles long,
fifteen miles wide and nan feet deep.
From its surface there evaporates
each year water enough TO irrigate
nearly Q million acres of land. At
present this water is absolutely vast
ed.
The day will come when all that
water will be conserved. 1t will be
carried In concrete bitches as far east
as the Lovelock valley.
A great desert all along the way
will be watered. The greasewood and
hardpan will give way t. alfalfa fields
and the bees will gather thousands of
tons Of honey.
The day is also coming when the
Humboldt valley will also receive at.
tention from the politicians and the
reclamation service. Millions of dol,
lars have been spent on the Carson
and Truckee projects.
All that the Humboldt section has
received is the glad hand and honeyed
words at election time. When it
comes to appropriating money for
storage on the Humboldt the powers
turn the deaf ear and the blind eye
toward us.
One reason for this is that east
ern Nevada has no representation in
congress. One never gets anything
unless he asks for 1t. Politicians nev-
er volunteer anything. They never
act until they are compelled to.
Elko should have a chamber of COM
merce to join hands with other towns
along the Humboldt river and make n
demand for an appropriation to store
the rivers flood waters.
Los Angeles Is now carrying water
from Owens lake to the city in I
concrete lined conduit for $50 miles
that cost twenty-three million dollars.
The cost will not be near SO great
but the day Is coming when every
drop of water in the Humboldt for 200
miles will flow in a concrete lined
ditch.
This will reclaim thousands of
acres OF swamps and sloughs and 1t
will double the water supply of the
Humboldt. 1t has beer found by
measurement that the flow of tn
Humboldt some distance above Bat
tie Mountain is twice what It is below
that point.
Most OF this water Is now lost in
the Bloughs and does no one any good.
But n It is carried in a ditch instead
OF the winding channel of the river
the water will all be saved for duty In
the lower valley.
The day Ia coming when the water
rights of the Humboldt will all be ad-
Indicated. Every man with a farm
Win be assured an adequate water sup.
ply. Then h surplus water will be
stored and enterprises like that at Me-
trop6fis will be allowed to go ahead
and use stored water.
There is water and land enough in
the Humboldt valley to support ten
times the present population. This
means more taxable wealth and the
entire state Is interested.
Therefore all Nevada should join
hands In making the demand for raj
er storage on the Humboldt. As IL
IL now about the only boost eastern
Nevada gets Is when the state tax
commission raises the assessment roll
seventy.hye per cent.
Even now Elko is paying one.hfth of
all the state tax. Give us adequate
storage reservoirs and Elko county
can pay the other four.ffths of the
state TAX and never miss the money.