El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-07-18
To Build WEIR
ACROSS RIVER
Imperial Valley Farmers to
Drain All of the Big
River Into Canal.

| Yuma. Ariz.. July 1S-Rather serious
trouble is brewing between the irriga-
i ton systems and communities Of the
Yuma and Imperial valleys. The i'm
mediate cause is a plan OF the Imperial
people to build. at a cost OF $685. a
rock weir across the Colorado river
channel at their canal heading. 20
drain every drop Of the rivers flow
into their canal This is to be rushed
and is 10 be completed within two
weeks
4 protest against the weir has been
sent from Yuma to the war depart
ment. which has control OF the Colo
RADIO river. on the very mistaken by
pOthesis that the stream is a navigable
one The war department has inter
fered before this when a permanent
dam was proposed and 1t is felt that
il will do so again II the dam be con-
structed it viii imperil the safety OF
the lower levees OF the Yuma irriga-
ton project
Once NaVignbIe. Now Sand Bar.
The Colorado IS ranked as one OF the
four great rivers of the United States.
1t has a watershed of 229.0uo square
miles and n flow that varies from 5000
feet per second 10 $50. 00O. the latter in
the freshet period Of early summer.
though great floods come in the
sprinEtime down the ella, which joins
the main stream just above Yuma. TIL
construction Of the Laguna dam Of the
Yuma project in 1909. steamboats, ran
from the Gulf of California past Yuma.
up into Nevada. Steamboat connection
was kept up with the gulf and Yuma
was a port of entry till lately. even
now having a representative Of the
customs service.
All Of this water connection has been
wiped out. however. by the develop
ment of irrigation IN the Imperial val
ley For the greater part of the year
the channel OF the Colorado below the
Imperial heading IS bare bed of sand,
whre steamers once piled.
AbridEes Yuma Project.
The wiping out of Yuma as a sea
port is not very material matter.
whatever its sentimental side. The
trouble now in sight IS an attack upon
local water rights. abridging the grand
possibilities of the Yuma project.
This community has known irrigation
since about 1862. when Jose Redondo
built a canal constructing a larger in
1871. fed from the Colorado The La
guna irrigation system is designed to
furnish water TO about 100000 acres
in this vicinity and its cost is assessed
against that acreage. Yet in 1915 there
were only 27.S57 acres under cultiva-
ton These figures have been in
creased materially during the current
season. but the community still is
some distance from the maximum
acreage.
Water Shortage Causes Big Loss.
In the imperial valley the first canal
was finished in 1901 irriga ting about
1000 acres in the vicinity of Calexico.
This acreage since has been increased
to several hundred thousand watered
by main canal that takes all the min
imUm flow of the Colorado and yet has
not enough. According TO chief engi-
neer c. r. lockwood. of the Imperial
system. Last year the Imperial farm
ers lost $500. coo from water shortage:
this year il may run up to 81 .0OO. 600
though just how serious the shortage
viii be is impossible to cell now"
Imperial Has Insufficient Water.
Several propositions now seem bound