The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1919-08-05

} De the best plan for the ultimate
development of the whole country, 4
ut impractical for private enterprise |
and the resolution was adopted.
The committee selected was as |
follows.
The Twin Falls projects including |
Minidoka, J. C. Wheeler, Twin Falls;
Bingham county, D. H. Blossom,
Aberdeen; Bonneville county, Grin
Lee of Leorin: Jefferson county, John |
w. Hart of Menan; Madison county,
E. A. Anderson; consulting attorney,
Cheney St. Clair, Idaho Falls; con-
sulting engineer, F. A. Banks, Idaho
Falls.
Some of the facts brought out in
the meeting are as follows:
The Surveys are Made
All preliminary surveys have been
made on the Swan Lake site, and
data is available In the Offices Of the
department of reclamation. No
soundings were taken to determine
the depth of bedrock. Some ranches
have been purchased by the govern
ment to be used for the site. Con-
struction work could begin with
little loss of time. for preliminaries.
It will hold about 100000 acre-feet
of water and no estimate could be
given of the probable cost, owing to
the disturbance In prices of materials
and labor. It's capacity would be
about equal to the Jackson Lake and
the amount of water passing thru
that site is something like four times
as great as what passes thru the
essary to extend railroad some dis
Lance to reach 1t during construction.
The Master Reservoir
The American Falls site has q
capacity OF about two million acre
feet and gathers the direct and in
direct flow, (return flow) of all the
upper valleys. No estimate could be
given as to the probable cost, altho
estimates were made prior to the
disturbances incident to the war.
Moving Whole Town
The town of American Falls would
have to be removed to higher ground,
the railroad line would have to be
rebuilt for long distance and put on
top of the dam, the power site al
ready in operation would have to be
condemned, 10000 acres of fine hay
lands on the reservation would have
to, be bought, many thousand acres
of farms in Tilden Flats would have
to be bought, and the Tilden bridge
| No In, re-
present site.
Take as Long as the War
The time needed to get construc-
ton under way enough to have any
stored water available at all would
probably be two years or more, and
completion would probably take as
much as five years. 1t would be one
of the largest reservoirs in the world,
rivaling the one between Texas and
Old Mexico, in the canyon of the Rio
Grande, and the waters stored in it
would be used in supplementing the
water rights of the Twin Falls and
Minidoka country on both sides of
the river, and perhaps for the
Bruneau country in Owyhee county,
but nobody was representing them
in the meeting. y
Too Big for Private Concerns
For such large project as the
American Falls reservoir it was
deemed necessary for the federal
government to-, take charge of the
work, tho private interests like an
association of canal companies of
many counties might be required to
put up part of the money for con-
struction to show good faith. The
same might be done in connection
with the Swan valley reservoir.
Greatest Reservoir is Ready
A great sub-surface reservoir is