The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1919-08-06
Project Attorney Explains Action of
Service in Asking for Increase in
Range of Control of Lake

hoe situation.
we have studied this matter very
thoroughly and the records show
clearly a range of six feet for use
for irrigation purposes with proper
consideration of the requirements of
the power plants in the upper part OF
the Truckee river, would utilize all
the water which could be stored in
the lake, without interfering with its
scenic beauty. Such a range would
allow but a small amount of waste
in the high water and supply the ir-
rigation requirements under the
most extreme conditions shown by
our records with bui a very slight
shortage in the worst years"
In connection with the Lake Ia
hoe controversy. r. NJ. Patrick. at
torney for the Newlands' project,
gave the following statement to the
Gazette showing exactly what the
reclamation service is striving to ae-
complish in the matter of regulating
the flow of water from the lake:
Almost since the reclamation act
was passed In 1909. the service has
been trying TO obtain more storage
3apaelty III Lake Tahoe. AT present,
in years of heavy run-off,we are COM
PEELED to release from Tahoe in the
spring and early summer, water that
we should hold back in the lake un-
til late summer for irrigation use. If
we had more storage capacity in the
lake we could store the heavy floods
in a year like 1907 and use the wa
ter in a dry summer like 1918, and
this would enable US to bring under
cultivation some.. 10000 or $4,000
acres of excellent government land
now a desert.
In order to secure greater stor-
age capacity in the lake the service
plans to dredge near the outlet or
rim" of the lake so that when the
lake Is low, sufficient water may be
released for irrigation use. By this
means the effective reservoir of con-
trolled water could be made one and
one-half feet deeper. and the water
available for the project increased by
a maximum of 10000 acre-feet. 1t
is not planned to draw water from
the lake below its natural low water
level (Which, if we are correct in our
studies, is at elevation 6223 feet
above sea level) but after the dredg
ing at the outlet were done. we
could lower the lake faster than it
fell in a state of nature and so Sc
cure a stream of water large enough
for our project, and at the time it is
needed for irrigation.
1.-THE service, as one item of its
plans, intends to compel the Tahoe
Railroad & transportation Company
to move to higher ground its line of
road between Tahoe and Truckee
This railroad line is now very close
to the Truckee river below the out
let of the lake, and prevents large
releases from the lake at times of
heavy floods, when such releases are
necessary to keep the lake from ris-
ing very high and doing a great deal
of damage to property around the
lake. Early this year we met the
board of directors of the company
and offered to bear the cost of max
ing the line of road safe for large
releases, but the company informed
us that it could be dealt with only in
the courts.
"The plans of the government, if
in operation during the eighteen
year period from 1900 to 1917, in
elusive, would have lowered the lake
on the average about seven inches,
and at times as much as eighteen
inches, although generally speaking
this extreme low water would have
come late in the irrigation season,
after the large releases for irrigation
had been made, and after the own
ers of summer homes on the shore
had left the lake. The high water
of 1907 which did much damage to
property around the lake would have
been entirely prevented by the large
releases that could have been made
from the lake.
"For two or three months by let
ters and personal calls have been
explaining these matters to the Ta-
hoe property owners in the attempt
to secure amicable settlements with
them. by which they would grant the
United States the desired storage
rights including the right 10 make
the outlet changes referred to above,
and the United States in turn would
pay them the cost of extending their
piers, etc.
Generally they have been unwill-
ing to grant the desired rights, part
ly perhaps because the matter is