Iron County record. [volume] (Cedar City, Utah) 1893-1982, 1919-10-31


the Salt Lake Route looks out Of the
window of the Pullman ufon the wide
expanse of gray sage-covered land
stretching for miles southwark and
eastward from Milford and is told
that it is the Escalante desert. He
little dreams Of the existence of fine
farms and busy settlements in or near
such a desolate spot, yet they do exist
on the eastern and southern border OF
this apparent waste of land, and they
form the pioneer portion Of a vast de-
velopment work jest now in process of
birth--a development that will soon
mean thousands Of farms and some
new towns for Utah.
Such statement made without the
consideration of supporting facts, will
seem but extravagant prophecy, yet
the things just now happening in that
locality become real facts that appeal
to the engineer and business man.
Eleven years ago a settlement was
formed about eighteen miles east Of
Modena, known as Enterprise. The
sturdy farmers established themselves
there at the mouth Of great canyon,
doing so because they could build in
this canyon, few miles from their
town, a large catch-basin reservoir,
designed to impound the food water
drainage from the mountains above.
BORE FOR WATER
Following the completion of the
reservoir, they put under cultivation
about five thousand acres on the edge
of the Escalante desert. The soil was
very rich and today shade and fruit
trees and great alfalfa fields bear ST.
lent but eloquent testimony Of sue
cess. But always as a cloud upon the
prospect was the fear of the year of
drought, and the experience Of the
eleven years has proved such fears
well grounded; and so with the unus-
ually dry season just closed resulting
in shortened crop, the farmers de-
termined to prospect for underground
water flow, with the result that a do
zen successful wells have been bored,
disclosing the existence Of wonder
full water supply along the deserts
edge.
Cheap electric power with which to
operate pumps is available from the
Santa Clara plants Of the Dixie Pow
err company, thirty miles distant, and
there has just been installed the first
electrically driven deep well pump to
be used in retaining the great Escal-
ante deserts acreage of rich soil.
WELLS PROVE SUCCESSFUL
This pump, on test delivered 500
gallons per minute from we'll but
thirty feet deep and it has already
been proven near Parowan that such
well can irrigate 100 acres of land.
The Enterprise company is sinking
series of wells along it's canal and
next season will pump into the main
canal all the water needed for the
early irrigation, holding their reser-
voir supply as a reserve to insure the
taking Of their crops through to the
final irrigation.
A score of miles to the northward
of Enterprise, right in the middle Of
the desert, venturesome farmer has
sunk a well, disclosing fine water
supply within about two hundred feet
depth, and, pumping from this well
with gas engine, has successfully
irrigated and produced seventy acres
of corn at a cost Of less than SO per
acre for water. For miles on each
side of this farm stretches desert
land, unpuestionably underlaid with an
ample artesian water supply at rea-
sonable pumping cost
For miles eastward lies the beauti-
full Cedar Valley, in which an artesian
water supply has but recently been
developed. More than a score of wells
have been bored with success, and the
existence Of the under ground supply
is now demonstrated for a length of
thirty-eight miles in the Cedar and
Parowan valleys. The electric power
lines as consequence have recently
completed a distance of fifty-fve
miles to supply energy for the well
pumps, Five contracting outfits are
busy sinking wells and next season
will witness the transformation of
hundreds Of arces Of gray sage into
fine, growing green fields.
WATER SUPPLY CHEAP
1t is not fanciful to predict the con-
quest of 10000 acres of these deserts
within the next few years by reason
of well pumping.
lt will be done because fine land
Continued on page fve.)