Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1920-01-04
PREPIRED
F0RIRR|ClT|ONDlM
At AMERICAN FALLS
Will Allow Upper Valley Of the
Snake River as Much Water
as Paid for Lower Down
Use Jackson Lake Storage.

A meeting was held in the court
house Tuesday for the purpose of dis
cussing the contract relative to storage
water and the building OF the big dam
and reservoir at American Falls. says
the Idaho Falls Times. The meeting
was held by the general committee Of
five appointed several months ago, to-
gether with reclamation officials and
others interested in the matter. The
contract as presented by the reclama-
ton service Is quite voluminous 1t
was read and discussed by paragraph
and alterations made in many in
stances. The committee Is now busy
getting the contract in shape as modi-
fled and will bring it before a meeting
called for next Monday in this city,
commencing at $50 a. m.
WHAT CONTRACT PROVIDES.
As 1t is understood the contract, in
short. provides that the people of the
upper country here shall have right
in the Jackson Lake reservoir equal to
the amount of acre fec. contracted for
in the American Falls reservoir, that
the Minidoka tract which is under the
reclamation service will transfer their
right in the Jackson Lake reservoir to
the upper country in lieu of the upper
country's right in American Falls res
ervoir, at the expiration of three years,
provided that the American Falls right
shall prove to be as good right as the
one relinquished.
A number of copies of the revised
contract will be provided so that every
one present at the meeting Monday can
have copy. Directors of all the var
ious canals which have applied for
storage water together with all Off
GERS and representatives are urged to
attend the meeting Monday at Idaho
Falls SO that the contract can undergo
a thorough discussion.
The amount applied for so far is
32O, 900 acre feet. The amount of stor-
age water heretofore purchased
amounts to 100000 acre feet. This will
make a total of 422,O00 acre feet of
storage water Of the upper country in
the Jackson Lake reservoir. This res
ervoir has capacity of 100000 acre
feet. III.
CONTRACTING FOR WATER.
II the government builds the reser-
voir at American Falls it will no doubt
be built of capacity sufficient to con-
troll all the surplus water of Snake
river. 1t is talked more or less that
quite good many canals are contract
ing for less water than the engineers
of these canals recommended. For in
stance the engineers of one canal rec
commended the purchase Of 10000 acre
feet. In another instance the cngi-
Ineer's estimated called for 10000 acre
feet and the stockholders voted to con-
tract for 5000 acre feet. 1t seems to be
simply a matter of farmer, backing
his own knowledge against that of an
engineer who has been hired to make
! the estimate. The engineer no doub'
made his estimate on last years record
which noted the lower water ever re-
corded. Possibly the farmer reasons
| that it will never be that low again
| 1t may not but II it should the loss
sustained in that single year would be
| greater than the cost of the water
| And now is the time to get the water
il ever. In case the big reclamation
scheme goes through. this is the las
chance to get more water.