The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-07-16
SOME RECLAMATION NEWS

For several months there has been
talk of canal tapping Snake river
near the town of Shelley, and this
paper has been silent on the sub
iect because the information was
not released. In other words, we
were given some facts about it, on
condition that We published nothing
until we received permission or un-
til We had some knowledge that 1t
was ready for publication.
The whole proposition has been
turned down by a corps of engineers
in four-day consideration. 1t may
be built at some later time, but for
the present it seems to have a very
remote chance.
American Falls Reservoir
When the American Falls -reser-
voir is built and all the water held
up, it will destroy the power plant.
and some substitute has to be sup
piled, or they will have to let eAough
water pass thru the dam all the time
to generate power.
In order to store the complete
flow of the river they devised a
plan to take out canal about hun
dred feet wide and fifteen feet deep
at Woodville narrows, just above
Shelley, and convey it down the
country on lines where it could be
drawn upon for irrigation in the
irrigating season, and dump it into
Snake river again above the Ameri-
can Falls dam. The generating
plant would be rebuilt at the place
where the water is dumped, and af-
ter it had passed the wheel it would
still be in the reservoir.
At any time that the waters of
this canal were needed for irrigation
water would also be needed for ir-
rigation below the dam and by keep
ing the present power station in
working order they could let water
thru the dam and supply power from
there. That would release the can
al water for watering above the dam
and the released water passing thru
the dam would still serve for ir-
rigation below there. The cost of
the canal could thus be charged to
both irrigation purposes and to pow
er purposes,
Under that plan the power facili-
ties would be greatly increased, and
irrigation facilities would be in
creased. The canal was to pass
westward across the country nearly
to Taber, and keep to the high lands
west of Aberdeen, and then branch
to American Falls and to Minidoka
and to Wood river.
The estimate of the cost of the
reservoir was given at fourteen mil
lion and the cost of the canal at
twenty million. Fourteen million
of the cost of the canal was to be
charged to power, and six million to
irrigation.
But when the engineers looked
over the whole situation and con-
sidered the character of land it
would water, and the amount of the
different classes of land, and COM
puted the cost per acre, it ran into
a direct charge of $50 an acre, and
in indirect cost of about 70 an acre,
and they judged that the character
of the land would not justify such
expense.
The other plan suggested was that
no new power plant be built and no
canal. Let enough water pass thru
the dam at all times to turn the
generators, and lose that much wa
ter outright as we do now, excepting
in the irrigation season. 1t will
serve other power plants below, and
some of it can be used for irrigation.
The return flow below ShoshOne
falls will supply power for the low
er plants. The water lost on this
plan would be sufficient to irrigate
about a million acres, and these
same acres are among the other mil
lions not irrigated at all now.
Under any storage plan yet de-
VlSeu, JueTe Is uOt ouOuSu water LOT
all the lands of the valley, but with
the development of projects and the
salvaging of return flow, it may be
possible to water it all in the dis
tant future when lands are graded
better and less water is wasted.
Regarding the drilling Of six
mile tunnel to draw the winter flow
from Yellowstone lake in the ma
tional park, and put 1t into storage
on the Snake river side of the CONT
mental divide, the engineers did not
hold out a very strong hope for it's
achievement, but the congressional
comittee going thru the park will
make some observations on that mat
ter and report to Washington.
Every plan of storage and irriga-
tion considered by the engineers pro-
vided for taking care of the old wa
ter rights and giving the opportunity
to add to them as much as is needed
before making appropriations for
new lands.