The Record-courier. [volume] (Gardnerville, Nev.) 1904-current, 1920-04-30
Nevada is Vast
Storage Reservoir
tBy Newton Hibbs.D


Water for irrigation is the para
mount requirement of Nevada. The
study and PRONUNCIATION of the prin-
ciples of photography is almost
patriotic duty. at this important june
ture of Nevada history. The agricul-
tural interests of the state must be
extensively developed to perpetuate
prosperity,
The Nevada water problems are
special. The general rules OF con-
servation do not apply to Nevada con-
ditions. The PRECIPITATION within the
drainage limits of the state is about
20 900 900 acre-feet. The agricultural
demands will never reach a higher
figure than 25.O00.000 acre-feet Ma
ture has provided for us the greatest
reservoir system in the world. Ne
vada is one great reservoir Every
acre-foot of this precipitation is i'm
pounded within the boundary lines OF
the state. Every important area OF
tillable land has natural sub-surface
reservoir available for the irrigation
of every arabic acre. These natural,
underground storage reservoir waters
can be tapped and distributed for ir-
rigation for half the acre costs of
the average surface reservoir system.
fe Ad hat at
ervoir system in the Humboldt river
basin would cost a hundred dollars
for every acre reclaimed. An equal
amount of land can be reclaimed by
pumping from the ample underground
storage in the same district for twen-
ty-five dollars an acre. This cost OF
twenty-five dollars an acre would pro-
vide electric power for pumping and
insure more economical distribution
of water than is possible from any of
the great surface projects.
There could be no justified cry of
water waste if the larger tributary
valley of the Humboldt basin were
irrigated by pumping static water to
the surface In that event the lower
stretches of the Humboldt river would
carry food stage of water in July
and August. An agricultural waste
of water is never to be considered. The
waste from uncultivated land by evap-
Grafton is greater than the whole de-
mand of the most exhaustive crop.
1t is the general rule that irrigated
areas require drainage in very few
years. The irrigation of half the ar
able land of the Humboldt basin would
conserve sufficient water for the other
half
Electric power could be generated
by the use of oil shale for fuel to
meet the requirements for the irri-
CATION of the great Humboldt basin;
and the same source of power would
make Nevada a great manufacturing
commonwealth Shale for fuel and
underground water for irrigation are
knocked by the technical man who
rides forth on his dark blue hobby
horse. The technical men made the
world stand still for a thousand years
by knocking the discoverer of the
philosophy of the solar system. Ma
ture made Nevada a geological freak
insofar as this state is one great water
storage reservoir. The earth substrata
are extremely previous and the natural
reservoir divisions are maintained at
convenient levels to accommodate the
varying attitudes of the old lake beds
which make up all the tillable areas
Natural conditions cause an artesian
force of slight degree in all these Ne
vada valleys. Now | will shock ye
man of silence This artesian force
causes the deep water to pump itself