The Churchill county standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1908-1920, 1920-03-03
ALL PROJECT QUESTIONS
Go BACK TO LAKE TAHOE
District Irrigation Board Meeting
Monday Attracted Large Crowd
OF Project Water Users

The approaching election, sched-
uled for Tuesday, April 9th, when
project drainage will be approved or
rejected and officers elected also for
the Truckee-Carson irrigation dis
trict, provided additional incentive
for attending the irrigation district
board meeting at the court house
Monday and water users from every
part of the project filled the audi
torium. Fernley district residents
to the number of nearly a dozen
took an active part in the meeting
and put forward an early claim for
general recognition on the part of
Newlands project water users of the
right of the Fernley territory to ir-
rigatlon water storage facilities ad-
ditional to that now possessed. An
hour. of discussion resulted from a
proposal by a member of the Fernley
representation that the drainage pro-
posal for the project and additional
storage for Fernley and the bench
lands lying north of there be sub
mitted to the water users of this
project as a doubled edged proposal
and the ultimatum was laid down
that II this dispensation should be
denied Fernley measures of re-
taliation would be undertaken by the
residents of the Fernley district.
Assurances of the complete sympa-
thy of the water users of the Fallon
unit of the project for the additional
storage plan finally sufficed to dis
pose of the question for the time.
This disposition of the matter fol-
lowed a talk by Project Manager
John +. Richardson in which he en-
phasized the inexpediency of con-
founding the two questions at this
time. Mr.. Richardson surprised his
audience with the statement that
Lake Tahoe is not lost to the project,
but that, transyersely. the prospects
for an early settlement is good at
this time and said that storage Is
possible within the Tahoe basin at
lesser cost than would be possible
by falling back on any alternative
scheme yet put forward.
"Newlands project questions
said Mr. Richardson, ARE asserted
by +. Il. Weymouth, of the Denver
Office of the reclamation service to
all lead back to a single starting
place and that place of beginning is
Lake Tahoe. IL doesn't matter
from what angle the projects full
development Is considered, IL must
seem that the full utilization of pos
sibilities here is dependent upon the
yesting of rights In reason to the fed
eral government of the storage pos
sibilities of the Tahoe basin.
Indeed" pursued Mr.. Richard
son, "the Fallon unit of the New
lands project may soon find Tahoe
water as necessary for agricultural
purposes here as has already been
forced home in other parts of the
Newlands scheme. The Lahontan
reservoir was first used in 1915 and
during the subsequent five seasons
OF use but 10000 acre feet of water
was wasted. Last fall the project
management closed business with
10000 acre feet and the most pru-
dent care of the inflow for the win
ter months has SO far resulted in
increasing the storage but $4,000
acre feet. In the end 6S per cent of
the water used within the Fallon
unit must come from the Tahoe wa
tershed. II lands here are to be fully
developed"