Arizona republican., 1920-02-26

the bank undermined it first-the bank was 60 feet wide at the bottom and then carried it off bit by bit. It did not take long. All Saturday night the river bent its strength to this sim gle task and on Sunday morning the reclamation camp nearby awoke to find the canal bank gone.
 This bank was first attacked by the river in the 1916 flood A portion was carried away again in 1918, and again during the Thanksgiving rush of flood water this year. It is river which is constantly playing tricks with man made institutions. such as bridges and constructions placed in it's way.
 Plan for Future
 The Water Users association plans to take the canal away from the river by digging a haif-mile cut above the point of the break. taking the water to the Eastern canal and down to a point where the Consolidated canal is clear of the river. This will elimi- nate future floods in the southside and flood waters come down with rush
 Why the break in the canal was not made wider is ascribed to the fact that little black willow trees lined the bank above the break, their roots forming a network nearly impervious to water. These willow roots and brush which grew by the rivers edge formed a water-tight wall.
 Farmers south and east of Mesa who have been taking water from the Consolidated canal were rushing their teams and wagons to the site of the proposed cut yesterday and united to work until the new canal 20 feet deep, 45 feet at the bottom and nearly a half mile long, has been dug through rock and caliche to the junction with the Eastern canal.
 They will assist the Water Users a n of pairing the brush and rock dam from the lower point of the break and will also aid in the construction of the new cut. It is estimated that the new cut should be ready within 30 days. Pending the completion of the Shunt the ranchers will be called upon to use the water when the water master notifies them to use it as to make possible the utilizing to the full the limited canal capacity.
 Photographic GIimpses
 One of the photogra phS in the ac- companying group show the method the river employed in making off with the canal bank. The photographer who took this picture risked losing his camera and being carried off by the rushing waters. A minute or two after he had snapped the picture the crack widened and this part of the former canal bank went sailing down stream.
 This photographer later risked his life while he was taking movies of Granite Reef registering" four and a half feet of water There is little concrete pier just below the dam jut- ting out about 30 feet and tapering to a point. Tone of water rushed by the little pier on either side. A part of this pier is visible in the accompany- ing picture of Granite Reef dam. Though he could scarcely balance himself on the narrow strip of con- crete, the photographer walked out to piers end carrying his heavy motion picture camera on his shoulders and shot" several hundred feet of film.
 Granite Reef dam during the last few days has presented a sight well worth seeing, and many of the resi- dents of the valley nave availed them selves of the opportunity to watch the water rush, not alone through the spillways on either side of the dam but in a smooth, even flew over the entire length of the dam. breaking with roar over the rocks beyond. At one time during the flood the spray obscured a view of the opposite side, but the sun did not. obscure a glimpse of the kaleidoscopic fancy work in colors caused by the suns. rays
 Occasionally a tree, uprooted far up