The Fallon standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1920-1958, 1921-08-03
Fixed Irrigation
Tax ON Monday
Irrigation District Board Considered
Many Important Matters at
Meeting Held Monday

| Many Important Matters at
Meeting Held Monday
The directors of the Truckee-Cap
son irrigation district board met
Monday and considered many con-
sequential matters. OF these, defin-
iteness was given to the irrigation
district tax for the year 1921 and by
the boards ruling all land owners
within the irrigation district will be
assessed eight cents per acre as COM
pared to six cents last year. The
tax Is collected coincident with the
collection of general taxes.
Committees were appointed TO
prepare a plan that would fix In a
more equitable manner the annual
charges for irrigation water through
out the Newlands project. 1t is
asserted that certain discrimination
runs too strongly against the water
users of he F'ernley, Hazen and
Swingle Bench districts and effort,
are to be directed in the most con-
scientious manner in correcting ex-
isting evils.
Director Thomas Williamson
addressed his association on the
question of drainage and the COM
munity pasture In the Island dis
trict and submitted a plan alterua-
tive to the one officially adopted to
govern in the institution of the pro-
jected drainage system. In this con F..
nection 1t is said that word from
Secretary of the Interior Fall is ex-
pected in Fallon daily to start the
several big excavating machines on
the drainage work in prospect
Mr.. williamson letter to the
board follows:
Fallon, Nevada, Aug |. 1921
Board of Directors,
Truckee-Carson Irrigation Dist
Gentlemen: | deem it my duty in
the interest of the people of this
district. whom | represent in part, to
request and stronly urge that this
board, before agreeing TO, or approx
ing the final location of any drain
which may be effected, make a care
full and thorough Investigation Of the
alternative plan whica | have sug-
gested several tines. particularly at
our last meeting. Also ia my owl
interest, to avoid future criticism
and condemnation for neglect OF the
as a director, | desire TO put this re-
quest on record together with my
reasons, for making the request and
advocating the change in plan. None
except the board members them
selves can have any proper objection
to the proposed investigator be-
cause 1t is a proper exercise of the
the boards authority and duty under
the contract. The only question that
need concern the board Is the pro-
priety or wisdom of spending the
amount necessary For the cost of the
investigation
Briefly, the plan or change of plan
advocated Is as follows:
To divert New River drain and all
drains south of New River into the
Carson Lake area instead of into
Saltwater slough; to conduct these
drains from the points where they
cease to serve as drains proper in
discharge bitches with as flat a slope
as practicable to the flat lands east,
south and west of the lower part of
the lake bed to confine these dis
charges at as high elevations as pos
sible by low levees terracing the lake
bed surface in the manner of a con-
tour check system on large scale
and TO keep all but the discharge
from a minimum area of lake border
lands out of the lower part of the
lake bed entirely.
This plan, or change of plan,
would completely eliminate the thir-
teen mile Diagonal Drain" estim-
ated to cost over S9l 900. This drain
Is in deep cut throughout and has a
very nearly flat slope and low veloc-
ity Ii presents difficult problems
of inefficient operation and costly
maintenance and, for two-thirds OF
its length, it is merely a discharge
channel and not a drain proper.
| wish to remind you that am a
trained and experienced engineer
and that while employed in the re-
elamation service | made the most
thorough and detailed examination
of the Carson lake bed that has been
made by any one. My general know
ledge of the engineering problems in
volved and my special knowledge of
this particular area should qualify
me to form opinions that ought to
be of interest to this board and of
value to the district even II they
should be at variance with the plans
offered by the reclamation service
engineers. ! believe that the reclaim
alton service engineers who planned
the system we're misled by two fund
amental errors, or mistaken assump-
tions, that If the Carson Lake area
were used, good farm lands would
necessarily be damaged and that
there was not sufficient surface
available for evaporating basins.
Anyone familiar with the clay soil
of Carson Lake bed does not need a
technical demonstration to know
that the amount of water that could
escape by seepage would not fright
en- any nearby farmer. The use of a
low leyee to confine the water to
areas where it would be harmless
| does not seem to have been thought
/ of Neither does it seem reasonable
to conclude that 10000 acres evap-
Grating surface is necessary to take
care of the drainage of 1000 acres
of farm land, with an assumed year
| ly run-off of one acre foot per acre
and a yearly evaporation of five acre
feet per acre.
i proper comparison of the two
4 plans can only be had after 0
detailed engineering examination
which | could not afford TO under
take at my own expense. | will state
as my opinion that such an examina
ton win show.
/. That the area available fol
evaporating basins is not less thar