The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-04-16

by 1OOO-foot tunnel which passes under the
river.
Below Yuma the river. when in food mandates
large areas lying below sea level In 1903 the
foods enlarged the 5O-foot intake of the Imperial
valley Irrigation canal in Mexican territory to
2,600 feet. 1t poured all lbs waters through this
break and its regular channel to the Gulf OF
California went dry. This break was not sue
cessfully closed until 1906-07. Floods again
threatened to drown out the Imperial valley ana
in 19O9-1O congressional appropriation OF 81
100000 was applied to the construction OF ievees
and bikes. Most of the Imperial valley is below
sea level and was formerly part OF the CUR
Of California. The Colorado built itself an aque-
duct from its silt and cut off the part to the
north. Evaporation did the rest.
1t is thus evident that much depends upon the
vagaries of the mighty, restless river. A year
or so ago congress provided funds for study of
project to control it. Arthur p Davis director
of the reclamation service, department Of the in
terror has just returned from trip along the
lower river. Here are some of the things he
has to say regarding the Boulder dam project:
aFor years we have measured the water that
flows down the Colorado. Weknow approximately
how much of It there is to stop Our first task,
therefore, is to find dam site back of which
there are storage valleys large enough to hold all
the food waters that may come The Grand canon
and Needles on the Santa Feare about 250 miles
apart Along the river between them is chaos
Of mountains and canons, almost uninhabted.
Two-thirds of the way downafrom the canon is
the selected dam site in Boulder canon.
Canon Marrow Here
.grhe cash that is mere CUE through the rock
cliffs is but 800 feet wide at the base and $50 feet
wide where the top of the dam would come. Thus
the canon is no wider than that which closed
nv the Roosevelt dam in Arizona, but the struc-
ture must be nearly twice as high. This addi-
tional height makes it an incomparably more
difficult task 1t is more difficult, also, because
n mist be put in the bed Of a much greater
stream. That stream must be dherted and its bed
made dry for the work. Duringthe spring months
the river is at flood and is too powerful to be
dealt with Then comes eight months Of COM
narativey low water.
ssIt will be necessary to blast ont tunnels around
the dam site that win carry tie normal flow of
the river Then some spring, the waters Will be
diverted into these tunnels. Between the time
IT. that diversion and the coming of high waters
tho following spring the river bed will have to
re scraped to bedrock, probably a hundred feet
below the present waterine, and that bedrock
VIII have to be built up with concrete, thus maxi
INC fe proper foundation for the great-structure.
II will be a race against time
.The water will back up the Colorado nearly
hundred miles. III will find i6 level in many
canons leading or to one sidesand the other
The Virgin river flows into the Colorado from the
Nevada side above this dam site. This river opens
mt 81 4 wide valley 1t will furnish the principal
storace basin OF the project. Tw0 desert villages
q Nevada viii be Inundated. Between them they
reuresent but dozen homes.
uTbe relief to be afforded, is 300 miles away
n the lower reaches Of the strsam. Near the
horxier Of Arizona California ana Mexico there
aro extensive areas of desert land which, with
sstor for irrigation, may be Transformed to what
- nrobably the most productive farms in the
!. s5,ted states IN the Colorado Desert In Cal