The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1921-04-01

1.-THE primary purpose is to all this water
and make 1t create wealth for the nation There
is, however, another purpose. The lower Col
orado has become a menace Like other such
streams 1t has built for itself out of sediment
trough that Is hundreds of feet above some OF
the surrounding country. Whenever there Is
hood there Is danger of breaking out OF tha'
trough 1t did so once ten years ago and IL re-
quired a most frenzied fight to stop 1t. There
is an area in southern California big as Della
ware that might be submerged. The Imperial
valley might be wiped out. We must either con-
troll the flow of the Colorado or build system OF
levees that must be watched and built higher
through all time If this latter project were ao-
visable from engineering standpoint 1t would
be next to impossible of actual Accomplishment
because much of the requiring levees Is ID
Mexico and international cooperation would be
difficult.
"The canal which now waters Imperial valley
runs partly through Mexico. The reclamation
service plan is to substitute an a-American canal
to take the water out higher up to a ditch
at higher level that will double the area of IT.
rigable lands In Imperial valley The dam Tor
this diversion is already built 1t Is the Laguna
dam, above Yuma. Already 1t is diverting water
for the irrigation of 100000 acres in Arizona. II
the stream were regulated by storage all the
water in the river would be harnessed and all
the land available could be irrigated. The lower
Colorado would become the Nile of America.
"Twenty acres of land is enough for family
homes for $4,000 families. The manner of its
cultivation is intensive. 1t is the most nearly
tropical corner of the nation.
Great Electrical Power.
"The electrical power developed would be very
large When this reservoir is filled there will be
n column of water 500 feet high with the pressure
of this great artificial lake back of it. A river
of water will be constantly flowing from beneath
the dam II will have the force of that 500 feet
of pressure. 1t can be set to turning many
turbines as Ii may be profitable to turn. 1t can
he generated so economically that IT can be fur
pished at prices that will be surprisingly low.
The only material problem will be transmission
lines 1t Is long distances to any centers of pop
ulation. Mines WILL of course, be considerable
consumers. With cheap power new uses will de-
velop
every satisfactory results In power generation
have been secured at the Roosevelt dam. The
advantages of these projects In the Southwest
are many Down there they irrigate summer and
winter and so there Is constant flow of water
through the dam. At the projects further north
the water runs but part of the year There are
no problems of ice, none of frozen ground frozen
n,nes n the Southwest. The electricity almost
makes itself every day In the year.
aAt present we hung up the snag of
finding the proper bedrock as a foundation for
our dam We boring holes In the bottom OF
the river with diamond drills In search of bed
*.
was our first choice.
"As to the COST 1t will be large. Estimates as
vat are little more than guesses There are
euesses that range from $40O00.000 to ST5OOO.OOO
for different designs with different assumptions
sOf course the theory Is that In the long run
these reclamation projects cost the taxpayer moth
ing at all The government advances the money
for buidng them, but 1t is charged up against
the lands benefited and every cent is paid back
by those who use the water The construction
money Is merely loaned TO the settler TO be. re
turned In nstallments covering period of twenty
wears Three-fourths of the land benefited by this
project is already privately owned The govern
mont will be asked to advance Only the money |
that would be the share of the lands that are |
still owned by the Indians. Thus II will have to |
finance but about one-fourth of the project Thus |
the reservoir will pay for itself. The land that /
n irrigates will over night be worth $500 an acre |
The increased wealth and production of the South /
west will be nm element of profit in the future |
which will benefit the entire nation"