Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-11-04

very large boulders. 1t is quite like
ly that with the several million sec
ond feet each winter overlapping the
construction made the year before,
that the pit would be quickly filled
with boulders and dirt, requiring a
vast amount of work during the fol-
lowing low water season before the
work of laying concrete would really
begin. The pumping of 1900 Gu
bic feet of water per second through
a 600-foot lift would involve a type
of construction that SO far has never
been undertaken. The largest pumps
in the world today operating under
! such heads do not exceed two or
three cubic feet per second, and these
are limited to the drainage of mines
and possibly one or two projects
where pineapples are irrigated and
where the profits received run into
thousands of dollars per acre. Large
low lift pumps operating under
heads of 10 to / , feet are used in
some of the drainage districts of
California and in the South but no.
where is there a pump capable of
handling hundreds of second feet
against 600 feet of head.
The greatest manufacturing plants
in the United States have submitted
tentative designs for a plant on the
Columbia river, but have admitted
that the entire thing would be en-
tirely experimental and would in
volve strains greater than have ever
been tested by experience
TIL estimated cost of the Columbia
Basin project was based upon the
peak of the prices in May, 1920. 1t
was predicted then that the return
to normal conditions would greatly
lower the estimated costs. Since
that time the base price of steel,
f. o, b. Pittsburgh, has dropped from
1855 to $3.50. The base price last
week would represent a reduction
in cost of the plate steel required
for the inverted siphons of practical
ly seven and one-half million dollars.
The reduction in the price of labor
and the very considerable increase in
efficiency of labor will probably ex-
coed twenty-five million dollars
Similar items, such as the cost of
machinery, lumber, cement, etc. all
nave shown a decided downward
tendency. 1t would likely require
the services of two or three com
putOrs Tor month to make an esti
mate based upon current prices: but
1t is probably safe to say that if
SUCH an estimate were worked ont
that 1t would be from 80 to 40 per
cent lower than the one made up on
the market prices of May, 1920.
would like to call your atten-
ton to the fact that whatever ulti-
mate acre prices may be necessary
for the construction, that this entire
amount of money will not be re-
CURED at the start. OF the 33.8
miles of twin tunnels, only one need
be constructed at first and that will
not require a lining for some little
time. OF the 81 miles of multinIe
steel siphons consisting of four
tubes, each 23 feet in diameter, only
one will be needed to start with.
The other tubes may be placed one
at a time, as they may be needed.
Even the heavy construction re-
CURED across the Spokane river
might be temporarily replaced with
metal lined wooden flume. Until
a third or more of the total area is
reclaimed. neither the FIathead nor
the Pend Oreille reservoirs would he
required. 1t will thus be seen that
the initial investment will be i'm
mensely less than the total invest
ment required for the final comple-
ton of the project.
by the development of reservoirs
throughout the project. power could
be supplied to the farmers through
out the entire year.
The water supply of the Pend
Orellle river for the year of lowest
recorded run off is double the
amount required for the Columbia
Basin area when under it's maximum
development, and the average for
the years for which the supply was
checked was more than three times
what would eyeT be required. The
average annual flow for the last II
years has been more than 10000
goo acre feet, while that of the Col
orado river for the same period has
averaged about 100000 of acre
feet
Nearly oOO 00O rrrc,,,, - -