Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1921-11-04
WALLER DISCUSSES
IRRIGATION PROJECT
Says That 1t Is Feasible by Gravity
Plan, but That Pumping Idea Is
Impractical

State College, addressing the Wash
ington Irrigation Institute at Yaki-
man, Thursday, October 81, said in
part:
Lest we get an idea that the CO.
lumbia Basin Project is too big to
be undertaken. either by private cap
ital or by our own government, it
may be worth while to say that the
construction required for the devel-
opment of this project does not re-
quire any works of doubtful strength
or of extraordinary capacity; that
they are all well within the common
practice of irrigation development.
Even the acreage served by this con-
struction has been exceeded by other
governments in other parts of the
world. From 1912 to 1916 the In
dian government made one construc-
ton for the development of 18Th
900 acres. The canal to serve this
acreage was very large, being con-
structed of earth and unlined Brit
ish India now trrigates about So
100000 acres of land In Egypt the
water for three millions of acres
will be controlled by the Makaar
dam, now under construction. The
Colorado river construction, which
has recently been reported as hav-
ing the approval of the u. S. recla-
nation service, would provide water
for some two millions of acres of
land. One of the greatest engineer
ing feats of the world was the CON
structiOn of the Panama canal. That
developed very many engineering
difficulties and required the moving
OF vastly greater quantities of mate
rial than would the Columbia Basin
project. From this it will be seen
that much more extensive projects
have been brought into successful
operation in other parts of the world
and under other governments; and
there should be no reason why
American engineers should hesitate
to undertake any project of the size
desired to bring water from the Pend
Orielle river to the Columbia Basin
land
If water were to be pumped from
the Columbia river at the head of
the Grand Coulee, three problems
at least, would be up for solution
which have never been even ap-
preached by previous engineering ex-
perience, and for which as yet no
engineer has produced working
plans, designs and cost estimates
First, what is to be done with the
flow of the Columbia river during
construction, in a deep channel of
silt, clay and gravel? Second. what
is the plan for the erection of the
dam across the main stream channel,
requiring several million cubic yards
OF concrete masonry. where the river
VIII be subject to flood overflow dur
ing every year for the six or seven
years required for the erection of
the dam? Third, the pumping plant
must be designed and installed to
life more water than the average
June flow of the Yakima river, and
this is to be lifted through a vertical
distance of about 600 feet. The
problem Of river flow during the
construction of the dam and partic-
ularly while eXcayating for the foun-
datlons, which will be from so to
90 feet below mean water surface
is vastly different matter from the
river control on any dam ever built
Inc dams of great length, but of
comparatively low height built across
the Nile river at Assuan and Assiout
across the Mississippi at Keoluk
across the Tennessee at Muscle
Shoals, Alabama, are all in very wide
stretches Of the stream. and re-
CURED only shallow excavations to
bed rock. In all of these cases if
was easy to pass the river through
the major portion of the channel
since the foundation work oecupied
only small portion of the stream
at any one time But, at the head of
the Grand Coulee the Columbia river
is very deep.
1t occupies comparatively mar
row channel, where to divert any
considerable portion of the river bv
tunnel would require very large
tunnel; and since the fall at that
point is only few feet per mile.
the tunnel would have to be of ex-
tremely large dimensions, probably
several hundred feet wide. The ex-
eavation for foundation for a dam
at this place would require a bed
% to so feet deep at the river banks
and some 240 feet or more near the
canyon walls; would extend nm and