The Fallon standard. (Fallon, Nev.) 1920-1958, 1921-01-26
Planning to
Build Storage
Board OF Reclamation Service Men
Deliberating This Week on
Additional Storage

huutlOhai otOTdkC
A board of reclamation engineers,
consisting of F. E. Weymouth, chief
engineer Of the service, d. c. Henny,
of Portland, Ore, and James Mum,
of the Denver reclamation Office,
consulting engineers, and John F.
Richardson, Newlands project man
ager, and f. z. Bonesteadt, en- as
sistant engineer In charge of recon-
naissance work on the two projected
storage sites, is sitting In Reno this
week considering the advisability of
adding approximately $4,000 acres
of land to the Newlands project By
building a great storage reservoir
to impound the surplus waters of
the Truckee river. This board
went into session Monday, having
before it the findings of Mr.. Bone
steadt's working force that was
busted from early fall until the
first of this month making prelimi-
nary surveys of both the Spanish
Springs valley and Kings basin
sites. Relative estimated costs have
been established and the point to be
settled this week is one solely of
advisability. 1t is emphasized that
the Newlands project can never be
made into the great BODYBUILDING
scheme originally outlined without
an adequate water supply and that
the choicest areas withdrawn for
project purposes remain unirrigated
beceuse of the loss of the control of
the surplus waters of Lake Tahoe.
To supplement this loss it is now
proposed to utilize the annual unap-
propriated runoff of the entire Ia
hoe and Truckee watersheds, which
will fully serve all of the land avail
able for development within the
Carson and lower Truckee valleys.
Among the things that will be
done at this council of government
engineers is the fixing of per acre
costs that would be expected to re-
turn into the revolving fund of the
reclamation service the full amount
of moneys expended as the storage
Socto- ~ 10 DCilCfCQ dt lllH tlDlC
that the new land will be expected
to bear a construction charge of
about $1,000 per irrigable acre,
which may be said to be an average
construction cost in the northwest
ern states where the government has
attempted land reclamation. The
land to be directly benefited would
not, pro rated on this figure, return
the full estimated cost, and over
lures to the water users of the Fal-
Ion and Fernley units of the pro-
ject are to be made. These are to
be asked to assume an additional
construction charge incident to the
new scheme, of from $1,000 to
$12.00 per acre. A greater project
would be to a greater or lesser de-
gree interdependent to a point
that would include prosperity and
the benefits that would issue from
the additional storage facilities
would be of plain worth to every
acre of the enlarged project in one
way or another.
In this connection ii is asseverat-
ed that an expression will be asked
by the government authorities from
every water user now served as to
sentiment on this important ques-
tion and it is likely that an election
will be called to secure this express
sion. People over Fernley way
stand in imminent need of addi-
tional storage at this time and have
already passed through all of the
vicissitudes attending a drouth peri
cd and the resultant losses. To get
this storage is a Fernley aim and
the least that residents of the Fal-
Ion unit can do is to aid and abet
their Fernley neighbors in this laud-
able undertaking.
And then there Is the matter OF
bringing under cultivation the areas
within close proximity TO Fallon iy.
ing on the Swingle and Lahontan
benches. Homebuilding possibilities
vast in extent exist there that NAV
be realized upon very quickly fol.
lowing the introduction of irrigation
facilities and with this realization
would come a stimulus to local CON
ditions bringing benefits so manifest
TO the most cursory observer that a
recitation at this time would seem
to be unnecessary.
If Newlands project residents OF
the moment sense the Importance OF
greater project Alright it must
seem that they will lend their good
offices to helping to mature every
potential value within its proposed
confines all to the end that the en-.
larged irrigation scheme will be.
come famous wherever peopIe enter.