Imperial Valley press., 1921-08-20
By WINFIELD BARCLAY

Gas and Electric company had a short
line running to La Mesa for lighting
purposes, otherwise it confined its eff
forts strictly TO the city of San Diego
To-day, 10 years later, it has 200 miles
Iof high tension copper wire and 33715
miles of distribution lines. These lines
run up to Oceanside and on to Fall
brook, back through Escondido to the
San Pasqual valley. From San Diego
another system links up the inter-
vening territory on the El Cajon grant
going to Foster and up to Ell Monte
Other lines connect Encanto, the
Sweetwater valley, Otay and ali sec
tions south to the Mexican border.
There can be but one reason why
this hard-headed corporation has
made this immense back country in
vestment-it had a commodity to sell
and there were people in our farming
districts who were potential custom
ers. Electricity for Lighting is a mere
| Incidental and never would have been
an inducement in considering such an
| investment. Unless there were large
users of power to be served, this cor
poratio nnever would have gone into
the back country.
Outside of the planning mill at FL
| Cajon, ice plant and feed mills al
Escondido and citrus packing houses
throughout the county, the only users
of power are the irrigation plants of
the farmers. See the ground work
We are laying to refute the erroneous
impression that there is not an ade
quate supply of water in our back
country? The San Diego Consolidated
Gas and Electric Company supplies
575 pumping plants which use more
than 5000 horsepower in providing
water to the farms, and the potential
possibilities of water development has
hardly been touched
The average rainfall for San Diego
county is 20 inches. Broadly speaking
precipitation increases with the al
titude, the range being very large.
That for the city of San Diego aver
ages 10 inches, while in the higher
mountain areas it reaches an average
of 45 inches for the year
Throughout the county hay and
grain are grown without irrigation.
depending entirely upon the rainfall,
which during the ordinary seasons is |
adequate for all field crops. In the
mountain districts little, if any, irri
cation is practiced, the more abun-
dant rainfall proving sufficient for
even such crops as alfalfa.
Citrus crops and truck gardens are
invariably irrigated, while declduous
fruits and vineyards produce mucn
better when water is applied. Water
for these purposes comes from tnree
principal sources-the runoff Of
watersheds stored in huge impound-
ing reservoirs, that obtained by sink
ing points into river sands, and the
dug we'll.
The storage reservoirs are either
in the hands of public service cor.
porations or mutually owned.
If your farm is situated along the
borders of one of the many rivers of
the county you are in the alfalfa class
and can keep the dividend producing
sinking metal or redwood points into
the river sands and erecting a pump
ing plant thereon yields an abund-
ance of water. From 100 to $50
miner inches are readily developed IN
this manner.
The water proposition in most OF
our inland valley is good. Water is
reached from Is to 25 feet on the
floor of the Valley, with the average
well developing from to 25 inches.
The usual method is to dig five to
six foot diameter well down 40 TO so
feet and then bore out laterals The
depth gives sufficient storage capacity
to allow continuous pumping. The
water bearing startum underlying
most of our valleys is decomposed
granite, which is the best storehouse.
1t costs approximately $3.50 per
foot to dig a well, and an adequate
pumping plant installation VIII ran
between S400 and $500. Both the
piston and centrifugal pumps arc IN
use, but the ideal is the centrifugal
directly connected to the driving
motor.
While the gasoline engine will al
ways play large part in the develop
ment of the backcountry, the rellabil-
ity and simplicity of the electric motor
is causing their gradual replacement
where electric power is available. A
power line into the ranch is also an
inducement, as the farmer can have
lights and can install an electric range
land other features which appeal to