Imperial Valley press., 1922-11-15

The Imperial Irrigation District
"has suffered many things of many
physicians like the woman of scrip
ture. but has evidently fallen into
pleasant ways in its latter days and
is now being conducted with as scrup
uIous thought for detail and economy
as any small affair wherein the pro
prictor does all the work himself. The
writer has stood on the banks of the
Pcscadcro where men were straining
every nerve to hold the Colorado river
in control. The other day he was out
ON the east side where they are dig
ring down in the ground to find water,
in evidence only from surface symp-
toms. In both situations there was the
same cold, mcthodical, unemotiona!,
efficient manner of going about the
fling to be done. The Carberry per
gonality was being expressed.
Crosses State Highway
But, as we were saying about this
drainage affair; its closest point of
contact to FL Centre is the place whore
the central drain crosses the state high
wav under construction between here
and Imperial. At about half the dis
tance to Imperial the drain is to be
svphonpd under the pavement. rms
is Il sizablr operation in itself. The
bottom Of the syphon is 16 feet below
the surface Of the road and eight feet
across. BY II BIT of forethought both
construction Jobs are being carried
along together and when the highway
is finished provision will have been
made for the crossing of the drainage
M .,lD
when it gets ready.
As a point of technical detail, En-
qineer Carberrv explained that drain
age water runs down hill and the
drains up Hill 1t seems that there has
been some controversy ON this point
aud the hot stove engineers have
maintaincd that the system was being
laid out al wrong and that water
would not run in the way made and
provided. This is n mistake, Mr..
Carbcrrv says, and the preference Of
water to run down hill has been taken
into consideration in establishing the
grades for the drains.
The central drain, beginning at the
Alamo, has now reached Il point just
west of the Rositas canal. The job nf
crossing the Rositas, from the moment
of turning the water out of the canal,
including the work of digging th2
drainage ditch under the canal, re-
building the same and turning the
water back into the Rositas ready for
irrigators, occupied just GO hours
which is some speed.
At this point, even newspaper
writer can see what n drainage ditch
is for. AS the excavation work pro
cccds and the ditch is finished down
to grade, little springs appear along
the side and soon the underground
waters which have been tapped gather
themselves into brook which booms
along on its way to the Alamo. The
drainage system begins to operate i'm
mcdiatcly behind the big Bucyrus and
every advance Of the dredge adds just
that many feet to the drained area.
More Land Available
While we are on this point as to
how rapidly drainage develops after
the canal is built, and as to how soon
actual relief may be expected from
waterlogged conditions, it may be stat
ed that ranches adjacent to the drain
age operations are being farmed this
year. Where the drainage canal is be-
ing built out ON the east side between
the high line and the low line canals,
waste bitches which formerly carried
good sized streams have been dried up.
Alkali, watcrlogged land has been re-
claimed and is actually being plowed
at this time, and viii soon be in crop.
Recovery from high water table con
ditions is not something to be looked
forward to. 1t takes place right be-
hind the drei2e.
Here is something else for you. That
east side land which has been u joke,
Just black spot on the map, and on
the physical surface, too, for that mat
fer, will one day be the pride of its
happy possessors. Every way except
it is beautiful land, soft
and loamv rs the most fastidious farm
land expert would wish. Drainage ope-
rations are taking away the water and
the alkali, and now just watch it come
back. At no distant day the "easy
marks - who have been "stung' with