The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1922-07-25

The reasons for coming to this
conclusion are, first, the immediate
Importance of control of food flow,
the large and cheap storage pro-
vided at this site, and the prob
ability of an early development of
a power market. The location Of
the dam at or near Boulder Can
yon, as against projected dams
further up the river, has been dis
puted by some, but inasmuch as
Boulder Canon is some $50 miles
nearer to a power market, and as
the sale of power will be ultimately
necessary in order to establish a
substratum to finance the opera
ton, that reason alone would seem
convincing as to the location of
the dam at that point.
Mr.. Little. How far from Boul-
der Canyon is the first extended
area of land that would be irri-
gable?
Secretary Hoover. l should
think probably 1870 or $50 miles
below.
Some who have advocated dam
at the next practical site, some $50
miles farther up the river, look
at it solely from the engineering
point of view rather than from the
point of view of the economics of
the problems. l do not know
whether it is necessary to go into
that question in any detail; if so,
the engineers of the Irrigation Ser
vice can no doubt inform the COM
mittee with a great deal more de-
tail than / can.
Mr.. Sinnott. What do you
mean by the economics of the prob
lem?
Secretary Hoover. The avail
ability of the power market, and
the fact that the dam at the lower
site would control larger degree
of possible freshet than dams far
Their up the river, and that that To-
cation of a dam below does not at
all interfere with the subsequent
development of other dams above.
There is a legal phase in the prob
lem in the development of the
river that must be taken into con-
sideration. That is the fact that
the lands which are likely first to
come into irrigation, on the pres
ent return from irrigated lands,
the ones most easily financed are
those in the lower part of the basin.
A larger amount of land in the
upper basin will no doubt be
brought into irrigation at later
times. Therefore, the states in the
upper basin have been anxious that
there should be no water rights
established by storage or prior
beneficial use in the lower basin
that will interfere with their until
mate development above. In other
words, that as result of the works
in the lower basin there should be
no limitations of the possibilities of
bringing their land into fruitful
development.
Mr.. Bankhead. What do you
mean by the lower and upped
basins?
Secretary Hoover. We generally
speak of California and Arizona as
the lower basin, as distinguished
from Colorado, Nevada, Utah, New
Mexico, and Wyoming in the upper
basin. These lands In here (indi-
eating on map lands in southern
California and Arizona), will come
into play first being the easier of
development. The ultimate earn
ings of the land farther north may
be equal to those below, but their
development will be slower. That
has been the history of most
streams, so far as l know, that is,
the first lands to be brought into
irrigation are the lands in the
lower river. | raise this matter be-
cause it Is = very essential question
to the states in the upper basin.
| Mr.. Ranker. Is the controversy
pending among the seven states as
to the division of the water and
the location of the dam?
j Secretary Hoover. l do not think
there is division of opinion that
the most urgent dam is needed in
the neighborhood Of Boulder Can
yon.
Mr.. Ranker. Then the only ques-
ton is as to the diversion of stor-
age water?
i Secretary Hoover. The question
in the minds of the upper basin is
that the construction of a dam be-
low them ct Boulder Canyon would