The circle banner. [volume] (Circle, Mont.) 1914-1939, 1922-12-08
PROJECT WOULD
COST $75O,OOO

Completion of the Franklin irriga-
ton project, near the town of Frank
lin on the Great Northern and about
rs miles east of Harlowton, in
Wheatland and Golden Valley coun-
ties, will entail the expenditure of
approximately $750,OO0. according
to an estimate made by Henry Ger
harz, president of the firm of Ger
harz & Jacqueth, Great Falls con-
sulting engineers, who have been en-
ployed by the landowners of the dis
trict to report the practicability and
probable cost of the project.
The project involves the building
of a dam across the Musselshell river
in the region of Franklin, utilization
of natural basin, known locally as
dead Mans Basin," as reservoir,
and construction of miles of pipes,
fumes and laterals, sufficient to take
the water to every 160-acre plot on
the project.
This project is unique" said Mr..
Gerharz in discussing the result of
his investigation. ''The depression
known as Dead Mans Basin is large
enough to hold 10000 acre feet of
water without the construction of
any kind of dam. That is enough
to cover 10000 acres to a depth of
one foot.
'Our complete designs call for the
erection of dam which will increase
this capacity to 1000 acre feet
eventually. For the time, being, we
will construct dam sufficient to in
crease the capacity to $4,000 acre
feet of water. This will be enough
for the normal needs of the project
for long time to come.
This using of natural reservoir
cuts down the cost enormously AS
far as l know, this is the largest nat
uraI reservoir in the state of Mon
tana.
"The project in all covers about
10000 acres, of which about $4,000
acres can be irrigated at an average
cost of $50 per acre.
"Most of the work will be earth |
work, such as the building of dams
and laterals. The ditching work will |
be completed to such point that |
there is a lateral running to each |
100 acres to be irrigated.
'This is a proposition sponsored
trict, who will be benefited. Many /
of them own over 160 acres, and |
those who do have agreed to dispose
of all over that amount that the
district may be thickled settled and
worked intensively, as an irrigated
district should be.
1--WE will complete our report on
the work and be ready to render an
almost exact estimate of the cost by |
the first of the year.
.'If the landowners then resolve to H
go through with the project, the is
suance of bonds will be authorized Il
and we will draft specifications, after II
which the work will be open to bid.
eff everything goes smoothly, and
the work takes the normal routine.
It should be finished during 1923 and
the project should be ready for use
the first of the following year"
Completion of the project will add
greatly to the productiveness of this
section, and the farmers will be aid
ed greatly in their marketing by the
fact that stations on both the Milwau-
kee and Great Northern are close to
the land involved.
Mr.. Gerharz explained that the
landowners of the district, in banding
together and employing a firm of
engineers, were acting un-
Ter the provisions of the law of 1909.
and that the project was in no sense
being governed by the operations of
he state irrigation commission. as
provided by later legislation. II