Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-04-30

County Irrigation district became {
corporate entity.
The district was created under what
is known as the law of 1909. Under
the provisions of this law, he lano
owners elect commissioners, who cor
respond to directors in the ordinary
corporation and who have entire charge
of the affairs of the district. 1t is
they who engage the necessary clerical
and technical help.
| The Water Supply
The organization of an irrigation
district doesn't in itself mean any
thing tangible. II merely creates the
machinery through which the neces-
sary examinations may be made as to
| the water supply, the land that can be
irrigated and the cost of bringing the
water to and applying it onto the land,
also, the authority to levy taxes suf-
ficient to meet necessary outlay for
these purposes.
The board of commissioners engaged
G. II. Foote of Kalispell and Jesse
G. Henderson of Shelby to look after
the legal end, and the Gerharz-Jaqueth
Engineering company of Great Falls
The first thing to be determined
was. of course, the available water
supply. 1t was found that the waters
of the Two Medicine. Cut Bank and
Badger, which join to form the Marias
river. were so situated that they could
be brought to the land by gravity.
These streams all rising zeal the Ola
cier national park in wild. timbered
areas. and these areas lying within
forest reserves, there is no danger of
deforestatiOn.
57I 900 Acre Feet at Source
In 1905 the state of Montana. acting
in conjunction with the United States
geological survey and the United States
reclamation service, established gaug-
ing stations on these streams. During
the first two years the record is not in
sufficient detail to show the total run
off. Since 1903 the gauge has been
read daily. SO that there is almost a
complete record of the flow for every
day since that time except when the
streams are frozen. This is probably
the most complete record of flow for
any stream in the state of Montana.
From this record it was ascertained
that the combined average yearly sup
ply from the streams amounted to
81 900 acre feet.
Not all of this supply is available
for new projects, as the Blackfeet
Indians, through their treaty with the
United states, are to have such waters
rising within the reservation as thew
can beneficially use. To ascertain def
nitely what this amount would be, the
president Of the board of commission
ers. the chief counsel and the chief en-
gineer made a trip to Washington and
obtained a signed statement from the
secretary of the interior stating that
the maximum amount of water that the
Indians would ever use on the entire
reservation will be 1855 900 acre feet.
Some of this water m from other
than those proposed TO be
used by the district. so that about
10000 acre feet are available from
source for the district.
Storage Facilities Needed
If this average were available every
year and if it were available at the
season Of the year when needed for
irrigation. the project could be built
very cheaply. Such, however, is not
the case. The run-off occurs mostly |
the irrigation season. 1t occurs
in immense floods so that, as hereto i
fore has been shown, it is difficult at
the mouth of the river to tell which is
M1arias and which Missouri. While the
run off is $1,000 acre feet.
the total run off of the three streams
for 1919. which was the most critical
year in the past. was 3 1855 acre feet.
This means not only storage but q
high flow to a low flow year. In orderl