The Bingham County news. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1918-1930, 1922-04-07
DENNIS OPPOSES BIG DISTRICT;
FAv0RS SEPARATE DISTRICTS

hc Falls East Side, the Blackfoot
West Side and the Greater Fort Hall.
These all total up 435,00O acres,
which in turn would demand 1906
600 acre feet of storage. This is
counting three acre feet per acre,
which is small. This storage need
ed for the new development, togeth-
er with storage for the old rights
in Idaho Falls section, make a grand
total of 1,705,0O0 acre feet to de-
velop the above mentioned lands as
times and finances would justify.
This means that this upper coun-
try needs 100000 acre feet of stor-
age water, and the capacity of jack
son Lake when entirely filled Is on
ly $4,000 acre feet. In other
words, they want to palm off cay
| use pony on us when what we need
| is full sized draft horse.
Are we so incapable OF managing
our own affairs that we need de-
| pend on the American Fails enthu-
siasts to organize us into a large dis
| trict with the absolute prospect of
giving the lower country the voting
majority? They indicate that this
would not harm us as the U. S. Re-
clamation Service would control the
above dam as they did the Jackson
Lake dam. And may the Lord de-
liver us from any more of that kind
of control.
! However, it is imperative that we
| do h;,,r ho% - Z -. y,
away. 1t is quite possible that 4O0,-
900 acre feet of storage could be
made available as an insurance Of
crop production in the near future.
But why couldn't we organize our
own large irrigation district and
build our own storage reservoir at
one of the many desirable locations
afforded in the upper country? Are
we going to wait until the Twin
Falls North and South and the U.
S. R. S. have succeeded In starting
the American Falls dam? Without
doubt they would be pleased to have
us sit quietly by while they devel-
lop their filings to the exclusion OF
our further development. We al
| hHOW Cl1dC ChGl 2 IS JuSC ~ AAAuNh Wo
ter and some section Of the country
must go without.
1t would be exceedingly danger
Gus for us to go into the one bis
district.
If we go into the American Falls
project at all we should go in as {
separate district where we could
have our own say in the voting o.
bonds and the spending Of money
Also, we should not go in ever
on the above condition without frs
having an iron bound contract Civ
ing us ample water right for all o
our undeveloped lands.
For some time past there has beer
Fl apparent dissatisfaction with th'
manner in which the stored water
from jackson Lake has been fhalnd
led. The interests south of Ameri
cam Falls with their junior natura
rights and with the aid of certain
natural water rights here succeed
at each meeting to elect the water
master they want irrespective o
whether he is the choice Of a ma
jority of the old rights in Idaho FALL
, section or not. Then these inter
lopers in the stream with thei
storage water put Idaho Falls sec
, tion at a loss to know why the re
turn flow in Snake River Is so mucl
less than it was before the stored
water was put in. Then also tn
losses charged to evaporation, etc.
of this storage has gradually de
creased since storage was first rul
in 1909 and 1910. 1t is understood
that in the 1919 season after tn
gates at the outlet at Jackson hat
, been raised clear of the water TO
, some time, which indicated that tn
, storage water was very low, If ii
fact there was any left, the Com
/ missioner Of Reclamation at Bois
gave orders to have the waters q
, the Snake River distributed as ma
tural water. However, this orde
, did not seem agreeable to Those II
charge Of the dam 50 the gates wer
? closed, thus holding back the waite
) that should have gone through th
lake as natural flow. Another iten
? | to remember: up to 1913 the tota
q expense for running the water II
> tina river was mot more than $500
; a year. It Is now costing 5000
, a year to run the river water.
/ II it were not so serious 1t woul
be amusing-the way we OF the up