The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1922-12-28
History Of Snake River Control
Plans for Future Storage and Flood Prevention
Reclamation and Saving
Lawsuits
BY w. O. COTTON

COTTON
Idaho Irrigation Wistrict and the
City of Idaho Falls, both members
of the union) submitted report on
study of conditions affecting the
natural water users between Jack
son Lake and Heise as follows:
1t is possible that most people in
the valley have heard this same
thing discussed before from some
angle. We have talked 1t a great
deal and we intend to continue urg-
ing it, until we are relieved of the
necessity of standing losses which
do not belong to the Natural Water
Users. .... .a.
E. C. LaRue in making a study of
those losses in 1909 and 1910 was
being paid by the stored water in
terests, his report SO far as final
definite figures are concerned must
have been as much in favor of the
Natural Water Users as the stored
interests. Mr.. LaRue gives the
: losses between Moran and Heise as
/ 10 per cent; however, Mr.. Baldwin
1 is in receipt of letter from him
stating that his conclusions may be
too high on account of the river be-
ing run in Pushes.
We are in receipt of a letter from
the chief engineer Of the U. S. R. 8.
asking that we use later data in
stead of Mr.. LaRue's report; how
ever, all later data was gathered by
| Mr. baldwin hn H0nc nnf COT
down any tangible figures in his
conclusions that can be used. We
have taken all data and have tried
to arrive at what the losses were,
and another engineer eliminates
part of the data and shows a diff
ferent loss on the same report.
The stored water interests say
that they do not agree with Mr.. La
Rue in his findings and the figures
he quotes as loss between Jackson
Lake and Heise and refuse to let
this report out for inspection.
4 Mr.. Baldwin and Mr.. Blossom
made a hurried investigation on the
upper river in the fall of 1916 and
while they were not able to make
measurements in this short period
. which would be of great value, they
did succeed in getting some valuable
pictures of the Snake river thru
Jackson Hole, where it is known to
| spread over a great deal of gravelly
, area, and they say, without doubt
at least for the first ten days or two
) weeks after storage water was re-
! leased a considerable percentage is
, lost in filling channels and sloughs
r in Jackson Hole Basin, while on a
l falling stage, water will be left in
d some of these sloughs to be eventu.
: ally exaporated and it seems posi-
r BILE that the rock foundation neal
t the lower end of Grand Canyon
s. will tend to ultimately force this
i water to the surface"
4 But on account of the known SLOW
S rate of travel of underground water
g portion of this return will be sc
y late in the season as to be of nc
3 benefit for irrigation.
: In his 1917 and 1918 reports
: Mr.. Baldwin refrains from offending
e the storage water interests who
i were paying the bill, as Mr.. LaRut
n did, by showing definite figures
rather he concludes by saying thu
/ results are so conflicting that III
!, could not give definite figure al
O to what the loss is, but said the.
# were small. Now they are smalle
# than larger losses, but what i
r wanted is some tangible figure sucl
J. as Mr.. LaRue was willing to pu
q down as his conclusions. When w
Iaffnn1nt RI orriuo q fbic frnr, nv
= Baldwin's reports by taking an aver
n age of all his tests, (Which show
g per cent for 1917 and per cent 70
# 1918 from Jackson Lake to Heise
h we are then criticised by the AID
# vistory Board as being unfair to tn
q storage water interests and sayin
q that by eliminating all short perio
Al runs from the Lake to Heise, tn
% loss would be only 4-10 per cent
Now even if that is true VIII
& wouldn't it be good plan for tn
,r storage water interests to cut on
70 running those short period fluctua
le lions, and hold the river steady
le eliminating these heavy losses? Blu
10 they have another interest; if the
ID do this they can't use our river as a
~ equalization basin, and to use LAX
or Walcott for this purpose would dis
,e turb their own project plans.
~ 1t is surely unfair to the nature
a water users to continually fluctuat
e, the river up and down, causing tn
of admitted high losses and onl
of standing the loss that is said to o.
1e cur on very steady river.
IN Are the natural water users ash
th ing too much when they are askin
d, only that the storage water Interest
20 stand their actual losses?
* G. H. DeCamp, a director of tn
at union then presented an analysis {
,g past reports on conditions betwee
as Heise and Blackfoot which vital
ed affect the natural water users, {
g. follows:
w. He said that, in 1919 the intr,
duction of stored water in the rive
of changed a gain Of 1898 second fe'
a to a loss of 1922 second feet b.