The Elk Mountain pilot., 1923-03-22

brought to the fore by reason of the
increasing flood menace to the Impe-
rial Valley in California. There must
be immediate and enormous reser-
voirs constructed to control the floods
of the river. The physical conditions
are compelling action. But the con-
struction of such reservoirs must not
result in prior appropriation of the
waters of the river to the detriment
of the upper states. The cost of the
construction must be repaid by the
use of the water both for power and
irrigation. But such uses must not
result in an embargo against future
development in the states of origin
of the water.
In this connection one must not
overlook the recent decision of the
United States Supreme Court in the
case of Wyoming VS.. Colorado, which
established the principle of priori-
ties on an interstate stream between
different states. discuss this phase
of the problem in former letter.
The experience on the Rio Grande
and North Platte rivers where claims
of prior appropriation were made to
the whole remaining flow of the river
brings to the fore the necessity of
protecting our future development
against claims of prior appropriation
by lower states. This is accomplished
by resort to the treaty making pow
ers of the states.
The Colorado river compact fur
nishes the required protection. 1t is
fair to the lower states and guaran-
tees practically unlimited develop
ment to the upper states for all
time to come. The compact con-
forms to natures diversion of the
drainage area of the stream into an
upper and lower basin. These areas
are separated from each other by the
great canyon of the river. The drain
age area of the river is like a great
hour glass. Over S5 per cent of the
water of the stream rises in the up-
per part of the basin but the flow
from every upper tributary is united
to form single stream at the head
of the canyon at Lee Ferry, which is
just below the south line of the Utah.
All the waters from the upper catch
ment basin must flow past this point
like the grains of sand passing thru
the neck of an hour glass. Waste
and return waters from the upper ir-
rigation united with the original wa
ter from snow drifts and rains to
form a single stream at this point.
This is the nA.u;al point of control
and measurement Here the states
of the upper basin will deliver water
to the lower basin after all uses in
the upper bas;i;.
The measured flow of the Colorado
river at Lee Ferry for 1922 was 49,
100000 acre feet. This was the net
flow of the river after all uses and
diversions within the upper basin.
The flow of the river has been meas
ured and recorded for quarter of
a century, and the flow for 1922 hap
pened to be almost exactly an aver
age of the flow for the 25 year period
of measurement In other words, the
1922 Lee Ferry record represents the
dependable average flow of the river
at that point Engineers estimate
that the flow would have been over
lS,500,000 acre feet at that point had
there been no diversions of water
from the stream above that point.
The flow at Lee Ferry was officially
ascertained by the U. S. Geological
Survey in cooperation with the state
engineers of the seven Colorado river
states. The measurements were care
fully made and the records are au-
thentic. Nothing was left to guess
or conjecture 100000 acre feet
of water actually flowed past that
point in 1922 and this was nearly
QO1 per cent? an average year. l
discuss this point because many in
terested persons are not aware of the
actual flow of the river at Lee Ferry.
The compact provides that the up
per states shall not deplete the flow
at Lee Ferry below 100000 acre
Concluded on last page