Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1924-12-21
EDlNBURG WILL
HAVE IMPROVED
WATER SYSTEMS
Natural Advantages of
District, Coupled With
Good Irrigation Prom
Use Unusual Progress

Completion of extensive i'm
provements to Hidalgo County
Water Improvement District No.
a, now under way, are expected
to bring Edinburg, county seat
of that county, to a full realiZa-
ton of the many natural advan-
tages of that section and t.
hasten it's growth and develop
ment in an unprecedented man
ner.
Blessed with a fertile soil, as
rich as can be found in the Lower Rio
Grande Valley, all that was needed to
bring about this development was an
adequate and efficient water system.
Improvements now under way will pro-
vide these, say men in charge of the
work.
A pumping plant being located on the.
Rio Grande several miles above Mission
will increase the capacity and eliminate
a second lift which is now necessary to
water much of the land in the district.
Many miles of main canals also will be
added and the laterals will be almost
twice as long as at present when the
work is completed.
The new location of the plant on the
river will give the canals such a fall as
to make them self-cleaning, it is said,
making this altogether one of the best
situations in the entire Valley.
New District
Tbs was the last public owned dis
tricy to be organized in the Valley hav-
ing been taken over by the farmers in
April of 1922. Up to this time the man.
agement had been inefficient and the
canals and l~aterals had been allowed to
deteTioate, it is charged. The new
pumping plant will have a capacity of
$4,000 gallons of water per minute, as
co:apared with a capacity of 1l5, 600 gal
Ions at the present plant. The second
lift plant, now in operation but which
win be eliminated when the present pro-
iect is completed, has a capacity of
only $4,000 gallons. The present system
consists of about Is miles of main
canal and about $50 miles of laterals.
The constructed system will have 80
miles Of main canal and more than 200
miles of laterals. This program of i'm
provements when finally complete will
represent an investment of about
$o50.CJ9.
A new period of development such
as the city and district never have seen
win be opened with the completion of
this p~roject. officers of the system and
citizens Of Edinburg believe.
VIM. l.. Rockell is supervising en-
EiEeer in charge of the reconstruction
work now under way and other officers
OF the district are: Emile Money, presi-
dent; A. Leubetter. manager; Fred I.
Taylor, secretary; R. l.. Mann, tax col
Iector and assessor; and these with
Berry Leonard form the board of di-
~rectOrs.
10000 Acres in District
There are 10000 acres in irrigable
land under the -Edinburg system at the
present time and about half of this is
ulder cultivation now. This includes
r,any wonderfully fertile truck farms,
la, ge acreages devoted to the produc-
tier Of staple crops such as cotton and
corn, and an ever increasing number of
citrus orchards.
II is estimated that there are at pres
emit more than 900 acres in the district
devoted to citrus culture and this area
is being increased daily. Most of the
orchards in this district still are young
and for thai reason the Shipment of
citrus fruit has not attained the import
ance as an industry that it will reach
in a very few years. New orchards are
berg planted at a more rapid rate now
rhan ever before.
Besides the irrigted land there are
1 many thousand acres dry farmed around
E%dinburg, being devoted to cotton and
corn and to dairying and ranching. This,
with large shipments of cotton and
truck, makes the town an important
shipping center.
Another feature which is expected to
hasten the development of Edinburg is
the proposed extension of the Gulf
Coast branch line.
Expect New Rail Line
At present Edinburg is connected with
tho main line by way of a branch to San
Inan. seven miles away, with daily ser
Vice An extension for which the inter
.ta,e Commerce Commission has granted
narm;t would connect the town with
tho main lire at Raymondville' 20 miles
away By the present route 1t Is oo
tiles to Raymondvlle and the shorter
distance would make a big saving IN
fre;ght and passenger rates. citizens
no;nt ont. The survey for this branch
: being made and actual construction IS
..nected to begin in the near future.
connection with Falfurrlas on the
18th bv rail is drawn of the towns
hoosters as this would give the valley
snother rail outlet and open new terri,