Imperial Valley press., 1928-12-03
Engineers Favor
Black Canyon Site
Continued From Page u

which, if added to flood waters,
would in the event Of failure Of the
coffcrdam cndangcr l;fc and prop
crty in the valley.
Construction Of the dam would
produce under Icesent conditions
Of irrigation a continuous output of
5000 horsepower or one million
horsepower on - percent load
factor during the years Of normal
low flow, the board reported.
As the use Of water for irrigation
increases, the amount Of water
available for power Will decrease
md timc Will arrive when, during
pcri9ds Of lGw water, the full csti-
iratcd amoGnt Of power cannot be
| rbaintaincd, the report said
"Witlin a 80 or 40 year period,
ven with rr-rcgulating reservoir,
the power output may be reduced 10
five tcnths or six tcnths of the capa-
"ity of the proposed plant during a
,o"" dry period.
The board pointed out that rapid
irrigation development in the Colo
RADIO basin would follow consumation
Of the seven states compact, and
added:
at is quite probable that the
compact attempts to apportion more
water than the actual average un.
depleted flow of the river. The
situation is still further complicat-
ed by the fact that the upper basin
sta,,s arc authorized to take more
than an equitable proportion of the
f!oW Of the water, for any one or
nore of Il series of dry years, pro-
vidcd they permit total of ~
000,0G0 acre feet to flow down the
river in a period of 10 consecutive
wears.
Senator Smoot, Republican, Utah,
announced he would issue a state
rent later today interpreting the
engineers report as an endorsement
Of his opposition to the pending
Johnson-Swing bill.
"Thc bill can never pass at this
session of congress and in my
opinion if it did, President Coolidge
would not sign it, s'moot said.
''The engineers report shows the
dam Is not feasible.
Meantime Rev. Taylor, Democrat,
Colorado, introduced a bin in the
house today seeking congressional
approval of the compact. Til" board
he'd the rpper basin states by virtue
Of their location, Lad the first call
on the water Of the river.
In pointing 10 thn danger Of with
3rqwal ly tie statcs Of their allot-
tcI share Of the annual flow, The
board said il would be impossible 70
I carry out the terms Of the compact
during the latter part Of a low -
year period.
With the uncertainties Of the flow
ct Boulder Ham-it is impossible t.
/ estimate closely the average annual
, output Of power which would be OBJ
I ;ainrd during q 30 year period, the
r>p@rt said
Power Demand Sufficient
The growing demand for power in
/ Southern California when consider
"a On n conservative basis, the board
suggested, VII be sufficient to alb
sorb the probable power output OF
the proposed 100000 horse power
, hydro-clcctric plant. which would
generate annually 5000, 100000 kilo-
watt hours of current if operated
continuously on 4 - per cent load
factor. In actual practice this thco-
rctical output might be reduced by
approximately 10 per cent, the re
port said
Operation, maintenance, interest
/ and sinking fund for the Boulder
4 Canyon project must be paid from
| the sale of power and of storage ser
vices. which latter has been cstimat-
: ed at &1,-rN 900 pcr year hv the see
crntary Of the interior, the board
! said.
CEASED on the FOREGOING and the
shortage of power which will occur
at the low flow, the board is of the
! ouiuion that if the Boulder CaNyOr
/ project is completed and is put in
operation. cqrrying rs it does the
/ COS, of flood protection works anC
/ the American canal, ii will b(
impossible to meet operation, main
tonancC, interest and sufficient
/ sinking fund torctirc the cost of the
project within 80 year period,
! the report stated.
The hoard suggested that it wa,
( economically important that al
! agreement be reached limiting the
amount Of water assignable to Mcv
/ leo, prior to the completion of tho
/ la" project.
''Thc storage Of flood water il
/ the Black CANYON reservoir and its
/ release during low water seasons vii
make moro water available in Mex
/ leo and will invite immediate expan
sion in irriaatcd acreage in thai
comtrv,' the report continued.
With the limited water supply
available from the Colorado river
ovcrv acre permanently irrigated il
/ Mexico will mean that an acre il
the L. $, cannot be irrigated. Sncl
a limitation ON lands would result
in corresponding limitation on pos
/ sibl" incomes.
'''n view of the facts now befor,
rs, il seems to me that we must give
more serious consideration to a new
plan of development in the Colora
do rivcr,' Smoot said later in ;
formal statement.
Smoot said the engineers founC
that the Bouldcr Dam project n
/ I>nroVidcd for in thc bill now hrfor,