Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1929-02-17
FRESH WATER
LAKES TO DOT
ENTIRE AREA
Ruling of Water Board
Will Assure Ample
Supplies For Irriga-
ton Projects


Storage OF Rio Grande waters, ms
provided by the state board Of wa
ter engineers in granting permits to
all new districts, will prove mn i'm
p~ortant factor in Fastening develops
ment of the unirrigated areas Of the
Lower Rio Grande Valley, ~ the
verdict OF irrigation leaders.
The rule announced by the state
water board last year provides that
all districts must assure that stor-
age will be provided upon the basis
Of one acre fcot of water for every
acre to come under irrigation. Per-
mits to divert water from the Rio
Grande will not be granted until
this rule Is complied with.
Since PRONUNCIATION Of this rule,
five new districts have been organ
lied in Cameron county, and the
sixth is in the process Of ~organiEa-
ton. In each case provision has
been made 10 provide ample storage.
the volume in some cases exceeding
that prescribed by the state water
board.
In practically all diStrists waste
lands are being utilized for storage
basins, lands which would serve no
other purpose. being resaca beds or
depressions into which the surface
waters flow. Some OF the districts
can fill their reservoirs by gravity
flow from the Rio Grande during
periods Of high water, others will
have "a low lift, but practically NIL
storage waters will come from tho
stream during flood periods.
The Willacy Project
Tho Willacy county project, which
proposes storage exceeding 100000
acre feet, il the most ambitious
Of the kind ever launched. The dis
trict will create nc least two huge
artificial lakes, each several miles In
extent, which will impound flood
waters from the river. One Of the
reservoirs will be located several
miles east or Sebastian and the 9TH
or in the Mestenes tract.
Cameron district No. ~, which
will water $4,000 acres OF coastsl
lands, will utilize natural reservoirs
east Of the I'll Jardin tract, creating
two largs fresh water lakes, which
will receive the flood waters Of the
Rio GraEde by gravity, 20 be pump
ed from the reservoirs into the irri-
CATION canals. The new projects
which will be watered by the Los
Fresnos district, districts 10, III, IL
and Is, also are required to provide
storage and will utilize the Cuateg
and other resacas and natural de-
preston. District No. is, which will
comprise 1900 acres in the Beckam
tract west of Rio Hondo, also ill
utilize natural depressions for stor-
age. receiving its water supply
through the canals Of the Harrington
syste.1 4.
Cameron and Hidalgo counties
each have an irrigation project in
which stored drainage waters will be
utilized. The Engelman lands, COM
prising approximately 5000 acres
north Of Elsa, will be watered from
the drainage Of the Pharr-San Juan-
Alamo and Donna irrigation dis
trirts. utilizing both the surface and
seepage waters. The drain outlet ia
carried northward from the Donna
district and pumped into n large res
ervoir from which IL will be distrib-
uted over the acreage by gravity.
Utilize Former Lagoon
In northeastern Cameron county
the Al Parker Securities company IS
developing approximately 5000 acres
BY utilizing the Laguna Atascosay
CONTINUED on page two.)