Imperial Valley press., 1931-07-17
VALLEYS WATER
COST Is LOWER
THAN ELSEWHERE

Properly to answer frequent re.
quests for information concerning
water costs in Imperial Valley ha.
resulted in q compilation by the E
! Centre Chamber Of Commerce staff
which discloSes the fact that ranch
sfS in Imperial Valley have a very
material advantage over farmer
! operating on most other irrigation
projects in California, so far as wa
ter costs are concerned.
This fact is also revealed in a re-
Gently published survey by the Di-
vision of Agricultural Engineering
Of the u. S. Department of Agri-
culture and the College of Agricul-
turc. University of California, in
which the acreages. water supply
bonded debt, percentage of water
pumped, amount of water used per
acre per year, usual district assess
ment, water tolls. and complete wa
ter cost per net acre and per acre
foot, are set forth.
The survey shows, states Mana
ger Hays Of the chamber of COM
merce, that Imperial Irrigation
Districts average cost per acre foot
of water is Sl19. In contrast to that
figure, the average cost per acre
foot in many of the other projects
ranges as high as s3646 per acre
foot in the Ramona district. and
S1l645 per acre foot in La Canada
district.
Large numbers of irrigation dis
trictS within the state are shown
by the report to have water costs
of more than 50, and many districts
show costs in excess of SIS per acre
foot.
There are 80 irrigation districts
in the state that have 100 per cent
gravity flow delivery. Their average
cost for water service per net acre
per year is S732, as compared to
Imperial Districts average cost per
acre per year of $3.50. In many OF
these cases irrigation occurs only
during part of the year, while in
Imperial Valley irrigation must
proceed the year round. In other
words, it costs Imperial Valley
ranchers a little more than half
as much per acre for II months
service as it does other districts for
service only a part of the year.
Another interesting revelation is
that water costs to Imperial Valley
ranchers during the period when
they received water deliveries
through mutual water companies
we're far in excess of costs under
the present irrigation district. In
1929 the average of all the mutuals
serving the ranchers here was S287
per acre foot, more than double the
cost as reported in 1890.
The chambers compilations of
water costs as used in the survey in
clude all OF the factors involved in
operating the district, such as
bonded debt payments, capital costs,
operation and maintenance, and
other charges. Thus the figures
given are all-inclusive and show the
actual cost to the farmer of the wa
ter he uses. Imperial District S
bonded debt per acre is shown as
S29.32. Only 10 of the II irrigation
districts listed have as small a
bonded debt. Many of them run
as high as s100 to $3.50. .48 per acre.
Another advantage to farmers in
Imperial Valley and not shown in
The survey is the opportunity here
for continuous cropping the year
round. Most of the irrigation dis
tricts of the state. in spite of their
vastly increased water costs. must
depend upon but a single growing
season part of each year.
According to Hays, the advantage
that Imperial Valley has in low ir-
rigation costs as compared to other
districts of the state, combined with
the fertility of soils, ability to har-
vest crops every month in the year,
prospective development under the
All-American canal project will ul-
timately make itself felt through
out the West.
Once the world is back to normal
markets and normal prices, Impe-
rial Valley will have attractions to
farm operators that will make it
the most desirable among irrigation
projects in the world" Hays de-
clared.