Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1934-05-16
ROCK CREEK DAMS
APPLICATION ON
WAY TO CAPITAL
Reconnaissance Survey To
Be Made Along
Valley

As the first application of the
Montana water conservation boarc
to be submitted for a PWA loar
to construct water storage reser-
voirs, the half-million dollar Rock
creek project was on its way fol
approval at Washington this week
after having been submitted to the
office of the state PWA engineer
simultaneously with press an
nouncements of the submission OF
the local project, it was made
known here that a reconnaissance
survey, the first ever to be con-
Quoted, of the Rock creek valley
was to get underway Immediately
under direction of the state water
board.
Declarations of intentions to
store, control and divert unappro-
priated waters of Red Lodge and
Rock creeks were also filed with
G.. E. Thompson, county clerk and
recorder, at the courthouse here
Monday by the state water board
through State Engineer j. S.
James.
The survey, one of the largest
undertakings of its nature to be
attempted in this section of the
state, will be in charge of A. l..
Manning, state water c%onserva-
ton board engineer, who was
here this week with r. H. Fifield,
engineer in charge of the Rock
creek project. It's main purpose
will be to record locations of all
headgates along the Rock creek
valley, to check acreage of all
Rock creek water users and to in
spect all bitches for irrigation
purposes along the stream to de-
termine their location and course
Supplementary features of the
survey, it is believed, will provide
valuable data which has never be-
fore been obtained.
The reconnaissance is to get I'M
der wa vat once with an initial
crew of five men. Later it is
planned to add an additional
crew of five more men. This labor
is to be furnished through the
FERA, and placed in charge Of
the state water conservation board
through Mr.. Manning.
John G. Skinner, chairman Of a
local committee which has advo-
Gated the Rock creek water stor-
age system, stated Tuesday that
he has been instructed to secure
right of ways for the reservoir
construction. He also reported
that the program was progressing
rapidly and urged that all appli-
cants who wish to sign subscrip-
tions for water to be available
with completion of the storage I'M
~dertaking do so at once. A final
drive to secure subscriptions will
be conducted during the coming
week, he said.
In the filing of the declaration
of intention Monday, the state
water board set forth that Rock
creek waters were to be appropri-
ated by dams and reservoirs at
Frosty lake, Emerald lake and
Glacier lake, all located at the
headwaters Of the creek. Waters
will also be impounded on Red
Lodge creek. Waters will be APP
propriated for use as supple
mental irrigation for water users
along Rock creek and Red Lodge
creek, the declaration set forth.
The dams and reservoirs will
provide storage for 1880 acre
feet of water and will provide sup
Elemental irrigation and insurance
against drought for approximate
~ $4,000 acres of Carbon county
farm land. Total cost of the con-
struction of the four projects is
estimated at $579,648, with work
to begin Immediately upon APP
proval by the public works adj
ministration at Washington.