Imperial Valley press., 1937-01-15

/ man-made water body, has not exc
Americas desert, where it stretches
And it never will, say government
Lake Mead was not expected
southwest" declared JoIn E.. Page,
acting reclamation commissioner.
1T has not done so and it will not y
Investigation was started last
summer when unauthorized state
ments circulated that perceptible
changes in the weather and climate
were noticeable as Lake Mead grew
behind the dam barrier across the
Colorado river.
The reclamation bureau calculat-
ed in advance the rate of evapora-
ton from Lake Mead which could
be expected when the lake formed
in the desert. These calculations in
dicated insufficient moisture would
be taken into the air to alter wealth.
er conditions noticeably.
Evaporation Checked Daily
Tests are underway at the lake to
check precisely the actual evapora-
ton daily and records so far indi-
cate the advance calculations are
correct.
Meantime the government has
collected information from nearby
residents. airplane pilots who fly
over Lake Mead daily, and from
meteorologists of the U. S. weather
bureau at Phoenix, Ariz., Reno, and
Salt Lake City, the vast area sur
rounding Lake Mead.
j. C. Alter of the Salt Lake City
weather bureau, III a report to the
reclamation commissioner, summed
up his evidence with this obServa-
ton:
by comparison, the water in a
pitcher at speakers stand is about
as effective in air-condition ing an
auditorium as Lake Mead is IL modi-
flying the climate"
Seventeen pilots and co-pilots OF
the Western Air Express, which
sends planes daily over Boulder
Dam and Lake Mead, were ques-
toned Fifteen said they had no.
ticed no change in atmospheric con-
ditions. Two said they believed the
time elapsed since Lake Mead begar
to fill in February, 1885, was too
short to make any change evident.
No Change Noted BY Residents
Residents near Boulder Dam ane
in Boulder City, Las Vegas ant
Kingman, Ariz, reported they nave
not noticed any climatic difference
George v. Sager, associate mete
orologist at Reno, said, THE crea'
alton of Lake Mead has had no ap'
preciable effect on the climate O.
southern Nevada"
Summer rains over southern New
ada are generally thundershowers
Masses of moist air from the Gul
of Mexico move inland over Mex
leo during the summer, commonly
resulting in intense local storms o
cloudburst proportions, the bureal
of reclamation explains.
when the area of Lake Mead Il
compared with the thousands o
square miles over which such show
ers are distributed, and when TIT
fact that the vapor of evaporation
from the lake surface is taken mt
account it is at once apparent tina
no important effect on local rainfall
is likely to be found"
Inland Sea Created
In 1905 and 1906 the Colorado riv
er broke it's banks and overfloWet
into the low-lying Imperial Vale!
of California, forming Salton Sea
in what previously had been deSer
basin. Before the river was return
ed to its channel, Salton Sea Gov
cred 44O square miles. Sager points
out that ii has been concluslvell
shown that the creation OF Saltof
Sea had no effect on the rainfall o.
the surrounding area and none OF
the temperature and humidity o.
areas more than quarter OF
mile from its shores. Yet the sur
face of Salton Sea was more thaf
twice that of Lake Mead.
Construction Of Boulder Dan
and the creation of Lake Mead ha!
exerted and will continue to exert
great influence on the southwest,
Acting Commissioner Page said.
"The character Of the Cooradt
river below Boulder Dam has beer
changed entirely from an erratlt
stream to a perennial stream or
which irrigators can rely confident
lv. The contributions made by Lake
Mead through control of floods anc
through increasing the flow OF thS
river during summer droughts have
added to the security of tens OF
thousands of persons.
mo magical influence on the
climate of the southwest has beer
claimed for this project and none is
necessary to complete its justifica-