Imperial Valley press., 1938-10-18
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full valley this morning and as
passed along the great canal
thought of the changes which have
come TO pass since that small band
of Spanish explorers under de Alar-
con first laboriously struggled to
this point on the Colorado river
399 years ago in search of golden
treasures. These intrepid men clung
close to the river, for the river
meant life to them as it did to
the Indians before them, and as
it does to you today in this desert
land.
Not finding gold ready-minted, or
even in gold certificates, the Span
iards turned back into Mexico
whence they came. 1t remained for
another race, centuries later, to
discover the wealth of this arid
region and to reap it for them
selves and their country by their
toll and labor.
l am told that about 10 years
ago an attempt was made to
work out the colonization and de-
Velopment of land in the Imperial
Valley by the diversion of water
from the Colorado river through
Mexico This effort was unsuccesS-
full, partly because of the interna-
tional questions involved. This trial,
however, had the effect of drawing
attention to the fact that lying
here below sea level and even below
the level of this great river itself,
which runs down a ridge in bed
of its own sediment TO the Gulf of
land awaiting only water to make
it blossom. Other efforts to irrigate
the Imperial Valley were bound
to follow In 1892 the Colorado Riv
er Irrigation company was formed
and made some plans for a diver
sion through Mexico into the Impe-
rial Valley. This company failed,
however, and was succeeded in 1896
by the California Development COM
pany, which later constructed a
canal just north of the internation-
al boundary. This canal swung
some fifty miles south around the
sand hills through Mexico and
came back into the United States
near CaleXico
The irrigation of the Imperial
Valley thus was begun. Some OF
you remember those exciting days
Even larger number, however
can remember that, in 1905, the
Colorado river broke through these
, hastily made barriers and flowed
, for two years toward the northwest
into the Salton Sea, flooding and
eroding the farm lands which you
, had toiled to reclaim. The titanic
struggle with the Colorado river
which followed is historic. Tht
breach finally was closed, however
+ and the river turned back into it:
old channel. The great scar through
which the New River now flows il
an ever present reminder of tn,
fury of the Colorado river Whel
uncontrolled.
1t was in the determination Il
prevent a recurrence Of that cataS
: trophe that the seed of Boulde
dam was soWn From this has grow
one of the greatest projects eve
undertaken by the American peo
pie, the Boulder Canyon project
which includes the tremendous dan
in Black Canyon standing 726 fee
high, and Lake Mead With a capa.
city sufficient to hold the norma
flow OF the Colorado river i'll its
entirety for two years. From it alsc
has grown the All American cana
with Imperial dam and the desilting
works here before us.
While private enterprise was
building the canal to irrigate the
Imperial Valley, construction of the
Yuma project across the river in
Arizona was begun in 1905 by the
federal government under the Re-
clamation act. Water for this prof.
ect was taken from the river at
Laguna dam. The first water for
irrigation on the Yuma project was
delivered in 1910.
Even after surveys and inveSti-
cations for flood storage reservoirs
on the Colorado river were begun
and were being carried on, the
problems involved were many and
serious. To you, the day when the
necessary dam would be constructed
must have seemed far distant. In
the meantime, there continued the
eVer-present fear of floods, and
some $70O0,OOO was spent by you
on a leyee system, lying wholly in
Mexico, in an effort to protect the
Imperial Valley from a second inun-
iation.