Imperial Valley press., 1941-01-23
District Pushes
Effort to Open
East Mesa Lands

Editors Note: Here is another
installment in seria1izatiOn of
President Evan Il. Hewes' report
to the board of directors on prog
gress of the Imperial Irrigation
District during 1910.
EAST MESA
Continued efforts by your board
of directors during 1910 advanced
prospects for development of a first
unit of new land under the ALI
American canal on the East Mesa.
Important accomplishment was in
cluSion of legislation in the Re
clamation Project act of 1889 au-
thorizing the secretary of interior
to defer up to 10 years repayment
of capital costs on the East Mesa
project. This means there could be
a development period up to 10
years, during which settlers would
not be called upon to begin repay
ment of project costs, thus lncreas-
ing the repayment period from 40
to so years. The law reads:
That the secretary may fix a
development period for each irriga-
ton block, if any, of not to exceed
ten years from and including the
first calendar year in which water
is delivered for the lands in said
block; and that during the de-
velopment period water shall be
delivered to the lands in the irriga-
ton block involved at charge per
annum per acre-foot, or other
charge, to be fixed by the secre-
tary each year and to be paid IN
advance of delivery of water
The Act further provides that
"the first annual installment for
any project contract unit, or for
any irrigation block, as the case
may be, shall accrue, on the date
fixed by the secretary, in the year
after the last year of the develop
ment period
AS q step looking to East Mesa
development, preliminary report
has been made by Dr. Harlan II
Barrows. planning consultant of the
Bureau of Reclamation, and William
E. Warne, director of information,
recommending studies and investi-
cations that the bureau believes
should be undertaken to insure sue
cessful settlement of the area. An
indispensable first step, the report
concludes, in determining the fit
ness for settlement and agricul-
tural utility of the East Mesa is a
detailed soil and land-classificatio
survey. It is recommended that
such a survey be made by the bu-
reau.
The BarrowS-W -Warne report found
that the prospective drainage prob
lem calls for thorough study before
East Mesa development is attempt
ed, not only in terms of the Mesa
itself, but considering particularly
the probable effect of mesa irriga-
ton upon drainage conditions in the
lower contiguous portion of the
present Imperial Irrigation Dis
trict.
A third recommendation is for
establishment as early as possible
of an experimental farm of ade-
quate size and proper equipment
on the Mesa. 1t is suggested ID that
water be provided free of charge
by the bureau, ~ that the farm
might well be jointly established
operated and maintained for per-
iod of at least i've years by the U.
S. Department of Agriculture and
the University of California, and
80 that negotiations to these ends
be authorized promptly. Many ques-
tions relating TO crops, productivity
and soil improvement can be deter
mined satisfactorily only by actual
experimentation, it was pointed out.
DISTRICT URGES ACTION
Copies of the Barrows-Warne re-
port we're sent by Commissioner
John C. Page of the reclamation
bureau TO Chief Engineer M. j.
Dowd, of the irrigation district and
TO the president of your board. Com
ment on the Investigations and pro-
posals was invited. The communi-
cation forwarded to Mr.. Page in
reply outlined the fact that the
East Mesa development has been
under study since 1921 and 1922.
Studies already made involved a
soil survey, results Of which are