RECLAMATION OF ARID LANDS BEADLE. 479 



(pi. 7, fig. 2) connecting the site with the nearest railroad at Barber- 

 ton. This short railroad, built, owned, and operated by the United 

 States, does a small commercial business in addition to the carriage of 

 freight for building the dam, and the road shows a profit when due 

 credit is allowed for the material carried for the Government con- 

 struction. This credit represents a substantial saving over what it 

 would have cost to haul the necessary material overland. 



About 12 miles below Arrowrock and 8 miles above Boise is the 

 diversion dam of the project (pi. 7, fig. 1), turning the water into the 

 canal system, which includes a main canal carrying the water to 

 the Deer Flat Reservoir, another storage basin formed by several 

 large earth embankments, closing a natural depression some distance 

 from the river. 



As on the Salt River project power is developed in connection with 

 the Boise, but in smaller amount. A hydroelectric plant was built 

 at the diversion dam and the power here developed was transmitted 

 to Arrowrock, where it was used to build the larger structure. 



In addition to the Arrowrock Dam the principal work since the re- 

 port of 1910 has been the completion of the distribution system, com- 

 prising 1,000 miles of canal and 12,000 structures, together with 

 drainage works. The project embraces two old irrigation districts, 

 which have contracted for supplemental water supply from Arrow- 

 rock Reservoir and for drainage work done by the Reclamation 

 Service for the benefit of considerable areas of the district lands that 

 have been rendered temporarily unfit for cultivation by seepage and 

 alkali. 



Nearly 100,000 acres of the Boise project are now in crops and the 

 annual production already exceeds a million dollars. Alfalfa, clover, 

 cereals, and potatoes are the leading products. 



MINIDOKA PROJECT, IDAHO. 



In Snake River Valley a project has been built, involving storage 

 in Jackson Lake, Wyoming (pi. 8, figs. 1 and 2), and a distribution 

 system near Minidoka, Idaho. The Minidoka Dam diverts water to 

 north and south side canals and furnishes a head of 46 feet, which is 

 used to drive a 7,000 kilowatt power plant erected at the dam. The 

 power is utilized to lift irrigation water to additional land not ac- 

 cessible by gravity flow and the excess energy is sold for the benefit 

 of the project. 



The power is produced at a cost averaging slightly over one 

 mill per kilowatt-hour, including all operating expense and plant 

 depreciation. This low cost makes it possible to sell the energy for 

 varied and novel uses, such as operating washing machines, flat-irons, 

 and other utensils of the small home. Considerable is used for heat- 

 ing. One of the project towns has recently erected a schoolhouse 



