THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



CANALS. 



Arizona. THE WILLIAMS DAM. Twenty additional men 

 have been added to the large force employed on the addition to 

 the dam since the arrival of Lantry & Son's foreman, and work 

 on the structure has commenced in earnest. Forty men are now 

 employed on the work, and aside from the excavation being made 

 a large force of men are busily engaged erecting the necessary 

 derricks and putting the hoisting machinery in place Foreman 

 Kennedy says that in all probability everything will be in readi- 

 ness for the masons within a short time, when an additional force 

 will be employed. With the completion of this work the capacity 

 of the reservoir will be more than doubled, something like 41,000- 

 000 gallons, as estimated by Chief Engineer Burns. This will 

 make the dam the largest in the southwest, and there need be no 

 fear that it will ever give way, for in its construction nothing but 

 the very best material will be used, concrete being the principal. 



The water in the Santa Cruz is lower than ever before, a 



fact which materially aids the work of development of water for 

 the Canoa canal from the underground flow of that stream. More 

 water is being developed daily, and there is an abundance for all 



crops The reorganization of the canal company is viewed 



with a great deal of satisfaction the entire length of the Casa 

 Grande Valley, and it is anticipated that the new corporation 

 will meet all the requirements of its franchise. With the water 

 service reliable this valley will soon become a veritable paradise. 

 Sunday there was a break in the canal, two or three miles 

 above Arizola, through which a large quantity of water went to 

 waste. At this season, when the pressure on the banks of the 

 canal is normal only, such occurrences should not transpire, and 



could be prevented by a little watchfulness Trouble is likely 



to result to the Florence Canal Company and to the consumers 

 because of shortage of water on the Pima and Maricopa reserva- 

 tion. The yield of wheat in past years from these Indians has been 

 from six to eight millions pounds annually. Last year, because of 

 insufficient water, it was one million and three-quarters pounds, 

 and this year it will be less. Their crops are suffering now, and 

 in a short time will be without water. The lateral from the 

 Florence canal, which was to convey water to the Gila river at a 

 point just above the Montezuma ranch, where the first reserva- 

 tion ditch is taken out, has never been completed, and the water 

 guaranteed to these Indians by the company has never been fur- 

 nished. 



New Mexico. The seepage at the new Eddy dam has nearly 

 ceased, though more earth is being thrown on the upper slope. 

 The first rise that brings sediment will leave a cemented surface 

 on the dam that will make it waterproof. 



California. Representative Maguire has endorsed the idea 

 of putting the various industrial armies to work at building irri- 

 gation canals. He believes that the government should establish 

 a national system of irrigation for arid lands, and give the labor- 

 ers employed in building the canals an opportunity to find homes 

 on the land reclaimed. The tracks served by the ditches would 

 be allotted to the users on unlimited leases, but not sold. Un- 

 doubtedly there are many men in these aggregations who honestly 

 want to work. Undoubtedly there are many others who would be 

 scattered by the offer of a job as effectively as by a gatling gun. 

 It would be unnecessary to begin the construction of irrigation 

 works on an enormous and unmanageable scale. One system of 

 moderate extent in a single drainage area would provide for all 

 the men who would be likely to take advantage of the offer of 

 work, without straining the resources of the government. The 

 men could be paid wages a little below the market rates, and part 

 of this could be given them in scrip, receivable for rent of irri- 

 gated lands. If the undertaking were in charge of army engineers 

 and carried out with military discipline, there would be no danger 

 of much annoyance from tramps. The construction of national 

 irrigation works would be a benefit well worth attaining at any 

 time, regardless of the needs of labor. The fact that it would 



also serve just now to relieve distress should not unduly prejudice 

 conservative minds against it In the San Jacinto and Pleas- 

 ant Valley Irrigation district there are now 1,000 inches of water 

 flowing in the pipes, and but 2,000 acres of land under cultivation. 



The water taken from Santiago creek by the owners of the 



Sanjoaquin ranch is reducing the flow to such an extent that 

 ranches below dependent upon it are suffering. Many of the 

 alfalfa fields have been abandoned, the trees requiring all the 

 water available. The San Joaquin people are taking fully one-half 

 of the water. Legal proceedings will be instituted at an early 

 date to restrain the owners of the big ranch from taking the water. 

 It is now announced that the bonds of the Escondido Irri- 

 gation district have been sold to Mr. Putnam, of New York, and 

 that construction of the system will begin in a short time. As 

 soon as work on that begins the extension of the Pacific Beach 

 railway from La Jolla to Escondido is expected to be begun. 



Oregon. The Three-mile Falls Irrigation Company's enter- 

 prise near Umatilla is now nearing completion. The water is 

 taken from the Umatilla river at Three-mile Falls. The ditch is 

 five miles long, and will carry about twenty cubic feet of water 

 per second, sufficient to irrigate 1,500 acres of the sandy soil in 

 that locality. An orchard of 8,000 or 9,000 trees, mainly prunes, is 

 already set out. 



Nebraska. NORTH PLATTE. Lincoln county is just now 

 reaching out after a fair division of surface water. President 

 I. A. Fort, of the State Irrigation Association, is indefatigable in 

 pushing the work of organization. In this county ditches aggre- 

 gating nearly 150 miles in length are already in process of con- 

 struction The proprietors of the Meeker irrigation ditch 



offer to furnish water free for the purpose of watering trees that 

 are planted along the highway under their ditch All the irri- 

 gation ditches in the vicinity of Benkelman are now running in 

 full blast with plenty of water, and are doing good service to their 



owners A contemplated improvement in the Minatare canal 



which is receiving a good deal of discussion down that way is the 

 building of a new headgate this fall, and it is also urged that it 

 be moved a half mile up the river in order to get more fall. This 

 work, if done, will not be until fall, and it is expected that some 

 enlarging will also be done The Holland ditch is now fur- 

 nishing plenty of water with which to irrigate gardens, lawns and 



trees. Care should be taken not to use too much water The 



irrigating ditch begun at Rushville is mapped out for a distance 



of 200 miles, and will cost nearly $2,000,000 Work on theTor- 



rington ditch is progressing rapidly, and they had the luck to 

 have two breaks in the ditch the first week through the gopher 

 while testing the water to see if was fit to produce a few ears of 



corn for them next fall The North Platte Irrigating and 



Ditch Company held their annual meeting this week, and elected 

 a new board of directors: Augustine Mason, president; William 

 B. Coy, secretary, and William G. Curtis, treasurer. It is ex- 

 pected that the ditch will be placed in excellent running order 

 before another year sets in Work is shut down on the Nine- 

 mile canal just now, the interested fanners being engaged in 

 farm work. They are getting considerable water to use from 

 seepage, although the headgate is not in yet. Before construct- 

 ing the headgate the officers of the company will make a pilgrim- 

 age in a body up the river and inspect the various gates, in order 

 to get the benefit of others' experience in this line KEARNEY. 

 The $60,000 bonds voted at last election for the widening and 

 deepening of the canal to 9,000 horse power are now in the hands 

 of the printer, and will be signed up and ready for the auditor to 

 register the last of this week. The fact that this money will soon 

 be put in circulation and that the canal will be so enlarged has 

 inspired the citizens of Kearney with the old-time " gait," and 

 already there is talk of building a handsome pavilion on the 

 shores of Lake Kearney. 



Colorado. The High Line Reservoir Company at a late 

 meeting of the board of directors agreed to amend the articles of 

 incorporation increasing the capital stock to $300,000. A new 



