THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



its tributaries between Colorado and Utah. The 

 San Juan basin forms parts of Colorado, New Mexico, 

 Arizona and Utah. The Little Colorado and Gila 

 have their head waters in New Mexico and their 

 courses in Arizona. The Kanab is partly in Utah 

 and partly in Arizona and the Rio Virgen belongs to 

 Utah, Arizona and Nevada. The vast areas of irrig- 

 able lands along the Colorado, below the Grand can- 

 yon, from which, according to Major Powell, there 

 will always flow "an enormous stream of water 

 sufficient to irrigate several million acres," are like- 

 wise parts of three political divisions, Arizona, Neva- 

 da and California. 



The Great Basin presents two very marked in- 

 stancess of conflict between State lines and irrigation 

 interest the Bear river problem and the Nevada- 

 California problem. The Bear river rises in Utah and 

 flows north into Wyoming, then west into Utah again 

 and again back into Wyoming, pursuing all the while 

 a northerly direction. It then turns to the west into 

 Idaho and after a somewhat extended and sinuous 

 course in that State, comes back to the State of its 

 origin and empties its waters into the Great Salt 

 lake. About midway of its length is Bear lake, a 

 natural storage reservoir for the river's overflow and 

 of much possible value to the irrigation lower down 

 the stream ; and this lake lies about half in Utah and 

 half in Idaho, with its outlet in the latter State. The 

 waters for the irrigation of Nevada are furnished 

 largely by the Truckee, Carson and Walker rivers, 

 all of which come into the State from California, 

 where they have their sources in the Sierra Nevada 

 mountains. On the border between the two States is 

 Lake Tahoe, with large storage capacity; but its out- 

 let is in California, as are most of the other reservoir 

 sites of importance and they are not a few. 



The inter-state problems of the Columbia system 

 are found chiefly in the basin of the Shoshone, whose 

 head waters are in Wyoming and which flows a large 

 part of its length in Idaho and then forms a portion 

 of the western boundary of that State. Some of its 

 tributaries from the south rise in Nevada, including 

 the Owyhee, which traverses a corner of Idaho and a 

 part of Oregon before joining the Shoshone. Farther 

 north several other streams flow into Washington 

 from Idaho, including the Pendd'Oreille.which comes 

 down from the mountains of western Montana. The 

 Kootenai, the Okanogan and the Columbia itself, all 

 came from across the Canadian border and, should 

 that region ever become dependent in large degree 

 upon irrigation, would be likely to be the cause of 

 international controversy. 



From this cursory review of the situation it can be 

 easily imagined what havoc is likely to result to the 

 agricultural interest of the West from this division of 

 natural irrigation districts by state lines, often cut- 

 ting off the catchment areas and reservoir sites from 

 the lands to be watered and separating the irrigable 

 tracts of nearly every river basin among different 

 states and territories. I have compiled the following 

 from Major Powell's statements before the Congres- 

 sional Committee on Irrigation in 1890: 



MAJOR POWELL'S TESTIMONY. 



" If it had happened that States had been divided by river 

 districts, all these problems could have been solved by the States 

 themselves; but as the facts actually exist, the problems cannot 

 be solved by State governments, and they are of the most serious 

 character and involve interests of enormous magnitude. It is 

 well known to you, gentlemen, how a fishing ground on a little 

 bit of territory between two States comes to be a matter of bitter 

 contest between the states, but what will it be between States 

 when a vast system of agriculture is in controversy between 

 them ? 



" This is no ideal difficulty. It has arisen between Colorado 

 and Nebraska. Governors have threatened violence, and it has 

 created a great deal of contention. The subject has been in- 

 troduced into Congress and an investigation ordered. Questions 

 between Colorado and Kansas have in like manner arisen in Con- 

 gress. Shall the agriculture of Kansas be destroyed in favor of 

 Colorado? or shall the agriculture of Colorado be destroyed in 

 favor of Kansas? are questions already before the Congress of 

 the United States. The same question arises between Texas and 

 New Mexico. Soon it will arise between Colorado and New 

 Mexico. There is a bitter contest at present in the Department 

 of the Interior between Idaho and Utah * * * in reference to a di- 

 vision of the water of Bear river. * * The Governor of Idaho, 

 and the people of Idaho have petitioned the Secretary of the In- 

 terior to stop the development of irrigation work by "the people 

 of Utah. * * * War would ensue were it an international instead 

 of an inter-state problem. * * * The catchment area is chiefly in 

 Utah, and the irrigation not the whole of it, but a little of it is 

 in Idaho, Its reservoirs will be partly in Utah, partly in Idaho 

 and partly in Wyoming. A little agriculture can be practiced * * 

 in Idaho, but the principal part of it commences near the line 

 between Idaho and Utah and extends down the valley to Salt 

 lake. The greater part of the waters are to be utilized there. 

 But in order to utilize these waters fully, somehow or other the 

 right to control the irrigation works in Idaho and Wyoming also 

 must be obtained. * * * 



"The Kanab heads in Utah * * * but the irrigable lands lie 

 along the territorial line, a small part being in Utah, the greater 

 part in Arizona. It is thus that the lands that depend upon the 

 same reservoirs and upon the same canals must be divided be- 

 tween the two Territories, The principal farming lands should be 

 in Arizona, the reservoirs must all be in Utah. * * * To the west 

 lie the Rio Virgen and its tributaries. Here is another natural 

 irrigation district; part of its catchment area is in Utah and part 

 in Nevada. The irrigable lands are also partly in Utah and partly 

 in Nevada, and the pasturage lands are in like manner divided. 

 The Rio Virgin is already supplied with several flourishing settle- 

 ments, but the forests and the grasses are disappearing. It is 

 possible to cut off nearly all the water from Nevada and use it in 

 Utah, and this is being done, and through this agency most of 

 the settlements in Nevada have failed. * * The position of tin- 

 State line here is peculiarly unfortunate * * * Here is a large 

 area of Arizona lying on the north side of the Grand canyon, 

 which can be crossed only at one point for 500 miles. This gorge 

 * is from 2,000 to 6,000 feet in depth. The citizens of Arizona 

 who live on the north side cannot go to their capital or communi- 

 cate with the people of the other side without going out of the 

 Territory and travelling hundreds of miles. All this district should 

 be attached to Utah. 



" Now they are beginning to develop agriculture in the States 

 farther north, and the same question will arise between fhe Da- 

 kotasand Montana, between Montana, Oregon and Washington, 

 between Oregon and Nevada and between California and Neva- 

 da. * * Six million acres of land in Idaho will depend wholly up 

 on waters caught in Wyoming. * * * Some means must be pro- 

 vided by whicn the people of Idaho, who engage in agrculture cm 

 these lands can protect their sources of water supply in Wyom- 

 ing and have control of the irrigation works which they must con- 

 struct there. * * * 



" Three fourths of the agriculture of Nevada depends wholly 

 upon water caught in California * * * The State of Nevada made 

 an appropriation which proposed to give the income derived from 

 the lands which are granted by the United States and some 

 other sources, to the development of irrigation. They passed an 

 appropriation last year, if I remember rightly, of $150,000 to be 

 used in creating storage reservoirs and when we came to examine 

 the condition of affairs, the physical condition, it was found that 

 the work had to be done in California; so it was blocked. The 

 timber above the water sources there must be preserved to pro- 

 tect these;water rights. All this great farming district, and it is 

 a rich farming district, requires for its protection authority to 

 manage the forest above the reservoirs. * * These three rivers 

 (Truckee, Carson and Walker) surveys of which have been made 

 can have all their waste waters stored in the state of California 

 and in their own State, but in order to do it there must be some 

 right in the farmers below to control the land above, and when 

 storage basins are thus constructed, there must be established 

 some way in which they can protect them. * * * 



" So that the inter-state problems are enormous, so enormous 

 that I almost hesitate to state what I believe to be their magni 

 tude. I think that there is not less than 500,000,000 involved. 

 But one case that I have given you shows that over 5,000,000 

 acres of land in Idaho depend on waters to be caught and stored 

 in Wyoming. This is simply one illustration; and suppose in 

 that case they are worth only $30 per acre, that means lands to 

 the amount of $150,000,000 iust between two States." 



A RADICAL REMEDY PROPOSED. 



This condition is an evil of great enormity, which 

 demands a remedy immediate' and heroic. According 

 to the October number of THE IRRIGATION AGE, the 

 " questions between States are becoming graver and 

 more complicated;" and this difficulty is almost 



