1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



517 



as the alkali land lies in a more or less 

 continuous body along the lower parts 

 of the valley and will probably be al- 

 lowed to lie in its present condition, 

 as it furnishes a certain amount of pas- 

 turage in salt grass, and its present 

 owners claim that it is quite valuable 

 for winter feed. It is probable that if 

 the irrigation svstems are confined to 

 the lands at present holding water 

 rights and to such new lands as are in 

 good condition for irrigation, and 

 which will require a minimum expend- 

 iture for drainage, all the land for 

 w r hich there is water can easily be 

 found. 



Should the volume of available wa- 

 ter exceed the present expectations, all 

 the land susceotible of irrigation that 

 could be supplied would be reclaimed, 

 as the kind and amount of alkali which 

 the land contains would undoubtedly 

 permit of reclamation. 



Owens Valley is suffering at present 

 from an over-abundance of water. 

 Thousands of acres are damaged by 

 seepage water, and some system of 

 drainage is as desirable as more ex- 

 tensive irrigation. Large areas of 

 swamps could be drained and rendered 

 fit for cultivation, and the water thus 

 developed on the upper lands would 

 prove available for the irrigation of 

 lands lower down the valley. Should 

 the Long Valley dam site prove a good 

 one, and surveys be ordered, it is prob- 

 able that a study of the character of 

 these return waters will be made. 



Salt River Project. 



HP HE extreme high water in Salt 

 River, caused by the September 

 floods, damaged the Phoenix-Roose- 

 velt road, built in connection with the 

 Salt River irrigation project, to a con- 

 siderable extent. On long portions of 

 the road, where it was expected no 

 work would have to be done, mud was 

 deposited to a depth of from two to 

 four feet, making it almost impassable. 

 The bed of the channel shifted and a 

 large amount of material was deposit- 

 ed at various points along the river, 



raising the general surface in places 

 some three or four feet. 



Up to October 16 eight tunnels had 

 been completed, with the exception of 

 the lining, and work on the upper por- 

 tion of the headworks tunnel is pro- 

 gressing favorably, although the ex- 

 treme care and skill required on this 

 work necessitates great caution. 



The engineer in charge of the Salt 

 River project, not being satisfied with 

 the former reports on the sources of 

 salt in the river, directed a party to 

 proceed up the stream to the source of 

 the salt, or until fresh water was 

 reached. A steadily increasing amount 

 of salt was found until the party came 

 to Carrizo Creek. The total amount 

 of salt in the river below the mouth of 

 this creek was 1,650 parts per million. 

 The total amount above was 83 parts, 

 and the salt contents of the creek at 

 the mouth were 9,900 parts. 



Just below the salt springs in this 

 creek the amount of salt reached 14,- 

 ooo parts, and just above, 198 parts. 

 A study of the variations of salt in the 

 river from Livingstone to this point 

 shows conclusively that by far the 

 greatest quantity of salt is furnished 

 by this creek. The salt springs extend 

 over a distance of about half a mile, 

 the discharge from them being three 

 to five second-feet. 



An investigation will soon be made 

 of the feasibility of controlling these 

 springs, as the value of irrigation in 

 the valley will be enormously increased 

 if it is found possible to control the 

 salt in this river. 



The new cement mill was nearly 

 completed during September, and fire 

 brick for lining the cooler portions of 

 the kilns were manufactured. Drill- 

 ing on the power canal, the construc- 

 tion of buildings and other miscel- 

 laneous work is being carried forward 

 rapidly. 



Planning for North Dakota Irrigation. 



ABOARD of consulting engineers 

 of the United States Reclama- 

 tion Service, consisting of Arthur P. 

 Davis, George Y. Wisner, C. H. Fitch, 



