905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



291 



able point on Santa Ynez River for irrigation and domestic use to Santa 



this construction is the Gibraltar reser- Barbara and vicinity from this site, 



voir site; (3) That the water can be Mr. Lippincott estimates in detail the 



delivered at a reasonable cost for both cost of the work. 



STREAM MEASUREMENTS IN THE 



UNITED STATES 



TTHE sundry civil bill for 1906, pass- 

 ed by the last Congress contains 

 an item of $200,000 appropriated 

 to the United States Geological Sur- 

 vey for the purpose of gaging streams 

 and determining water supply. With 

 this sum it is proposed to continue the 

 work of measuring streams in all parts 

 of the United States and of collect- 

 ing data that will be helpful in pro- 

 moting water powers and irrigation 

 projects, and valuable in determining 

 the quality of water best suited for 

 domestic and municipal purposes and 

 for manufacturing enterprises. 



Estimates of the daily flow of im- 

 portant rivers are needed by engineers 

 and investors, as is shown by the many 

 requests for such information received 

 from all parts of the country. It is 

 believed that more than $5,000,000 is 

 annually expended in new projects 

 that are stimulated largely by facts 

 that have been ascertained officially 

 during years of careful observation. 



The water powers of New England 

 have reached a high state of develop- 

 ment, but many resources are not yet 

 utilized particularly those in Maine. 

 There is constant demand for official 

 data, and investigation will therefore 

 be made of the character of certain 

 New England waters with reference to 

 their use for manufacturing purposes. 

 Studies will also be made of the pollu- 

 tion of waters in this region from nat- 

 ural or artificial sources. 



From New York southward in the 

 Appalachian region a very extraordi- 

 nary development of water powers is 

 taking place, particularly in connec- 

 tion with cotton manufacture and 

 electrical transmission. In some cases 

 industrial investment is now await- 

 ing the acquisition of definite infor- 

 mation concerning the character of 

 the waters. 



From Ohio westward through the 

 central Mississippi Valley, where the 

 streams are relatively sluggish, water 

 power is of less immediate importance 

 than in the Eastern States, but here 

 questions of adequate supplies of 

 water suitable for manufacturing 

 and industrial purposes are pressing. 

 Plans are being made for the definite 

 ascertainment of facts concerning the 

 quantity and quality of supplies avail- 

 able from rivers and underground 

 sources. When these facts are deter- 

 mined it will be possible to answer 

 intelligently the numerous inquiries 

 made as to the character of these 

 supplies and their protection from 

 manufacturing waste, sewage, and 

 other destructive influences. Wide- 

 spread information regarding the 

 geology, topography, and water sup- 

 ply of the country should lead to 

 great advances in manufacturing. 



In the west the reclamation fund 

 is available for the construction of 

 irrigation works by the Government. 

 At the same time the area available for 

 agriculture will be largely increased 

 by the construction of small irrigation 

 systems. It is propesed to continue 

 the measurement of streams in all the 

 western states, in order to obtain data 

 upon which to base investment of pri- 

 vate or corporate capital, and to put 

 on record information which can be 

 obtained only by the Government, 

 such as the measurements of inter- 

 state streams. 



In short, it is proposed to continue, 

 in nearly every state in the Union, 

 the collection of facts concerning the 

 surface and underground waters 

 their quantity, quality, and the influ- 

 ences which make them valuable or 

 which destroy their usefulness for in- 

 dustrial purposes. 



