180 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



RECLAMATION FUND EXHAUSTED. 



Engineer Grunsky Tells of Vast Amount of Work Under 

 Way. 



Consulting Engineer C. E. Grunsky recently made 

 the following statements to the representative of a San 

 Francisco paper: 



"Perhaps the best evidence that the Reclamation 

 Service is doing good work may be found in the fact 

 that the demand for such assistance as can be given 

 by the Secretary of the Interior in the matter of re- 

 claiming lands by irrigation greatly exceeds the re- 

 clamation fund now available for this purpose. In- 

 cluding the anticipated revenues of the next few years, 



is unused water, but where, either owing to the magni- 

 tude of the several projects or the lack of interest on 

 the part of those who have learned to take advantage 

 of easily developed resources, or to other similar causes, 

 the projects could not be given first rank, but have re- 

 mained secondary to other projects. Many such proj- 

 ects may be carried to completion in the future, when 

 additional funds become available. 



"Whenever privately owned lands seek benefit from 

 the provisions of the Reclamation Act, practical unan- 

 imity of action by the landowners becomes an essential 

 requisite. This has heretofore been readily secured in 

 those districts where there is a thorough appreciation 

 of the value of irrigation. Xearly $4,000.000 is being 



I 



The Shoshone Falls of the Snake River in Southern Idaho (Looking Down the River) Part of the Minidoka Project. 



this fund, which at present amounts to about $28,- 

 000,000, has been allotted practically to its limit. 



"Plans have been made and works are being carried 

 out for the irrigation of about 6,000,000 acres, scattered 

 through thirteen States and three territories. 



"These works are not restricted to the reclamation 

 of arid and semi-arid public lands only, but the benefits 

 thereof extend to lands privately owned, subject, how- 

 ever, always to the condition that lands for which water 

 is made available from Government works shall no 

 longer be owned in large tracts, but must be subdivided 

 into farm units of such size as the Secretary of the 

 Interior may direct. 



"The investigations by the engineers of the Recla- 

 mation Service have been extended into many districts 

 where irrigation would be a great benefit and there 



expended in Ar'zona on Salt River for the benefit of 

 Salt River Valley, where irrigation has long been prac- 

 ticed. Canal owners and land owners have there come 

 to a realization of the importance of harmonious action. 

 The land owners of this valley formed the first water 

 users' association and made the early approval of the 

 Salt River Valley project possible, and the works are 

 now under construction. 



In Utah near Spanish Fork, where land is already 

 under cultivation in small irrigated tracts, but where 

 more water is desired, there was not a dissenting voice 

 among the 1,400 interested landowners when the ques- 

 tion was presented of increasing the water supply by 

 an expenditure of $20 per acre. They were all anxious 

 to take advantage of the provisions of the reclamation 

 act and their project -has been matured. Water from 



