THE IREIGATION AGE. 



461 



Reclamation Notes 



CALIFORNIA. 



\Yilliam Kahriman. a realty dealer of Fresno, California, 

 has interested New York capital in a project to irrigate 

 2,000,000 acres of land by pumping water from Tulare lake. 

 The tract involved lies between Mendota and Coast Range 

 and is almost flat. It is now without water except where 

 small wells have been put in. It is stated that the New 

 Yorkers have indicated a readiness to make the required in- 

 vestment of $20,000,000. 



Charles Swezy, of Sacramnto, has filed in the office of 

 the county recorder of Butte an appropriation of 20,000 

 inches of water. Of this amount 10,000 inches are taken 

 from Mosquito Creek, and 10,000 inches of the water 

 from French Creek. The filing was made in the name 

 of Anne Swezy. The water of Mosquito Creek will be 

 diverted by a concrete dam 15 feet high and 40 feet wide. 

 On the French Creek it is proposed to build a dam 10 

 feet high and 50 feet wide- The water will be carried in 

 ditches 12 feet wide at the base, to the power house. 



Much interest is being taken in the outcome of the suit 

 brought by A. Bonslett against the Butte County Canal Com- 

 pany. The action involves the rights of water users to have 

 the water for irrigation delivered on the land to be irrigated 

 through laterals. The company claims that the contract called 

 only for the delivery of water at the main ditch and filed 

 a demurrer which was overruled. The canal company has not 

 offered any testimony in support of its claims. It is supposed 

 that the water company relies on the contract in support 

 of the contention that it is only required to deliver water 

 to the land to be irrigated at the nearest point on the main 

 canal. 



The Hallwood Irrigation Company, of Marysville, has - 

 let a portion of their excavation contract to the Gunn Ex- 

 cavating Company at ten cents per cubic yard. The work is 

 to be commenced August 1st and completed by December 

 1st of this year. 



H. T . Barceloux who owns a tract of land near Wil- 

 lows, has commenced suit against the Sacramento Irrigation 

 Companv and has secured an injunction to prevent the 

 company from excavating or enlarging the old Central canal 

 which runs through his land. Mr. Barceloux claims that 

 neither the Central Irrigation District, the Central Canal and 

 Irrigation Company or the Sacramento Valley Irrigation 

 Company have any title to the ditch, as same reverted to the 

 land by reason of non-use of the canal for more than five 

 years. Mr. Barceloux is emphatic in declaring that he has 

 no intention or desire to obstruct the progress of the irri- 

 gation company in the development of their system, providing 

 that the company is willing to deliver water to the lands 

 at a reasonable figure through which they pass with their 

 canals. It is reported that the company has announced that 

 it will not sell water to anybody, and for this reason Mr. 

 Barceloux will start suit to protect his rights. Attorney 

 McCahill soeakiner for the Sacramento Valley Irrigation 

 Company in a recent interview stated that the attitude of the 

 company is well known in the Sacramento valley. He re- 

 fused to state whether the company would fight the case or 

 what attitude the corporation would take. Should the case 

 prove to be a long one and filled with delays, it will delay the 

 work of the Sacramento Valley Irrigation Company. For the 

 land which is tied up on the present injunction is in the 

 district where work is contemplated, the contract having 

 just been let to Contractor Harling. This move blocks the 

 entrance of the canal into Colusa county, and if the injunction 

 is made permanent, the canal will go only as far as the town 

 of Willows. 



A tract of land consisting of 18,000 acres and known 

 as the Moulton Ranch, in Colusa county, has been sold by 



the Central California Investment Company to Pasadena 

 and Hollister capitalists. This tract of land lies just across 

 the river from Colusa and extends from Butte Slough four 

 miles south of Colusa to a point about ten miles north of 

 that city. A large portion of the land has been subject to 

 overflow during the winter months, but the purchasers have 

 had surveys made for the purpose of determining the cost 

 of the reclamation work and it is the intention of the new 

 owners to start work on the reclamation of this tract at 

 the earliest possible moment so that a large portion of the 

 lands will be ready for colonization this coming winter. 



Farmers in the vicinity of Madeline have become inter- 

 ested in irrigation by pumping and a well-boring outfit has 

 been ordered to prospect for water in Secret Valley by which 

 means a large body of fine land may be reclaimed. The 

 Madeline Meadows Land and Irrigation Company of that 

 city are now at work on a large project, and the building of 

 canals and laterals has been begun. 



The earth dam on the Alamo river north of Meloland 

 is nearly completed, and water will be delivered to the Mos- 

 quito lake district in the near future. The dam will back up 

 the waste water with the power plant in the gorge of the 

 Alamo and will form a lake about two miles long from which 

 water will be taken through a concrete gate for the irrigation 

 of 16,000 acres. The wasteway is a structure of reinforced 

 concrete and is 30 feet high. The water will flow from this 

 structure into a basin so constructed as to constitute a water 

 cushion that will break the force of the flow and prevent 

 washing out of the pass by which the waste water will re- 

 turn to the Alamo channel below the dam. 



A large tract of land comprising 100,000 acres in the 

 vicinity of Gait will be placed under irrigation, cut up and 

 sold in tracts suitable for small farms. The enterprise will 

 be undertaken by the California Corporation of Sacramento. 

 It is estimated that it will take one year to get the acreage 

 in condition so that it may be placed upon the market. 



The reservoir of the Orland project which is being con- 

 structed by the Reclamation Service and which will store 

 water to irrigate 15,000 acres of land near Orland, was com- 

 pleted on July 1st. The main dam of this project is of solid 

 concrete, 140 feet high from bedrock and 90 feet high above 

 the surface. It is 240 feet long on the crest and 10 feet wide, 

 with a base of 90 feet wide. The water will flow in Stony 

 creek to a point near Orland. where a diverting dam will turn 

 it into the main canals. 



The board of directors of the Modesto irrigation district 

 at their June meeting passed a resolution that hereafter the 

 payment of irrigation taxes may be made in two install- 

 ments. The first installment will comprise one-half of the 

 fixed interest charge and the whole of any sum voted as a 

 special tax ; the second installment will consist of one-half 

 of the fixed interest charge. The first installment will be 

 delinquent after the last Monday in December and the second 

 installment will be delinquent after the last Monday in 

 June. 



Farmers along the Merced river about seven miles from 

 Newman have joined together and are installing a pumping 

 plant to furnish them with water necessary to irrigate their 

 lands. 



The Consolidated Reservoir & Power Company of Los 

 Angeles has let the contract to W. E. Pedley of Riverside 

 to build a cement flume to irrigate lands purchased by the 

 company near Banning. The irrigation features of the work 

 will be completed in October, while the electric part of the 

 work, including the power houses, will be completed shortly 

 after that time. The flume will start from an elevation 7,000 

 feet in the San Bernardino mountains and will be nearly 

 six miles long. The Consolidated Company has bought all 

 apparent rights to Whitewater River, such as ranches that 

 had water rights along the river. During flood seasons some 

 of the water of this river has found wav into the Coachella 

 valley, and now that the water is to be diverted, some of the 

 farmers in this valley have expressed alarm that their 

 artesian flow may be affected. It is stated, however, by irri- 

 gation engineers and others who are in position to know the 



