THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



23 



Bids are requested for the construction of a dam at the 

 outlet of Bumping Lake, Washington, for use in connection 

 with the Yakima irrigation project. The work involves about 

 182,000 cubic yards of excavation, about 960 cubic yards of 

 concrete masonry, about 980 cubic yards of riprap and rock 

 fill, and about 72,000 feet B. M. of hewn timber. The bids 

 will be opened at Portland, Ore., on November 15, 1906. 



By an accident in the southerly heading, Adit No. 3, Cor- 

 bett tunnel, Shoshone irrigation project, Wyoming, on the 

 25th, one man was killed and two slightly injured. Contract 

 with Charles Spear for the construction of this tunnel was 

 suspended by the Secretary of the Interior August 4th, and 

 authorization was secured by the Reclamation Service for 

 carrying on the work by force account. Work was resumed 

 August 17th and on September 1st about 500 men were em- 

 ployed. Owing to the delay between August 4th, the date of 

 shut down by contractor, and August 17th, the date when 

 work was taken up by the United States, many places in 

 the tunnel developed defects, and the men were put to work 

 timbering the roof and sides in order to provide for the 

 safety of the workmen. 



A contract has been awarded for furnishing and install- 

 ing pumping machinery for the Buford-Trenton irrigation 

 project, North Dakota, to the D'Olier Engineering Company, 

 of Philadelphia, Pa. Four bids were received for this work, 

 the lowest being that of the Camden Iron Works, of Camden, 

 N. J., at $40,574.50, and the next lowest that of the D'Olier 

 Engineering Company at $40,836. Careful consideration was 

 given to these two bids and the conclusion was reached that 

 the last mentioned company's proposal provides for the 

 greater pumping efficiency. The contract calls for the in- 

 stallation of three transformers of 300 kilowatt capacity, and 

 eight motor driven pumping units of capacities of 16 and 30 

 cubic feet per second under heads of 50 and 33 feet respect- 

 ively, with necessary electrical apparatus and water pipes, 

 in pumping stations near Buford, N. D. 



The Secretary of the Interior has withdrawn from any 

 form of disposition whatever under the public land laws the 

 following described lands for use in connection with the 

 Dubois irrigation project, Idaho : Boise Meridian T. 8 N., 

 R. 45 E., Sees. 1 to 24 inclusive ; T. 9 N., R. 45 E., all ; Ts. 8 

 and 9 N., R. 46 E., all. A portion of these lands is included 

 in the Henry's Lake Forest Reserve, and the withdrawal of 

 such portion is allowed in order that it may serve on the 

 records of the General Land Office as notice that these 

 tracts are necessary to the development of the Dubois proj- 

 ect and right of way privileges therein should not be granted 

 unless approved by the Reclamation Service. 



The board of consulting engineers of the United States 

 Reclamation Service, which convened recently at Portland, 

 Ore., to open bids for the building of the Cold Springs dam, 

 in connection with the Umatilla irrigation project, Oregon, 

 reports that three bids were received, as follows : Alternate 

 A, or dam with riprap facing, Clement, Strange & Salisbury, 

 of Salt Lake City, $339,505; rock fill facing, $345,380. The 

 bid of R. Wakefield, of Portland, Ore., for Alternate A was 

 $489,058.60, and for Alternate B $496,788.60. The Puget 

 Sound Bridge & Dredging Company of Seattle, Wash., bid 

 $471,893.55 for Alternate A and $486,743.55 for Alternate B. 

 The dam will be constructed near Hermiston, Ore., and in- 

 volves 694,000 cubic yards of earth and gravel excavation, 

 about 3,100 cubic yards of rock excavation, about 3,110 cubic 

 yards of concrete, and about 35,000 cubic yards of riprap 

 and rock fill. The bids have been forwarded to the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior for consideration. 



Since December, 1896, the Secretary of the Interior has 

 refused to approve applications for right of way over the 

 public lands which involve the taking of the waters of the 

 Rio Grande, on account of the pending questions with the 

 republic of Mexico concerning claims due to the alleged de- 

 struction of the water supply of canals in Mexico by the 

 diversion of waters of the Rio Grande in the state of Colo- 

 rado and territory of New Mexico. There has been much 

 controversy over this question by parties in southern Colo- 

 rado who had made plans for the construction of irrigation 

 works depending upon the waters of the Rio Grande. The 

 Reclamation Service has made many efforts to adjust mat- 

 ters satisfactorily to all concerned, and in May of this year 

 a modification of the order was made which partially relieved 

 the situation, but was not wholly satisfactory. As a further 

 result of the efforts of the Reclamation Service a treaty was 

 negotiated with Mexico which will provide for an adjust- 

 ment of the claims of its citizens. This treaty was ratified 

 by the Senate on May 21, 1906, and as a result the Secretary 



of the Interior, acting upon the suggestion of the Acting 

 Secretary of State, has now revoked all orders suspending 

 such right of way applications, and provided that each appli- 

 cation shall be separately considered on its merits as to 

 whether it interferes with the obligations involved under this 

 treaty or with the operations under the Reclamation Act for 

 a project in Rio Grande Valley, the construction of which 

 has begun. 



The bid of Henry C. DeLaney, of Williston, N. D., has 

 been rejected in the sum of $166,289 for the construction of 

 canals, ditches and structures under the Buford-Trenton irri- 

 gation project, North Dakota. The work involves the exca- 

 vation of about 410,000 cubic yards of earth, and furnishing 

 labor and material for a pumping station and various struc- 

 tures requiring about 140,000 feet B. M. of lumber, about 

 2,000 cubic yards of concrete, and about 25,000 pounds of 

 structural steel. Mr. DeLaney's bid was the only one re- 

 ceived, and was rejected as unreasonably high. 



A contract has been awarded to the Pacific Portland 

 Cement Company for supplying 27,000 barrels, more or less, 

 of Portland cement for the Tieton and Sunnyside irrigation 

 projects, Washington. Four proposals were received for fur- 

 nishing this cement, but taking into consideration the cost 

 of transportation, that of the Pacific Portland Cement Com- 

 pany, Tolenas, Cal., was the lowest. This marks the begin- 

 ning of the construction work on the Yakima project, of 

 which the Sunnyside and Tieton projects are independent 

 units. The Yakima irrigation system, as planned by the Re- 

 clamation Service, will ultimately be one of the largest of 

 the Government projects. The nucleus of irrigation already 

 established in this valley has shown that in fertility of soil 

 and climatic conditions this portion of Washington compares 

 favorably with the best irrigated sections in the West. The 

 people have been very energetic in clearing away some of 

 the preliminary difficulties encountered by the Government 

 in starting the work, and the conditions are very favorable 

 for a large increase in the irrigated area in the next few 

 years. Plans and specifications for the canyon portion of 

 the main canal, Tieton project, were completed in July, and 

 bids for its construction will be opened November 15th. A 

 field party is now engaged in the location of valley portions 

 of the main canal. A wagon road is under construction up 

 Tieton canyon to facilitate operations along that portion of 

 the canal, and every effort will be made to complete the 

 road and have everything in readiness for the actual com- 

 mencement of canal construction next spring. A farm unit 

 survey has been completed and plans for the distribution sys- 

 tem are being studied and prepared. The development of the 

 distribution system of the first unit of Sunnyside project is 

 now occupying the engineers, and plans and specifications are 

 about completed for a concrete weir to replace the movable 

 dam at the head of the Sunnyside canal. 



"Chief Engineer, U. S. Reclamation Service, Washington, 

 D. C. The first stone of the Roosevelt dam was laid by the 

 contractor at 5 o'clock this afternoon. Hill." 



This message was read with a great deal of satisfaction 

 by the officials of the Reclamation Service. It marks the 

 beginning of the end of one of the most daring and difficult 

 projects so far undertaken by the Government. The contract 

 for the construction of this dam was executed by the Secre- 

 tary of the Interior April 21, 1905. Although the company 

 which made this contract is energetic and experienced, the 

 long succession of unusual floods which have occurred in 

 Salt River in the past year has from time to time delayed 

 the attempts to control the river with coffer dams and ex- 

 cavate the foundation. Time after time a large amount of 

 work has been entirely destroyed and the contractors' ap- 

 pliances swept away. It is therefore with a great sense of 

 relief that the news is received that the erratic river has 

 finally submitted to the curb and rein, and a few weeks 

 will see the contractors' works out of danger. The work will 

 thereafter advance rapidly, and benefits from the storage 

 accomplished may be expected during the season of 1907, 

 although the completion of the dam will require a much 

 longer time. The dam will be 284 feet high, 280 feet long 

 at the base and 700 feet long on top. It will back the water 

 up for twenty-five miles, forming a lake with a capacity of 

 1,300,000 acre-feet, or water sufficient to cover that many 

 acres one foot in depth. The cement mill erected by the 

 Government has a capacity of 350 barrels a day and the 

 saw mill thirty miles up the canyon has cut about 3,000,000 

 feet B. M. of lumber for use in the various structures. A 

 power canal eighteen miles long with a drop of 220 feet is 

 furnishing power to operate the cement mill and for use in 



