THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



213 



PROGRESS OF THE RECLAMATION WORK. 



Arizona, Salt River Project (93.5 per cent completed). 

 The two water wheels, which will utilize water from the 

 Roosevelt Reservoir, arrived and were being hauled to Roose- 

 velt. Work on the equipment of the San Francisco Pump- 

 ing Plant was completed with the exception of grading and 

 fencing the grounds. The erection of the Salt River Valley 

 Water Users Association transmission line from the Switch- 

 ing Station to the South Consolidated Power Plant, a dis- 

 tance of 8 1-3 miles, was commenced and about eight-tenths 

 of the poles were erected and the stringing of wires begun. 

 The excavation for the South Consolidated Power Plant, by 

 contact, was finished and the placing of forms for the 

 structure was commenced. The water users' association 

 awarded contract, and excavation was commenced, for the 

 erection of the Arizona Falls Power Plant building and spill- 

 way. On the Arizona Canal the dredge remained idle. The 

 excavator covered a distance of 5,500 feet by the 20th when 

 it was necessary to stop for repairs. Material for the Cave 

 Creek structure was on the ground and the forms were built. 

 The widening of the Grand Canal progressed satisfactorily. 

 The contractors finished and moved their outfit back to 

 the Grand Canal extension on the 22d. Practically all of 

 the wooden structures required for handling water in the 

 new header ditches were installed. Engineering parties were 

 engaged upon the Grand and Arizona Canals and lateral 

 work. Constant water service was maintained in the south 

 side system. On the north side unit service was rendered 

 constantly in the Arizona Canal, rotated between the Salt 

 River Valley and Maricopa Canals, and as much water as 

 possible was delivered into the lower end of the Grand Canal 

 through the Arizona laterals. It was impossible to use the 

 -upper portion of the Grand Canal on account of the enlarge- 

 ment work being carried on by the water users' association. 

 The demands on the system were heavier than during De- 

 cember due to the warm weather starting the growth of 

 vegetation. All demands were taken care of with the ex- 

 ception of those from water users under the Grand Canal. 

 All water necessary up to and including the 6th of the month 

 was furnished by the Verde River, supplemented by that 

 which was delivered through the Power Canal. The daily 

 average for this period was 115 second-feet. The valves in 

 Tunnel No. 2 were opened on the evening of the 6th and a 

 daily average of 580 second-feet was delivered during the 

 remainder of the month. On January 25 the elevation of 

 water surface in the reservoir was 153.75 feet, contents 437,919 

 acre- feet; the net loss for the month having been .44 foot 

 in elevation, and 3,917 acre-feet in contents. The mainte- 

 nance force placed some necessary pipe culverts under the 

 Western Canal; also some new work incidental to the con- 

 nection of a portion of the well system. A decided increase 

 in temperature during the month assisted materially in start- 

 ing general agricultural pursuits and a large amount of work 

 was carried on in the valley, considerable new land having 

 been brought under cultivation. The citrus crop was picked 

 and shipped, excepting such as was held for local consump- 

 tion. About 70 cars of oranges and pomelos were shipped 

 from the valley. The cold weather of last month necessitated 

 the replanting of approximately 500 acres of sugar beets. 

 To date about 3,000 acres have been planted to this crop. 



Arizona-California, Yuma Project (62 per cent com- 

 pleted). At Laguna Dam no work of importance was in 

 progress. About 20 men were engaged in protecting the 

 tank of the Colorado River on the California side, about 

 three miles below Laguna Dam and the construction of brush 

 dikes, about 12 miles below Yuma, was continued with the 

 aid of the steamboat. Work on the Main Canal, California 

 side, progressed steadily on all six sections under contract. 

 Schedule 1 was completed, and schedules 2, 3 and 6 were 

 approximately 50 per cent completed. Schedules 4 and 5 

 were in such shape at the close of the month that the or- 

 ganization at work upon them appeared sufficient to com- 

 plete the work within the time agreed upon in the contact. 

 Approximately 795 head of stock and 390 men were em- 

 ployed by the various contractors. The central pier and 

 one abutment for the Howe truss bridge across the canal 

 at Picacho Road were completed. The forms for the other 

 abutment were in place. On the Arizona side, one Govern- 

 ment construction camp was engaged on the distribution sys- 

 tem near Laguna Dam, five camps were employed in the 

 construction of the Main Canal on the east side of Yuma 



Valley below Yuma, and one camp was at work on the west 

 branch of the Main Canal. About 19 miles of main canal 

 in Yuma Valley were completed. Construction of the Col- 

 orado siphon progressed steadily. The tunnel was com- 

 pleted to a point 485 feet from the Arizona shaft and the 

 top half of the tunnel was driven a distance of 50 feet 

 further. The entrance structure was completed, with the ex- 

 ception of a small amount of ornamental work. The First 

 Street Bridge was practically finished; the Third Street 

 Bridge was about 75 per cent completed, and work was well 

 under way on the turnout near Second Street. The pump- 

 ing plants for the irrigation of small areas below Yuma were 

 put in operation on the 22d. Prior to that date a small force 

 had been employed in cleaning ditches and repairing the 

 plants. One engineering camp was located on the California 

 side of the Colorado River to take care of the contract work. 

 Two parties were located in Yuma Valley marking lines and 

 grades on canal construction, and locating new canals. A 

 third party was engaged along the river about thirty miles 

 above Laguna Dam, determining the backwater caused by 

 this structure. The discharge of the Colorado River at Yuma 

 averaged 5,000 second-feet, with a maximum of 8,200 and a 

 minimum of 3,400 second-feet. 



California, Orland Project (84 per cent completed). 

 Weather conditions were unfavorable for construction work, 

 the temperature having ranged from a maximum of 64 to a 

 minimum of 27 with a precipitation of 2.67 inches. No 

 water was used for irrigating and there remained in storage 

 at East Park Reservoir 17,700 acre feet of water at the close 

 of the month. Construction work, repairs, and cleaning 

 laterals of the distribution system were continued whenever 

 the weather would permit. 'Riprapping for the protection of 

 orops was completed, 16 miles of laterals were cleaned and 

 repaired, and 3,000 square yards of 1^-inch concrete lin- 

 ing were placed. The old timber structures on the North 

 Canal were torn out and the work of replacing them with 

 concrete was commenced. The rotary screening plant and 

 other equipment used in the East Park Spillway extension 

 was overhauled and stored in readiness for transfer. An 

 order was placed on the 15th for a small excavator to be 

 installed at the south side headworks as permanent operating 

 equipment. A number of settlers moved to their farms dur- 

 ing the month and there was greater activity in leveling land 

 than during any previous month. 



Colorado, Grand Valley Project (Preliminary work). 

 Satisfactory progress was made in securing agreements pro- 

 viding for settlement for damages to arise from the occupa- 

 tion of the right of way for the Main Supply Canal through 

 the Mesa County Irrigation District. Up to the 26th of 

 the month the owners of 85 of the 102 right of way tracts 

 entered after October 2, 1888, had accepted the offers 

 tendered by the United States, and executed agreements. All 

 but one of the resident owners of these tracts have accepted 

 the terms offered; the non-resident owners are responding 

 slowly. Agreements to sell the canal right of way have been 

 negotiated covering six of the eleven tracts in the Mesa 

 County District, across which the United States did not re- 

 serve a canal right of way in the patent. Negotiations have 

 been initiated to ascertain whether or not the main diversion 

 canal should provide carrying capacity for the irrigation 

 water of the Mesa County Irrigation District. An examina- 

 tion of the subscriptions to the water users' association, with 

 the object of having technical defects in execution corrected, 

 was partially completed. A small feld party made a detailed 

 topographic survey of the site of the proposed power house 

 and wasteway near Palisade. 



Colorado, Uncompahgre Valley Project. The concrete 

 sluiceway and canal intake of the Montrose and Delta Canal 

 headworks were completed with the exception of concreting 

 the gates and hoists in place. A 77 linear-foot Maginnis 

 steel flume was built on the Cedar Valley High Line over 

 Cedar Creek. The construction of the Gunnison River Weir 

 was completed with the exception of concreting the hoists 

 in place. Logs were placed in the apron for a distance of 

 75 linear feet, and the apron was entirely backfilled with 

 rocks for the same distance. Sand was then sluiced into the 

 complete structure in order to fill all voids in the rockfill, 

 after which the 6-inch top plank was spiked to the apron. 

 A concrete fishway was built at the west end of the weir 

 adjacent to the sluiceway. Work was commenced on the 

 Gunnison Tunnel preparatory to the placing of 12,190 linear 

 feet of concrete floor between station 2+15 and station 



