118 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Within sixty days the great Strawberry valley 

 irrigation project built by the U. S. Reclamation 

 Service will be complete and ready to turn water 

 into Utah valley for the irrigation of thousands of 

 acres of rich soil. The only matter that is unsettled 

 now is the question of completing the distributing 

 canals. When the government began the construc- 

 tion of the project it was agreed that the water from 

 the Strawberry river should be delivered at the 

 mouth of Spanish Fork canyon, or, in other words, 

 at the mouth of the five-mile tunnel which has been 

 bored through the Wasatch mountains to carry the 

 water into the Utah valley. It appears now that 

 there was a misunderstanding between the water 

 users and the reclamation service about the matter 

 and that the water users supposed that the distribut- 

 ing canals were also to be built by the government. 

 As a result the majority of the canals have not been 

 started and with the completion of the project al- 

 most at hand there has been little preparation made 

 for the handling of the water. 



According to William Glasmann, president of 

 the Ogden Reservoir Company of Ogden, the Union 

 Pacific railroad, one of the parties to the condemna- 

 tion suit recently started by the irrigation company, 

 has agreed to turn over its land at whatever price 

 was paid for other property included in the reservoir 

 district. It is declared that the railroad company 

 has no desire to retard the work on the proposed 

 dam. The McGillis Construction Company of Salt 

 Lake City have been awarded the contract for con- 

 struction of the project and work has been com- 

 menced in South Fork canyon. 



Articles of incorporation of the Utah Conserva- 

 tion Company have been filed with the secretary of 

 state. This company proposes to build the largest 

 irrigation project ever undertaken in the state of 

 Utah. The company organized at this time is only 

 a temporary or promoting organization, capitalized 

 at $100,000. When the main company is formed it 

 will be capitalized for millions of dollars. The pur- 

 pose of the temporary company is to facilitate the 

 securing of water rights and the consumption of 

 contracts with farmers. Lewis S. Hills of Salt Lake 

 City is president of the Utah Conservation Com- 

 pany; John Dern, first vice-president; W. W. Arm- 

 strong, second vice-president ; C. H. Carlquist, secre- 

 tary; O. C. Beebe, treasurer, and Thos. Cutler, Chas. 

 Nibley, A. W. McArthur, W. R. Wallace, Thos. L. 

 Allen, Geo. F. Gibbs and B. F. Bauer additional di- 

 rectors. The tract to be reclaimed embraces 260,000 

 acres of dry land in Utah, Salt Lake, Davis, Weber 

 and Morgan counties. The project was first 

 launched a year ago at a mass meeting of prominent 

 citizens from many parts of the state of Utah. Wa- 

 ter for Irrigation purposes will be taken from Weber 

 and Provo rivers. 



The State Conservation committee, in connec- 

 tion with the national commission in charge of the 

 Strawberry project, has made a proposition to the 

 Juab county land owners, whereby 15,000 to 25,000 

 acres of the water to come through the newly com- 

 pleted Strawberry tunnel may be secured by them 

 providing they agree to purchase the water when it 

 is delivered on their farms, and in the meantime fur- 

 nish security in the way of their lands as proof of 

 their good faith, so that the government will be 



justified in completing a system of canals to carry 

 the water into this region. A committee composed 

 of farmers and land owners has been appointed to 

 make an immediate investigation of the matter. 



Thirty thousand acres of land in the Uintah 

 basin will shortly be brought under irrigation. This 

 decision was arrived at by a mass meeting of settlers 

 of Blue and Purple benches held recently at 

 Duchesne. A committee consisting of Wm. H. 

 Smart of Roosevelt, chairman, Ephraim Lambert 

 and R. S. Collette of Roosevelt and Harden Bennion 

 of Salt Lake had been appointed to investigate con- 

 ditions and reported favorably regarding the scheme. 

 After an exhaustive examination the committee rec- 

 ommended that a channel be dug from Rock Creek 

 which would irrigate 30,000 acres. The channel will 

 furnish an ample supply of water, according to the 

 committee. The meeting accepted the report and it 

 was decided to amalgamate the three old irrigation 

 ditch companies into a new organization. Work will 

 be commenced in the near future. 



F. B. Hammond of Moab has made application 

 to appropriate ten second feet from La Sal Creek, 

 San Juan county, for irrigation purposes. Mr. Ham- 

 mond has 640 acres of land which he intends to irri- 

 gate. 



WASHINGTON 



A meeting of the owners of property above the 

 canal east and northeast of Sunnyside was held late 

 in October to discuss the feasibility of forming an 

 irrigation district and developing the land. It is 

 proposed to install a pumping plant and buy water 

 from the government. 



Development work on the Wapato irrigation 

 project is being pushed with vigor this fall in an ef- 

 fort to get enough done before the ground freezes 

 that the project may be completed early next season. 

 J. J. McNerny, a Wenatchee contractor, is in charge 

 of the construction work. Water will be taken from 

 Antilon lake. 



D. C. Henney, an irrigation engineer of Port- 

 land, Oregon, has been engaged by Pasco capitalists 

 to make a survey and ascertain the feasibility of 

 what is known as the Glade project. This project is 

 intended to cover and bring under cultivation a 

 large number of desert claims and enable the entry- 

 men to hold their claims. If the project is pro- 

 nounced feasible by the surveyor the project will be 

 taken up and it is probable assistance will be se- 

 cured from the government. 



James Mossman of Yelm, head of the Yelm Irri- 

 gation Company, reports that work has been started 

 on their project which will reclaim a large acreage 

 near Yelm. 



Surveys for an irrigating canal, starting two 

 miles south of Roza, in the Kittitas canyon and run- 

 ning 30,077 feet down the canyon to Pomona 

 Heights, have been completed by Chief Engineer 

 W. R. King, of the North Yakima & Valley railroad, 

 according to maps filed for record with the county 

 clerk. The capacity of the canal will be 1,800 cubic 

 feet of water per second, and it is reported that the 

 Northern Pacific railroad company, of which the 

 North Yakima & Valley R. R. is a branch, intends 

 to irrigate a large area of land owned by that com- 

 pany in the lower valley. 



