THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



281 



cient to pass over the strata and go the entire length 

 of the channel. 



Water Storage. 



The storage of flood waters is true conservation 

 for there is no gift of nature more highly appreciated 

 in our western country than water. In view of the 

 fact that our streams become at times raging tor- 

 rents, carrying vast quantities of flood water down 

 their channels thus causing waste and devastation, 

 it is considered essential that some means should be 

 provided for conserving at least a portion of these 

 waters by means of storage. 



There are many thousands of acres of land in 

 the western part of the state that are unproductive 

 because of lack of irrigation water. At the same 

 time in all our streams immense volumes of water 

 run to waste during flood seasons and are lost to 

 use. The obvious remedy for this condition of af- 

 fairs is the construction and maintenance of storage 

 reservoirs for holding back the flood waters. In this 

 way the reclamation of 100,00 acres of land is made 

 possible under the Belle Fourche Project by storing 

 the flood waters of that stream. 



The development of irrigated farming will 

 eventually reach a stage where the construction of 

 storage reservoirs for stream flow will become an 

 important factor. Where the stream is one of con- 

 siderable size, numerous irrigation canals will be 

 constructed from it and its entire normal flow will 

 thus be utilized; and means will be provided for 

 holding back the vast quantity of water that goes 

 to waste during the periods of high water, so as to 

 render it available for use in the drier part of the 

 year. By such methods many large areas of land 

 will be made highly productive. 

 Large Projects. 



In considering the economic feature of irriga- 

 tion development it should be kept in mind that a 

 few large projects where practicable are preferable 

 in many ways to many smaller ones. There is less 

 waste and more saving in operating and construc- 

 tion expenses in a well managed larger project than 

 in several small ones for the same area where the 

 cost of supervision and maintenance is multiplied. 

 It is not by any means intended to disparage small 

 irrigation projects since they are often possible when 

 large projects cannot be considered. 



A good example is afforded in the Belle Fourche 

 Reclamation Project, now nearly completed. This 

 great project will comprise nearly 100,000 acres of 

 irrigable land with an ample water supply. There 

 are now many hundreds of settlers on this project 

 and comfortable, homes, gardens and trees may be 

 seen on eighty-acre tracts where until recently wild 

 grasses grew and cattle ranged at will. 

 Small Projects. 



In many localities it is not practicable to con- 

 struct large works for irrigating large areas, since 

 there is no considerable water supply available for 

 local use. Many places that are too high above flow- 

 ing streams to be irrigated by gravity flow can be 

 furnished with a supply of water by means of 

 pumping, and hundreds of acres are thus irrigated 

 in small units. 



An important factor in the irrigation work of 

 the state is the use of small reservoirs for irri- 



gating small tracts of land. There are many 

 such reservoirs in western South Dakota, situ- 

 ated on the prairies above the reach of gravity 

 flow or even of pumping from streams, and 

 dependent on the precipitation upon the catch- 

 ment area above them for water supply. While 

 the area irrigated from an individual reservoir of 

 this nature is necessarily small, the aggregate area 

 reclaimed by them all is quite large. The number 

 of small irrigation projects of this character is rapid- 

 ly increasing and much good will result therefrom. 



While individual enterprise is producing such 

 good results in a small way, public interest is be- 

 coming aroused concerning the possibilities of 

 reclamation on a large scale. 



Proposed Work. 



Referring to the map of the state, it will be seen 

 that there are some excellent locations for large 

 irrigation projects in the great plains area, west of 

 the Missouri River and outside of the Black Hills 

 region. Beginning in the northwestern corner of 

 the state we find the Little Missouri Project, com- 

 prising 40,000 acres of land in Harding County. In 

 Parkins County is the upper Grand River Project, 

 adjacent to the North Dakota state line. This is 

 part of a complete project, the larger portion of 

 which lies in North Dakota ; the South Dakota por- 

 tion comprises about 4,000 acres ; lower down Grand 

 River, in Perkins County, there is opportunity for 

 another project taking in about 18,000 acres of land. 

 No surveys have been made for this project and its 

 exact location has not been determined. It is known 

 that there is sufficient water available, provided 

 suitable reservoir sites can be found. Further south 

 on the Moreau River there is opportunity for the 

 irrigation of about 30,000 acres. This project is 

 subject to the same conditions as have been stated. 

 There is excellent land and ample water supply 

 available. It only remains to locate suitable storage 

 basins for conserving the flood waters. 



In northern Stanley County a tract of about 

 65,000 acres can be irrigated from the Cheyenne 

 River by means of gravity flow through a canal and 

 storage reservoirs. This project has not been in- 

 vestigated and no definite information can now be 

 furnished concerning it, although we hope to make 

 surveys for it later on. 



The Box Elder Project, in Pennington County, 

 a few miles north of Rapid City, will comprise about 

 15,000 acres of land. There is a splendid dam site, 

 a fine basin for storage purposes and some of the 

 best land in the state suitable for irrigation. 



The largest irrigation proposition that has been 

 considered in the state is the Cheyenne Valley Proj- 

 ect. This will comprise the diversion from Cheyenne 

 River of a large portion of the flood waters of that 

 stream, and carrying same by gravity flow to a 

 storage basin in the Bad Lands. From there the 

 water can be conveyed to the lands in Pennington 

 and Stanley Counties and used for irrigation. A 

 partial reconnaissance has been made for this proj- 

 ect, but it will be necessary to make further surveys 

 to determine its feasibility. 



Another project, which has been surveyed and 

 declared feasible, is in Rapid Valley. This will do 

 much toward developing the fine valley of Rapid 



