NEVADA, TRUCKEE-CARSON PROJECT LOCATION AND CLIMATIC CONDITIONS Counties: Churchill, Storey, and Lyon. Townships: 17 and 18 N., Rs. 17 to 30 E.; 19 N., Rs. 26 to 31 E.; 20 N., Rs. 22 to 31 E., Mount Diablo meridian. Railroad: Southern Pacific. Railroad stations: Fernley, Hazen, Fallon, and Lahontan, Nev. WATER SUPPLY Source of water supply: Truckee and Carson Rivers. Annual run-off in acre-feet: Truckee River at Tahoe (519 square miles), 1901 to 1910-maximum, 703,000; minimum, 112,000; mean, 315,000. Truckee River near Vista (1,740 square miles), 1900 to 1910-maximum, 2,220,000; minimum, 394,000; mean, 892,000. Carson River at Empire (988 square miles), 1901 to 1910-maximum, 655,000; minimum, 178,000; mean, 392,000. DATA FOR COMPLETE PROJECT [Estimated for uncompleted features] Reservoirs: Lake Tahoe -area, 125,000 acres; capacity, 750,000 acre-feet; length of spillway, 85 feet; elevation of spillway, 6 feet above stream bed. Alkali FlatArea, 8,500 acres; capacity, 88,000 acre-feet. Lahontan-Area, 11,000 acres; capacity, 290,000 acre-feet; length of two spillways, 500 feet; elevation of spillways, 112 feet above stream bed. Storage dams: Lake Tahoe-type, concrete sluiceway regulator; maximum height, 14 feet; length of crest, 109 feet; volume, 425 cubic yards. Lahontan-type, earth and gravel fill; maximum height, 124 feet; length of crest, 1,600 feet; volume, 770,000 cubic yards. Alkali Flat-not designed. Diversion dams: Truckee River-type, concrete sluiceways; maximum height, 22 feet 4 inches; length of masonry, 171 feet; length of earth fill, 1,160 feet. Carson River-type, concrete sluiceways; maximum height, 20 feet 9 inches; length of masonry, 240 feet. Others not designed. Length of canals in use (first unit): 42 miles with capacity greater than 800 secondfeet; 62 miles with capacities from 301 to 800 second-feet; 80 miles with capacities from 50 to 300 second-feet; 503 miles with capacities less than 50 second-feet. Tunnels: Number, 4; aggregate length, 2,840 feet. Dikes: Aggregate length, 52,900 feet. Water power: Estimated total, 8,000 horsepower. Irrigable area: Entire project, 206,000 acres; first unit, 96,573 acres. Present status of irrigable lands (entire project): 20,582 acres entered subject to the reclamation act; none open to entry; 119,869 acres withdrawn from entry; 102 acres of State lands; 65,447 acres in private ownership (including 10,031 acres of railroad lands). RESULTS TO JUNE 30, 1911 Canals: 42 miles with capacities of more than 800 second-feet; 62 miles with capacities from 301 to 800 second-feet; 80 miles with capacities from 50 to 300 second-feet; 503 miles with capacities of less than 50 second-feet. Tunnels: Number, 4; total length, 2,840 feet. Diversion dams: Volume-masonry, 6,028 cubic yards; earth, 29,803 cubic yards. Dikes or levees for protection from overflow: Total length, 52,900 feet; volume, 70,788 cubic yards. Canal structures: 68 costing more than $2,000 each; 175 costing from $500 to $2,000 each; 1,339 costing less than $500 each. Bridges: Combination-6 with lengths of 50 feet or more each; 8 with lengths of less than 50 feet each; total, 692 feet. Wood-7 with lengths of 50 feet or more each; 117 with lengths of less than 50 feet each; total, 3,543 feet. Control of Lake Tahoe not fully acquired. Buildings: Offices, 4; residences, 14; barns and storehouses, 5. Roads: 50 miles. Telephone lines: 127 miles. Telephones in use, 40. Material excavated: Class 1, earth, 9,028,268 cubic yards; class 2, indurated material, 84,511 cubic yards; class 3, 468,534 cubic yards. Riprap: 16,555 cubic yards. Paving: 39,665 square yards. Concrete placed: 41,886 cubic yards. AGRICULTURAL CONDITIONS Aree for which the service is prepared to supply water, season of 1911: 50,000 acres. Area irrigated, season of 1911: 34,000 acres. Length of irrigation season: From April 1 to October 15-198 days. Character of soil of irrigable area: Sand, sandy loam, adobe, and clay. LANDS OPENED FOR IRRIGATION Dates of public notices and orders relating thereto: May 6, 1907; November 1, 1907; January 30, 1908; April 4, 1908; June 5, 1908; December 26, 1908; March 1, 1909; September 28, 1909; April 26, 1910; September 16, 1910; April 22, 1911. Location of lands opened: Ts. 17 to 20 N., Rs. 24 to 31 E., Mount Diablo meridian. Present status of irrigable lands: 20,582 acres entered subject to the reclamation act; none open to entry; 29,772 acres withdrawn from entry; 102 acres of State lands; 46,117 acres in private ownership (including 10,031 acres of railroad lands). Limit of area of farm units: Public, 80 acres; private, 160 acres. Duty of water: 3 acre-feet per acre per annum at the farm. Building charge per acre of irrigable land: $22 and $30. Annual operation and maintenance charge: $0.60 per acre of irrigable land. CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY Reconnaissance made and preliminary surveys begun in 1902. Construction authorized by Secretary March 14, 1903. Truckee Canal completed June, 1905. Carson River head works and main distributing canals completed September, 1905. First irrigation by Reclamation Service, season of 1906. Truckee Canal chute completed November, 1910. Construction of Lahontan Dam begun January, 1911. IRRIGATION PLAN The irrigation plan of the Truckee-Carson project provides for the storage of water in a number of small reservoirs on the headwaters of Truckee River, in Lake Tahoe, in the Alkali Flat Reservoir, near Churchill, Nev., and in Lahontan Reservoir, on Carson River, near Hazen, Nev.; the diversion of water from Truckee River by a dam about 20 miles below Reno, Nev., into the Truckee Canal, supplying water to lands in the Truckee and Carson River Valleys and to the Lahontan Reservoir; the diversion of water from Carson River by a dam near Dayton, Nev., into two canals, one watering lands south of the river and the other watering lands north of the river and supplying Alkali Flat Reservoir; the return to Carson River through an outlet tunnel and canal of water from Alkali Flat Reservoir; the diversion of water from Carson River by a dam about 3 miles below the outlet of Alkali Flat Reservoir into two canal systems watering lands in Churchill Valley on both sides of the river; and the diversion of water from Carson River by a dam about 5 miles below the Lahontan storage dam into two canal systems, one on either side of the river, watering lands in the lower Carson River Valley. The features of the above irrigation plan which have been completed are: The diversion dam in the Truckee River; the Truckee Canal, carrying water from this diversion and discharging into the Carson River above the site of Lahontan Dam; the Truckee Canal concrete chute; the diversion dam in Carson River, situated about 5 miles below Lahontan Dam; that portion of the complete distribution system which includes laterals taking out of Truckee Canal in the vicinity of Fernley and Hazen, and two main canal systems heading at Carson diversion dam and extending over the main portions of the project in Carson Sink, with Fallon as a center. Construction is in progress on the Lahontan Dam for the storage of flood waters in the Carson River. The features remaining for future construction are: The completion of the dam controlling the outflow from Lake Tahoe and the construction of distributing systems for the several extensions to the project which lie adjacent to and on all sides of the project as already constructed, and such extensions of the drainage system as are found necessary. CONSTRUCTION DURING FISCAL YEAR Truckee Canal Chute.-The Truckee Canal terminates at the site of Lahontan Reservoir, with a water surface elevation about 130 feet above the bed of Carson River and about 14 feet above the highest water level proposed for the reservoir surface. At this point the water has been discharged into Carson River since 1905 through a temporary wooden flume or chute built on a steep side hill. In 1910 this temporary flume was replaced by a concrete chute, or lined channel, with a long weir crest at the head to regulate within safe limits the water level in the canal above. The complete structure includes an approach section 300 feet long of open-lined canal leading into a long rectangular forebay with a weir crest along either side and a set of flashboard gates across the end of the forebay. The discharge over each weir crest falls into a tailrace channel paralleling the crest, the two coming together in a funnel-shaped channel below the flashboard gates which connects smoothly into the regular channel of the chute proper. The weir and gate section has a total length of 141 feet. The chute proper begins at this point with a channel of ordinary canal section with flat bottom and 1 to 1 side slopes, but modified by having the angle between the side and bottom smoothed out by a curve and the upper part of the slope curved up to a vertical face. This section continues for 210 feet, then in the next 74 feet it changes by warping into a rectangular cross section 10 feet wide which runs for 357 feet, and then changes to 9 feet in width in the final 40 feet. The end is built as a cantilever, overhanging 18 feet and strongly anchored to a heavy anchor block under the adjoining upstream portion. The total length of the structure is 1,122 feet, and of the chute proper, 681 feet. The drop from maximum water level in canal to end of chute is 52 feet. the end of the chute the water drops on a rocky slope and finds its way down this slope to the river. The chute was constructed entirely by Government forces. Work was begun in June, 1910, and completed in the following November. At Lahontan Dam.-The Lahontan Dam is located at a point where Truckee Canal discharges into Carson River, about 7 miles south and west of Hazen and at the new railroad station of Lahontan, Nev. The dam is of the earth and gravel fill type, has a maximum height of 124 feet, a crest length of 1,600 feet, and a volume of 770,000 cubic yards. It will form a storage reservoir having an area of 11,000 acres and a capacity of 290,000 acre-feet. The embankment is to be 20 feet wide on top, with an upstream slope of 3 to 1, protected by 2 feet of riprap, and a downstream slope of 2 to 1, protected by 12 inches of riprap. Near the upstream toe of the dam there is a cut-off trench 15 feet in depth, having a concrete wall 2 to 4 feet in thickness extending to an additional depth of 30 feet. Two concrete spillways are to be constructed in the embankment near the ends, one on each side of the river, having the crest 12 feet below the top of the dam. The length of each spillway is 250 feet and the water flows down over concrete steps, winding through about 90° to the opposite sides of a central circular pool in the river bed near the toe of the dam. This pool will have a diameter of 220 feet and a depth of 30 feet, and will serve to retard the velocity of the water sufficiently to allow its discharge into the old river bed without danger of eroding the soil. The outlet works consis; of twin concrete conduits of horseshoe shape, approximately 9 feet in diameter. The gates are to be operated from a gate tower at the upper end of the conduit. The construction of Lahontan Dam by Government forces was approved by the Secretary of the Interior on December 31, 1910, upon the report and recommendation of a board of consulting engineers. The selection and purchase of construction equipment was commenced immediately thereafter, and the building of the construc tion camp was begun in February, 1911. At the close of the fiscal year the camp was completed and fully equipped for taking care of from 200 to 300 men, a large amount of equipment was received and installed, and a beginning was made in actual construction work on the dam. The principal feature of the installation work has been in the construction of a hydroelectric plant of 1,000-kilowatt capacity, which has been designed to furnish ample power for operating the construction plant. When the dam is completed it is expected that use will be found on the project for the entire 1,000-kilowatt capacity of the power plant. The excavation for the outlet conduit has been practically completed and work is in progress upon the cut-off channel and the left spillway. Two steam shovels are in operation. OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE During the season of 1910 the entire system completed to date including 280 miles of canals and laterals, was operated from April 1 to October 15, and 415 farm units, aggregating nearly 28,000 acres of land, were irrigated. During the spring when water was abundant delivery to users was made upon request without endeavoring to limit the use to the prescribed duty, but as soon as the supply became limited users were required to take their water in rotation and in prorate amounts. Approximately 178,000 acre-feet of water was diverted from the rivers, of which 53 per cent was distributed to the farm turnouts, 7 per cent was wasted through spillways, and 19 per cent was returned to the channels for use of vested right owners, and 21 per cent was lost by seepage and evaporation. The average duty of water, based on delivery at the farm, was 4.65 acre-feet per acre. There were 28,000 acres of land under irrigation during the season. During the season of 1911, 34,000 acres are being irrigated. No serious obstacles to the operation of the canals were encountered. The principal features of maintenance work were the cleaning of smaller laterals and drains during the winter season and repairing breaks and clearing channels of vegetation in the summer. The placing of all gates under lock has required considerable additional work upon farm turnouts and other structures. SETTLEMENT AND IRRIGATION As the area now settled will require all of the available flow of the Truckee and Carson Rivers until storage is provided, all lands were withdrawn from entry and from water-right applications on September 16, 1910. There has therefore been no settlement upon new lands since that date, though the subdivision of private holdings and the renting of small acreages to potato and beet growers have contributed to increase the population on the farms, which was about 1,400 on January 1. The irrigation season of 1910 was generally successful. The yield of alfalfa, the staple crop, was 50 per cent greater than for any preceding season, though the grain yield fell somewhat below the average. The estimated value of the total crop of 1910 was $310,000, being an average value of $17.50 per acre gross return. Due to a late spring the hay crop for 1911 will probably be smaller than that of last season. Grain gives promise of very good returns. Sugar beets are being raised this season on a limited acreage for the factory now under construction at Fallon. ORDER DATED SEPTEMBER 16, 1910 It having been found impracticable to furnish water for additional lands under the Truckee-Carson project, Nevada, pending the acquirement of adequate storage facilities, the public notices heretofore issued and the farm unit plats heretofore filed in connection with the project, under the provisions of the reclamation act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388), are hereby suspended as to all farm units shown on such plats for which entry has not been made or for which application for entry has not been heretofore filed; and it is hereby ordered that no applications for entry be accepted for such farm units until further notice. It is further ordered that from and after fifteen days from the date of first publication hereof, such public notices and plats shall be suspended as to lands in private ownership designated on such plats for which water-right application has not theretofore been filed, and thereafter no water-right application shall be received for such lands until further notice. ORDER DATED APRIL 22, 1911 1. In pursuance of the act of Congress approved February 13, 1911 (Public No. 355), entitled "An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to withdraw public notices issued under section 4 of the reclamation act, and for other purposes," the terms and conditions of the public notice issued May 6, 1907, for lands irrigable under the Truckee-Carson project, Nevada, constructed in pursuance of the reclamation act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat., 388), and of all orders and notices amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto, in so far as the same relate to the time when installments shall be due and payable for lands hereinafter designated, are hereby modified as follows: |