which was in part as follows: That the water commissioner, appointed by him to carry out the terms of the decree, should deliver the water to the lands entitled to its use on a basis of 1 miners' inch for every 4 acres. In explanation I will say that in this suit there was involved only the right to use the water of Salt River which rises to the surface below the city of Phoenix, and is delivered to the lands by a few small ditches at a point some 8 miles from the city. There are only a few hundred inches of this water in the aggregate, and the supply is practically a constant, the variation being very gradual. The discharge of the Salt River is extremely erratic, so much so, in fact, that no one can, in my opinion, definitely fix the duty of water which the canals of the valley (located above the city of Phoenix) must, under any and all circumstances, takè from it for the lands lying under them. In the hot months of June and July, when the evaporation is the highest and demand for water very great, the discharge of the river is the lowest, and often in the winter months, when the evaporation is reduced to a minimum, the river's discharge is the greatest, and the lands are then copiously flooded. Here are two extremes that seriously affect the present annual duty of water, one extreme creating conditions requiring a double duty, another taking the water and using it without the proper returns or credit. The duty of water in this valley at present depends upon many things, the principal ones being the length of time and the period of time when the supply is subnor mal, the acreage in cultivation, the manner in which the canal companies deliver this water to the lands, and the economy with which the farmers use it. My judg ment, however, is that the present annual duty of 1 miners' inch of water, estimated for the character of crops now under cultivation, will range between 34 and 44 acres. For many years the farmers of Salt River Valley have realized the necessity of water storage. Four years ago the Board of Trade of the city of Phoenix issued a call for a mass meeting of the citizens of the valley, the purpose of which was to devise ways and means for accomplishing this result. This mass meeting organized itself into a water-storage committee, which was composed of men engaged in all lines of business and representing the interests of the entire valley. Principally through the work of this committee a law was passed by our legislature creating a water-storage commission and authorizing the board of supervisors of Maricopa County to levy a tax to provide funds by which this commission could make the proper investigations in regard to the character and practicability of certain reservoir sites on the watershed of Salt River and its tributaries. This water-storage commission has ever since worked in unison with the United States Geological Survey. A thorough investigation of two dam sites for a reservoir has been made-one located on the Verde River near its junction with the Salt River, and the other on Salt River a short distance below the mouth of Tonto Creek. Both of these sites were found to be desirable and practicable, but on account of the immense capacity of the one on Salt River, its cheapness of construction compared to its vast storage area, the greater discharge of the river, the nearness of bed rock to the surface, the character of this rock, and many other minor reasons, the commission and the Geological Survey were unanimous in its selection. Since then the citizens of the valley have been united and earnest in their efforts to secure its construction under the provisions of the irrigation measure known as the Hansbrough-Newlands bill, which was passed by Congress in June, 1902. Last fall the farmers of the valley organized themselves into an association, which was duly incorporated under the name of "The Water Users' Association of Salt River Valley." This association has located an irrigation district, confining the boundaries so as to take in only the lands lying under the present canal systems. There are in this area about 260,000 acres of land suitable for irrigation, about 200,000 acres of which have been signed to the association under the provisions of its articles. It is the object of this association to pledge these lands to the Government as a guaranty to it for the full payment of the cost of the construction of the reservoir and its perfected system. The estimated capacity of the reservoir is about 1,300,000 acre-feet, and the cost of its construction is estimated at $3,000,000. The building of this grand structure seems to be a certainty. Work no doubt will be commenced on it this fall. If this is done it can be completed and put into operation in less than three years; then the much-mooted question as to the benefit of a reservoir for this valley will soon be settled, and the duty of the water, under its influence, will soon cease to be a matter of opinion. One year ago I wrote an article, which was published in the governor's annual report for the year 1902, giving some data and reasons for the construction of a reservoir, and some opinions I then held as to the benefits it would give to this valley, both by the increase of the acreage in cultivation and the increase in the duty of the water when under control. I have since then given particular attention to the discharge of Salt River and the effect the water diverted from it has had upon the lands in the valley. I have also closely studied the question of evaporation and percolation of the water in the canals, and, in a general way, have investigated the question of the loss of water, both as to the waste in careless application and its waste when used for stock purposes. The conclusions I then held are now convictions. My investigations prove that the losses by evaporation and percolation have been largely overestimated, and that the former careless waste in the transmission of water to and its use on the lands no longer seriously exist and that the great "stock-water" loss was more of a dream than a reality. There are four pumping plants now in use in Salt River Valley which pump water for irrigation. These plants pump a maximum quantity of about 1,500 miners' nches, or enough water, if constantly flowing and properly used, to irrigate some 7,500 acres if planted in diversified crops. The waterworks of Tempe and the city of Phoenix pump a considerable amount of water daily, probably enough, if combined with the water pumped by the other wells, to irrigate successfully 9,000 acres, is used solely for that purpose. Now, these wells simply tap the underground supply, and their effect on the supply so far has but demonstrated the fact that there is an inexhaustible body of water, and there is only needed the power to raise it to the surface in order to bring into cultivation in the highest sense thousands of acres of the richest farming lands in the world that are lying only a few feet above it. The water that is used upon the lands, under Dr. Chandler's pumping system, is developed by an electric-power plant, which is located 9 miles from the wells. It is raised 50 feet, and 150 horsepower has been sufficient to obtain a constant flow of 600 inches. It has been estimated by the engineers of the United States Geological Survey that the power which will be developed by the Tonto reservoir, when its system is completed, will range between 10,000 and 20,000 horsepower. Say it should be only 10,000, this would pump 40,000 miners' inches, if figured at 4 miners' inches per horsepower. This would be water enough to irrigate 200,000 acres, if the underground supply could be found. This may not be possible, but if the power developed should be only one-fourth, and only one-fourth of this underground supply available, there would unquestionably be power enough and water enough for 50,000 acres. The Tonto reservoir has three grand features, any two of which would, in my judgment, justify its construction. They are, first, the proper regulation of the river's erratic flow and the delivery of it to the lands according to actual crop requirements; second, the impounding of the flood water of Salt River and the storing of its normal flow, when the supply from the Verde is ample for the needs of the crops under cultivation; third, the generation of an electric power great enough to pump from the underground source a sufficiency of water for fully 50,000 acres. My sincere opinion is that when the water which can be developed by these means is combined with the effect of the water now used, there will be a supply always available which will meet the full requirements of from 200,000 to 250,000 acres of land. During the last twenty years the area in cultivation has increased from 25,000 to 125,000 acres, and the assessment roll of this county has increased from less than two million to more than ten million dollars. We must admit the fact that we are, under the present system of diversion and distribution, approaching the limit of our possibilities. We may go to law over our troubles, but we can not by litigation materially increase the acreage of successful cultivation. Its result might change the application of water from one tract of land to another, and it might right certain individual wrongs and bring about a fairer and better detail distribution. In my judgment, a reservoir honestly and ably managed would do away with many questions that are now important, and make easy the settlement of many legal ones that can never be satisfactorily determined without it. It may be necessary, however, to have some litigation to properly prepare for and shape this management, but it should be had in a spirit of fairness and broadminded manliness. I believe that the progress and prosperity of the valley demands the construction of the Tonto reservoir at the earliest possible moment. There is not a single business interest of any nature existing here now that will not be bettered by its building, and I can not see how the honest right of anyone to the use of water at the present time can be injured by having this reservoir built by the Government for the farmers of the valley under the provision of the Hansbrough-Newlands bill, through the medium of the Salt River Valley Water Users' Association, when the actions and policies of the association will be guided and controlled by the wisdom and impartial judgment of the Secretary of the Interior and at all times be subject to correction by the courts of our country. This valley's future is now in the hands of its farmers, with the greatest Government the world has ever known willing and ready to aid them; that they will lay aside their differences and accept this aid and make this valley the ideal spot of our nation's great irrigation system no thoroughly posted man now seems to doubt. I have in this article used the miner's inch for the reason that it is the only unit of measurement in use here. I have also prepared a copy of the Kibbey table, which is submitted for the benefit of those who may care to study it in connection with my conclusions. STATEMENT AND EXPLANATIONS. The water which was received by the Arizona, Grand, Maricopa, and Salt River Valley canals is summed up under the heading designated as the north side, and that received by the Tempe, San Francisco, Broadway, Mesa, and Utah canals is summed up under the heading designated as the south side. A miner's inch is here interpreted as being one-fortieth part of 1 cubic foot of water flowing per second; or, in other words, it is a stream of water that would cover 18 acres a little over 1 foot deep in one year if it flowed upon it constantly without loss. A statement, in miners' inches, of the semidaily average volume of water received from the Salt River by the canals of Salt River Valley. |