anaheim-gazette 1909-11-11

CONTROL OF WATER POWER ITS UTILIZATION IN VARIOUS PORTIONS OF COUNTRY Recent Discussion of Water Power Sites and Conservations Call Out Government Report — Underground Water Resources of New Mexico [Contributed to The Gazette.] Recent discussions of water powers, water rights, and stream control in the United States have attracted attention to the Geological Survey's Water-Supply Paper 234, on the conservation of water resources, which is made up of several short papers reprinted from the report of the National Conservation Commission. Most of these papers were prepared by members of the Survey. The subjects discussed are rainfall, floods, control of catchment areas, developed and undeveloped water powers, land denudation, and irrigation, and the authors are Henry Gannett, F. H. Newell, M. O. Leighton, W. C. Mendenhall, H. N. Parker, W. M. Steuart, R. B. Dole, and Herman Stabler. Mr. Gannett discusses the distribution and amount of rainfall and presents two maps, one showing the mean annual rainfall in all parts of the United States, the other showing the percentage of annual precipitation in the six warmer months, April and September, inclusive. The increase of floods on rivers in the United States is shown by Mr. Leighton and is attributed chiefly to the destruction of forests. The estimated annual damage by floods in this country has increased progressively from $45,000,000 in 1900 to $237,-000,000 in 1908. Mr. Leighton also discusses the This valley, like the other valleys, which cross the Great Plains, was evidently excavated by a stream; through it passes a channel obviously made and at one time occupied by a stream; in it are found terraces with perfectly developed potholes and other features produced by running water. Today, however, no stream flows through this valley, nor has any flowed through it since the natural dams were formed. The erosive processes now going on could never produce the existing physiographic features. The tributaries of Pecos river are now actively encroaching on the Portales Valley and it seems probable that arroyos which once discharged through the valley have been diverted into the Pecos. Certain conditions in this valley are favorable to the recovery of the underground water. Porous materials lie near the surface and are underlain by impervious clays. In the lowest portion of the valley these porous materials are saturated nearly to the top with water, which is freely given up to shallow and inexpensive wells and can be lifted to the surface at relatively small cost. Moreover, the past drainage and the present underflow have largely prevented the accumulation of alkalies in the soil—a difficulty commonly encountered in the shallow-water districts of arid regions. A further advantage lies in the regular topography, which makes it easy to lead the water over the land. Under favorable conditions water can be profitably pumped for irrigation; but where it lies at considerable depth, where the power is expensive or is wastefully applied, or where any other conditions are unfavorable the expense of pumping may be greater than the value of the crops that can be grown with the water. In a test made at Portales in a well 96 feet deep a quantity of gasoline costing approximately $3.50 was the United States, the other showing the percentage of annual precipitation in the six warmer months, April and September, inclusive. The increase of floods on rivers in the United States is shown by Mr. Leighton and is attributed chiefly to the destruction of forests. The estimated annual damage by floods in this country has increased progressively from $45,000,000 in 1900 to $237,000,000 in 1908. Mr. Leighton also discusses the developed and undeveloped water powers of the country. Out of about 37,000,000 horsepower available at the minimum flow of streams but little more than 5,000,000 has been developed, or about one-seventh of the minimum available power. A fairly complete census of developed water powers has been obtained, but the undeveloped powers are determinable only by estimate. The state of New York has the largest development, with 885,862 horsepower, California standing next, with 466,774 horsepower. The section of the country furnishing the greatest possibilities of water-power development is the northern Pacific region, including the basins of Columbia and Sacramento rivers. Mr. Leighton presents very complete statistical tables covering all sections and states. The tables showing developed water power were compiled by W. M. Steuart, of the Bureau of the Census. Mr. Newell's brief paper on irrigation shows an increase in acreage of land irrigated from 3,631,381 acres in 1889 to about 11,000,000 acres in 1907, and fixes the limit of the irrigable area in the arid region at about 45,000,000 acres, or more than four times the area now irrigated. The projects now under way will serve about 2,700,000 acres. Mr. Newell's proposed water code and his sketch of the water laws now in force should be of general interest. Mr. Mendenhall's paper on underground waters discusses the uses and waste of ground waters, their relation to stream flow, and their conservation. The paper on denudation, by Messrs Dole and Stabler, shows that 783,000,000 tons of earth and rock, measured as soil, are removed every year from the surface of the United States. About 220 tons per square mile of the area drained by streams emptying into the Atlantic ocean is annually being swept away from the soil into the sea or its tributaries. Under favorable conditions water can be profitably pumped for irrigation, but where it lies at considerable depth, where the power is expensive or is wastefully applied, or where any other conditions are unfavorable the expense of pumping may be greater than the value of the crops that can be grown with the water. In a test made at Portales in a well 96 feet deep a quantity of gasoline costing approximately $3.50 was consumed in bringing to the surface one acre-foot of water—that is, enough water to cover an acre to a depth of a foot. This was a fair test for an ordinary small pumping plant, but with the most economical machinery and fuel the cost could perhaps be materially reduced. A popular opinion prevails that the supply of underground water is inexhaustible, but this belief is erroneous. The quantity of water now stored in the ground is sufficient to irrigate thoroughly the entire valley for only a few years. Moreover, the removal of any considerable portion of this underground store will lower the water level so much that the cost of pumping will probably prevent the utilization of the remaining portion. A wise and far-sighted policy will look to the recovery and use each year of the annual increment to this store without depleting the present supply or lowering the present water level. The crucial questions, therefore, are, What are the ultimate sources of the underground water? And How much water is contributed each year to the underground reservoir? The source of the water of the Portales Valley is the precipitation in the valley and on the adjacent high plains, which drain into the valley through surface channels or subterranean passages. The precipitation of light showers may all evaporate, but an important though indeterminable portion of the moisture of the heavier rains collects and percolates all through the porous soil to the ground-water level. No water reaches the Portales Valley from the adjacent mountains or from any of the high area west of the Pecos. There is no run-off from the valley, but a certain amount of loss results from underflow and from evaporation in the salt basins. The factors involved in the problem are so complicated that the net amount of water annually available can only be roughly estimated, but it is safe to say that this amount easy to lead the water over the land. Large financial and peculiarities in dealing with semi-subject to very floods calls for and construction order. It is not uncommon Western rivers are now transformed with trickling rivulets of uncontrollable tides. These tend to a height o more in a single day in an incroach results of monsoon and conscientious burying out orcovery massive equipment that longer to place into working tions, moreover in the deserts where sally located, are uncomfortable nature, while tren are often entailed as an othe beginning however, beingions that give clamation, such fully provided philosophicallythe game tha Nature with th Of several present under Reclamation Strikingly into high masonry Shoshone, the Roosevelt. The one in fact that as the highest being built in shone River ing, six miles Cody, so namely better known. The Shoshone River, as because of th course of spring gases, rises in in the spurs Great Coas as the Absorces. The drain above the Shoshone 900 square mi The paper on denudation, by Messrs Dole and Stabler, shows that 783,000,000 tons of earth and rock, measured as soil, are removed every year from the surface of the United States. About 220 tons per square mile of the area drained by streams emptying into the Atlantic ocean is annually being swept away from the soil into the sea or its tributaries. A table showing the catchment areas, annual water consumption, and money investment of the waterworks systems of 42 cities in the United States, by H. N. Parker, is incorporated in the report. Water-Supply Paper 234, as a whole is a suggestive discussion of some of the larger economic problems which are pressing for solution in this country. The paper may be obtained by applying to the Director of the Survey at Washington. The United States Geological Survey has recently made an investigation of the underground water in the Portales Valley, New Mexico, to ascertain the possibilities of utilizing it for irrigation. This valley is located in the east-central part of the territory, in the semiarid belt, where considerable success has been attained by dry-farming methods but where the productivity of the soil would be immensely increased if water could be artificially applied. The physiography of the valley is peculiar. It is about 50 miles long and 10 miles wide and is depressed several hundred feet below the surrounding high plains. At intervals of several miles there are salt basins, and on the east side of each of these basins is a prominent natural dam composed of clay and capable of completely obstructing the surface waters even at times of the heaviest rainfall. No water reaches the Portales Valley from the adjacent mountains or from any of the high area west of the Pecos. There is no run-off from the valley, but a certain amount of loss results from underflow and from evaporation in the salt basins. The factors involved in the problem are so complicated that the net amount of water annually available can only be roughly estimated, but it is safe to say that this amount is at least 10,000 acre-feet—probably much more. This water, if advantageously used, should add many hundred thousand dollars annually to the value of the products of the soil. This valuable resource should be developed, but its development should proceed carefully and with full cognizance of the inherent limitations. During the coming year O. E. Meinzer, who made the investigation for the Geological Survey, will prepare a report on the subject, in which all the problems relating to the underground water in the region will be more fully discussed. JAKE COMES BACK WITH POLISH Says Pleasure of Meeting His Many Friends Is All His Own Jake Stern was in town a day or two ago, after an absence of several months, during which he toured Europe with his family. "Hello, Jake," the boys said, as they espied the portly form of the land magnate. "Glad to see you." "The pleasure is all my own," he replied, with a polish acquired by association with the aristocracy of old-world capitalists. Not to say that Jake wasn't all right before, for he was. He wears the same sized hat as before, and he says the latchstring at his office door is always hanging on the outside. RESERVOIRS IN ARID WEST THE GOVERNMENT'S GREAT STORAGE DAMS What They Will Accomplish Toward The Conservation and Development of the Natural Resources of the West—Of Primary Importance The building of great dams to provide reservoirs for the storage of water must necessarily become a feature of primary importance in the development of any comprehensive scheme for the preservation of natural resources, including, as such a scheme must, the proper control of the rivers for the prevention of floods for their development as waterways, and for the economical use of their waters for power and irrigation. In Western States, in connection with the latter purposes, interesting and extensive developments have been taking place since the passing of the Reclamation act in 1902, several great storage dams being already under an advanced stage of construction by the Reclamation Service as essential features of some of the larger irrigation projects. The building of these great structures, on account of the importance of the functions which they perform, the large financial expenditures involved, and the peculiar difficulties encountered in dealing with rivers of the arid and semi-arid regions, which are subject to very high and very sudden floods, calls for engineering ability and constructive skill of the highest order. It is not uncommon for some of the Western rivers where storage works are now under construction to be transformed within a few hours from trickling rivulets into raging torrents being turned up stream to resist the pressure of the impounded waters, and the foundation and abutments literally dovetailed into the solid granite, the completed structure will form a concrete monolith of imposing proportions as well as tremendous strength and stability. Passing around to the right of the dam at an elevation of about ten feet above the natural stream bed is the outlet tunnel, ten feet by ten feet in diameter. This tunnel was driven preliminary to beginning work on the dam in order that the normal flow of the river might be diverted through it during construction. After the dam is completed, the outlet tunnel, equipped with massive hydraulic gates, will serve to regulate the outflow of the stored water from the reservoir. Immediately upon completion of the diversion the work of cleaning the dam site was undertaken, and this consisted in removing about seventy feet of loose rock and debris from the bed of the stream in order that the dam might rest upon the solid bedrock. Passing around the dam to the left, from a point within the reservoir at an elevation only a few feet below the top of the dam, will be the spillway tunnel, twenty feet by twenty feet in diameter, having a fall of ten feet in a hundred. At times of high water, or when otherwise the reservoir would fill up and overflow the top of the dam, the waters which collect in excess of the storage capacity of the reservoir will escape through this outlet with tremendous velocity, discharging into the canyon of the river below the dam and forming a magnificent waterfall of over 150 feet. The purpose of the Shoshone dam is to provide a reservoir within which the floodwaters of the river will be stored for the irrigation of a tract of land of some 125,000 acres, extending about fifty miles farther down ject for the irrigation of lands in the Salt River valley, in the vicinity of Phoenix, Ariz. The method of handling the river during construction is in essential points similar to that already described in the cases of the Pathfinder and the Shoshone dams, a tunnel having been first built around the dam-site, through which the river is diverted, and which after the completion of the dam is to serve as the regulator for the flow of water from the reservoir. The site of the dam at the upper end of the Salt River canyon, just below the junction of Tonto Creek, in the eastern central portion of the Territory, was at the inception of the project almost inaccessible and wholly remote from all forms of communication. The stretch of about fifty miles between the dam-site and the nearest railroad point in the lower Salt River valley is generally conceded to be one of the roughest pieces of country on earth; so that the first problem to be solved was that no opening up communication. Accordingly, in 1904, a wagon road was built following along the general course of the river, skirting the edge of the deep canyon within which it flows for several miles of this distance, and incidentally picking its way through some of the grandest scenery on the continent. It is eloquent of the character of this line of road that some stretches were cut through the solid rock at a cost of $25,000 a mile. From such preliminary work as road construction, operations on this project have extended to the building and equipment of sawmills, machine shops, general stores, and telephone lines, and even to the building or municipal waterworks and the manufacture of brick and ice. Other subsidiary works have included construction of a power canal for the development, of electrical power at the dam-site, and the building of large financial expenditures involved, and the peculiar difficulties encountered in dealing with rivers of the arid and semi-arid regions, which are subject to very high and very sudden floods, calls for engineering ability and constructive skill of the highest order. It is not uncommon for some of the Western rivers where storage works are now under construction to be transformed within a few hours from trickling rivulets into raging torrents of uncontrollable power and proportions. These sudden floods may rise to a height of twenty-five feet or more in a single night, sweeping away in an incredibly short time the results of months of carefully planned and conscientious work, and perhaps burying out of sight and beyond recovery massive machinery and costly equipment that may have taken still longer to place in position and get into working order. Climatic conditions, moreover, as might be expected in the desert or at the high altitudes where such works are necessarily located, are usually marked by uncomfortable extremes of temperature, while transportation facilities are often entirely wanting until established as an operation preliminary to the beginning of actual work. These however, being precisely the conditions that give rise to the work of reclamation, such as can be are skillfully provided for, while others are philosophically accepted as part of the game the engineer must play with Nature with the elements. Of several great storage dams at present under construction by the Reclamation Service perhaps the most strikingly interesting are the three high masonry dams known as the Shoshone, the Pathfinder, and the Roosevelt. The highest of these, the one in fact that will be distinguished as the highest dam in the world, is being built in the canyon of the Shoshone River in northwestern Wyoming, six miles west of the town of Cody, so named after Col. W. F. Cody, better known as "Buffalo Bill." The Shoshone, or the Stinking Water River, as it was originally named, because of the occurrence along its course of springs giving off noxious gases, rises in northwestern Wyoming in the spurs of the eastern slope of the Great Continental Divide, known as the Absoraka and Shoshone ranges. The drainage basin of the river above the Shoshone dam is about 1,300 square miles in extent, varies in waters which collect in excess of the storage capacity of the reservoir will escape through this outlet with tremendous velocity, discharging into the canyon of the river below the dam and forming a magnificent waterfall of over 150 feet. The purpose of the Shoshone dam is to provide a reservoir within which the floodwaters of the river will be stored for the irrigation of a tract of land of some 125,000 acres, extending about fifty miles farther down the river. The Shoshone reservoir will be twelve miles in length, have a surface area of over ten square miles, a storage capacity of 456,000 acre-feet, and a maximum depth of 230 feet. The Pathfinder, a structure similar in type to the Shoshone dam, is being built in central Wyoming, on the North Platte river, three miles below its junction with the Sweetwater, and will provide an immense storage reservoir for the waters of both streams. The North Platte river rises on the eastern slope of the Continental Divide, in northern Colorado, and flows northward until joined by its main tributary, the Sweetwater, the drainage basin of 11,000 square miles above the dam being included mainly in central and southern Wyoming. The annual discharge of the river is large, but, as with the majority of Western rivers, its flow is very irregular, sudden high floods alternating with periods of extreme low water. The site of the Pathfinder dam is an ideal one, being within a narrow granite box canyon, about 200 feet in depth, which affords the best conditions both for the stability of the dam and a relatively large capacity for the reservoir. The dam, which is already well under way, will be 215 feet high from foundation, 205 feet long on top between abutments, and 100 feet thick at the base, in plan being also of the arched type. The material composing it is known as cyclopean rubble, consisting of massive ma sony blocks laid in concrete. The regulation of the stored waters is provided for by means of pipes through the dam, as well as by an outlet tunnel equipped with hydraulic gates, while surplus waters will have ample outlet over a spillway cut in the solid rock. The Pathfinder reservoir will be thirty-five miles long, with a maximum width of four miles and a storage capacity of 1,000,000 acre-feet. The dam and reservoir are essential From such preliminary work and road construction, operations on this project have extended to the building and equipment of sawmills, machine shops, general stores, and telephone lines, and even to the building of municipal water-works and the manufacture of brick and ice. Other subsidiary works have included the construction of a power canal for the development of electrical power at the dam-site, and the building of completely equipped cement-mill for the manufacture of the cement to be used in the dam. The power canal is in itself a very interesting piece of engineering work and performs a most important function in the construction of the great dam. Water is diverted at a point farther up stream by means of concrete weir built across the Salt River, and after being conducted in the canal and through numerous tunnels and enormous pipes over the intervening nineteen miles is finally delivered under a head of over 200 feet at the hydro-electric power-house located in the bed of the river at the foot of the dam. From this plant electric power is furnished for all these operations connected with the project, and thus is the river made to furnish the motive force for building its own controlling works. The Arizona desert being a country of unquenchable thirst, use of this power will be still further extended for permanent use in the pumping of water from wells in the Salt River valley to supplement the supply secured from the reservoir. The cement-mill is another interesting and important feature of the project, particularly as this is one of the enterprises that have amply demonstrated the ability of the Government to do business on its own account when necessary, and incidentally turn out products of superior quality at an immense saving in cost. Consequent upon all these activities a town of considerable proportion has grown up at Roosevelt, involving such additional problems as the providing of proper sanitation, domestic water supply, hospital service, etc., looking toward the preservation of health and comfort of the community. All of these needs have been promptly and wisely dealt with as they developed, thus securing a high degree of health and efficiency among the workers. Roosevelt is today a hustling and flourishing community," dry" as the most ardent proponent The Shoshone, or the Stinking Water River, as it was originally named, because of the occurrence along its course of springs giving off noxious gases, rises in northwestern Wyoming in the spurs of the eastern slope of the Great Continental Divide, known as the Absoraka and Shoshone ranges. The drainage basin of the river above the Shoshone dam is about 1,300 square miles in extent, varies in altitude from 5000 to 12,000 feet, includes many high peaks within the Yellowstone National Park, and is remarkable for its wild and rugged scenery. The region is one of heavy snowfall, is well timbered, and, pursuant to the wise national policy of forest preservation, is included almost entirely within the great Yellowstone National Forest. Just below where the two main forks of the river join is a narrow and deep canyon, the almost perpendicular granite walls of which rise to a height of several hundred feet. Through this gigantic crack in the solid rock the melting snows of the entire watershed just described find their only exit, carrying to waste during the annual flood season of a few weeks sufficient water to reclaim many thousands of acres of the desert lands of lower altitudes. Within this canyon, at a point of almost ideal natural advantages, is being molded the solid wedge of concrete which is to be known as the Shoshone dam. The height of this towering structure when completed will be 325 1-2 feet from lowest foundation to crest, its length at the top from wall to wall of the canyon about 200 feet, and its thickness at the base 108 feet. In plan the dam is of the arched type, wherein stability is secured by means of the form as well as the volume of the structure. The apex of the arch pean rubble, consisting of massive maisonry blocks laid in concrete. The regulation of the stored waters is provided for by means of pipes through the dam, as well as by an outlet tunnel equipped with hydraulic gates, while surplus waters will have ample outlet over a spillway cut in the solid rock. The Pathfinder reservoir will be thirty-five miles long, with a maximum width of four miles and a storage capacity of 1,000,000 acre-feet. The dam and reservoir are essential features of the North Platte project, in connection with which it is interesting to note that while the waters used rise in part in Colorado, they are stored in central Wyoming, to be finally distributed upon lands in Nebraska, 1500 to 2000 feet lower in altitude and distant as far as 200 miles from the point of storage. The Roosevelt dam will eclipse in magnitude of cubic contents all of the dams at present under construction by the Reclamation Service. It will contain 330,000 cubic yards of maisonry, or over six times more than the Pathfinder, and nearly five times as much as the Shoshone dam. Its height will be 280 feet from foundation, length on top 630 feet (or, including spillway bridges, 1080 feet), and its thickness at the base 165 ft. In plan, although built in the form of an arch, this structure differs from the Shoshone and Pathfinder dams in being of the gravity type, wherein mass alone is sufficient to secure stability. The resulting reservoir will be the largest artificially formed lake in the world, a body of water twenty-five miles long, in places over two miles wide, with a storage capacity of 1,-300,000 acre-feet and maximum depth of over 220 feet. The dam and reservoir are the main features of the Salt River pro- has grown up at Roosevelt, involving such additional problems as the provision of proper sanitation, domestic water supply, hospital service, etc., looking toward the preservation of the health and comfort of the community. All of these needs have been promptly and wisely dealt with as they developed, thus securing a high degree of health and efficiency among the workers. Roosevelt is today a hustling and flourishing community, "dry" as the most ardent prohibitionist could wish, and with every prospect of remaining so until the completion of the great structure which called it into being, and then consequent filling of the reservoir will put its main street under some 200 feet of water. The Roosevelt dam will insure an unfailing supply of water for the irrigation of the fertile Salt River valley, where in recent years orchards worth hundreds of dollars per acre have dried up and perished for lack of water when it was most needed. At the same time, with the completion of the immense storage basin provided by the Salt River reservoir,the floods that periodically descended the river to create havoc with lands and property will become a thing of the past. Already the practical results are building of the Pathfinder dam are being realized in the opening up of some 400 irrigable homesteads in the North Platte valley in Wyoming and Nebraska, while for every cubic yard of masonry contained in the Shoshone dam at least two acres o' desert land will be assured of an ample supply of water for irrigation and thus made available for settlement and cultivation in the years to come — By Henri V. Lemenager, Chisha Draftsman, United States Reclamation Service, Washington, D. 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