Arizona republican. [volume], May 23, 1915, SALT RIVER VALLEY, Page PAGE TWO, Image 2

About Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930

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THE 'ARIZONA REPUBLICAN SALT RIVER VALLEY EDITION. SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 23, 1915
Network Of Canals Carry Life Giving Water To Waiting Acres
TAGE TWO
Valley Is Seamed With
Main Canals Leading
From Roosevelt Dam
(By ERNEST DOUGLAS.)
From Information Furnished by the
U. S. Reclamation Service.
licf.-re Cheops built the pyramids
th,. Sail River Valley was a center
.f prehistoric civilization. It was
I ere that the mysterious race which
) Id nvay before the Aztecs came
Ine-cnt the art of irrigation to a
)i rM lum never before attained and
i.-t attained again for many cen
t,.r!s. And it is here, in modern
imiis. that the United States recla-I-.
atiin service and a few thousand
f ihc moFt wideawake, progressive
l(tui-:K in the world have advanced
ih.- an of irrigation to a point of per
loi'ii.m that is the envy and winder
f all mankind, which far eclipses
nny thine accomplished by the anci--m.
Persistence and ingenuity, com
lin.'.l with unparalleled natural ad
..ti!.ies, have made this possible.
ricvrn great canals, with a com-
l-in.-- 1
.illr v
! V V
t ar.-'.?
encth tt 1S5 miles, watered this
in i-rr-Azteo days. Now the
is seamed by seventeen main
with a combined length of 193
:,ml by scores of laterals which.
K la i m1 end to end. would extend t
177 m.les. Hoth canals and laterals!
s.T.- models of scientific construction.
Fat it is the great Roosevelt dam
vlirh most clearly demonstrates the
rail priority of the moderns over the
sim ii iits. At the expense of infinite
tr.-.e and labor, and without the aid
-f fvm ilomestic animals, the firt
'w-;irs in the land were able to
fi.e broad, deep canals and completed
n marvelous irrigation system. AVith
::t the machinery of modern man the
instruction of the Roosevelt dam
wou'.d have been impossible.
O .v inc to the Roosevelt dam, the
Salt River valley farmer today cares
iitt'o whether it rains. Rain is use
ful to lay the dust upon the roads
l'Ut otherwise it is oftimes more in
convenient than welcome. Irrigation
depended on to matur the crops of
!:". If a. sugar -cane, cotton, oranges
and train, which flourish in tropical
rr.f usion.
Modern irrigation In the Salt River
Vsllev dates hack only to 1867. Be
ten that year and 1892 several ca
nals v. ere built by private enterprise.
All of them were only partially suc
cessful, owing to the difficulty and ex
Jmse of maintaining diversion dams.
In tunc of high water the brush and
s,.n 1 danv would be. washed away;
r-v the time they could be replen
ished there would not be water enough i
Jn S;:K River to irrigate the land tin-I
tr cultivation. I
An equalizer, something to impound ,
h flood waters and release them j
li"n needed, was required. And so. i
today, the Salt River valley has the
j;ooscvclt dam. '
Mles of weil-kept lawns and
It uab in issa that the dam site
vs discovered. in the mountains
-ier.ty miles east of Phoenix, at the
influence of Salt River and Tonto
rek. In every way the site was an
ideal one. without counterpart any
where in the world.
con- .
In 11 Arthur P. Davis, then
tiecu-fl with the United States
geo-
logical survey and now director of the j
-lamation service, made detail sur- .
es in co-opwation with the Mari- .
eopi county water storage commis- '
sion of the site. The fight to per- i
made the government to construct the '
'am. under the provisions of the rec-
Unwmn act. then began. A volume
-uM b written about the fight !
lone. I
The ficht was eventually won. In
March, lo3. the secretary of the In
terior authorized the construction of
the dam. The dream of Salt River
"v, , -x'
A,.J
fut by Phoenix Kntrravin? Co.
il I m
Valley farmers was at last in a fair
way to come true.
Numerous unforseen difficulties de
layed the construction of the dam. It
was not until September 20, 1906,
that the first stone was laid. The
last one was laid on the parapet, ex
tenting from end to end of the crest,
February 5. 1911, and the official dedi
cation was held March 18 of that year.
Kx-president Theodore Roosevelt de
livered the dedicatory address.
Long after the dam was finished
there were scoffers who said that the
reservoir would never be filled to
its greatest capacity. On April 14
of this year water splashed over the
spillway at the south end of the mon
umental structure. The reservoir was
full; not another drop could be im
pounded. At no time since April 20
has the stream flowing over the spill
way been less than two feet in depth.
With the reservoir full, more water
Is being furnished by the Salt and
Verde rivers than the farmers can
use and a great stream is flowing
away to the sea.
It cost $3,190,000 to build the Roose
velt dam. No less than $551,000 was
expended on
the damsite.
permanent roads for
though in a. place of
great natural beauty, was almost in
accessible. In order to freight in sup
plies it was necessary to construct" a
sixty mile highway from Mesa. This
is the far-famed Roosevelt road, that
is known throughout the world for the
j magnificence, beauty and charm of
us scenery. It is part of a trans
continental highway across the United
States.
Not all the material used in the
construction of the dam was freight
ed from outside. The rock, of course,
was quarried right out of the moun
tains buttressing the site. A cement
mill and sawmill were constructed
nearby, and it is estimated that' the
saving effected thereby was $644,000.
Mere figures give on only a faint
idea of the Roosevelt dam and lake.
They are so stupendous that they
cannot be comprehended by the hu
man mind.
The dam towers 281 feet from its
lowest foundation and 244 feet above
the bed of the river. The total length
at the bottom is 210 feet and the top
1123 feet. A roadway runs along the
jiifM. connecting inc sections oi ine
town of Roosevelt which are on op-
posite sides of the river.
When full, as it is today, the lake
(created by this titanic structure is
8 miles long, covers 26.3 square
miles and
of water.
contains 1,367,000 acre feet
The average depth is 81
feet.
An acre foot of wate is enough to
cover an acre to a e'epth of one foot,
The area of land in the Salt River
valley regularlv entitled to receive
- - ' I
a - vjWr; ', IT -
SOME PHOENIX ItESIDEXCES
thousands of evergreen trees make Phoenix
stored water is 180,000 acres, and
plans are under way to add 32.000 I
acres, making a grand total of 212,000 ;
acres. Therefore, if the water stored
In the Teservoir was spread out at
once over the land on which it will
ultimately be used, that land would
be covered to a depth of more than
seven and a half feet.
Naturally the Roosevelt dam and
reservoir are the most striking fea
tures of the Salt River project. Hut
they are by no means the only fea
tures. Fifty miles below Roosevelt
and aliout three miles belo where
the Verde merges with the Salt River.
Is the Granite Reef diversion dam, a
concrete wall 1000 feet long extend
ing diagonally across the stream. In
constructing the Granite Reef dam
35.800 cubic yards of concrete and 40.
too cubic "yards of earth were used,
The cost was $622.74. In many ways
Att,. -4' . 1 ' ' vi
ta, -a-, 'f - . i ' , U a . . . , 7 3gi ? . ".-' 4&,Vy r?Wt2 'V j4Jtrr i
Nil) iTtC
i- -.V 4i.fhr. .rXjll
3 i .
Cut by Phoenix Kngraving Company.-
The Roosevelt Dam is today. May 23id, impounding over 1,400,000 acre feet
three years to come. In gallons the contcnis are 4.573:8C0.O00.0O0. Today t
207, is over two feet c'eep.'and on its way to the bed of the river, 227 feet
this dam is as important as the
Roosevelt dam. It cannot be washed
out by any flood, but is always there
ready to divert water into great canals
on the two sides of the river. It is
the Kalt River Valley's last protec-
tion against drought, for it insures
that the water stored at Roosevelt,
and also the normal flow of the tvo.jf gelling water on the acre foot basis
rivers, will at all times be avail- I was inaugurated in October. 1912. Tri
able for use.
At each end of the dam is a great
headgate. operated by electric motors.
On the north side the gate admits
water into the Arizona ami on the
east side into the consolidated. These
big canals are feeders for all the
others, and for many laterals and
small ditches.
There are eight main . canals on
the north side, having a total length
cttractive the year roenct:
of 97 mill's. On the south side are.
nine canals, 96 miles long. -Mont of
these cauals were purchased by the
reclamation service from private com
panies. Practically all of them have
been enlarged and straightened; the
old wooden gates and bridges have
been replaced with concrete struc
tures. j About two miles west of Tcinpe is
the. Joint Head dam, also of concrete,
lit i.s nmjjh smaller that the ono at
i Granite Reef and serves ttie
; of diverting seepage. In
purpose i
ordinary j
limes little water goes by the joint
head.
Not all the irrigation water used in
the Salt River valley comes from the
rivers. On the south side are nine
pumping units, operated by electricity,
Ouring the irrigation year of 1913
1914 these pumps furnished 3,4Kl
acre feet of water. Thev are mar-
2 t -,
ANOTHER .VIEW
AVATEFf ENOUGH
veloua machines, requiring little at
tention Ultimately many more will
be installed around the edges of the
irrigation project.
J Water is sold to the landholders
I at fifty cents an acre foot," up to
three acre feet. If more Is used the
i charge is slightly higher. This plan
ir.au?
or to that
iflat acreag
ater was
basks.
delivered on a
As the water
I
usei
did not have to pay for the
I exac t amount delivered, they natural
j ly gave little thought to the conser
! vat ion of water and as a result there
was much waste. Under the new sys
tem the "duty" of water has increased
trom 3.25 feet per acre per year to
2.8 feet per acre. Tlys is spoken of
as an increase because a given amount
of water now irrigates more land than
l'ormerly. Further reductions .are
hoped for, as farmers and reclamation
service officials tire co-operating, in
the effort to cut down consumption.
Tho hydrographic work carried on
inestimable importance. These inves
tigations have shown that 45 per
cent of the water diverted into the
canals i lost through seepage and
irrigation. They have shown that in
1911. 2"2,647 acre feet of Verde water
went to waste. And plans are now
under consideration for the saving of
much of this seepage by ewmenting
the canal, llydrngraphic data on the
Salt River project is .vvailable as far
hack as 1S99.
Kramnge work is carried on in eon-
reetiop with the hydrographie investi- j
gations. In February. l01-", the engi
neer in charge of drainage segregated
two districts, which are to be investi
gated carefully. One district, 27.000
acres, lies west of Phoenix: the other.
26.0(!0 acres is between Tcmpe anil
Chandler. fiver these districts test-
boring have been made at quarter- j
mile intervals, affording a( curate data j
regarding underground water and soil
strata. In all other irrigated districts,
the underground flow is slowly rising. !
It is estimated that the lining of j
the canals, laterals and ditches with I
concrete would save ninety per cent j
of the water now lost through evapor- I
ation and seepage. This would ad- I
mit the addition of a large area to
j the irrigated area. Concreting the j
j laterals alone would save enough i
J water for over 30,000 acres. Another j
plan the vallcyhns for increasing its
j water supply is to build a storage !
dam on Verde river, a few miles above i
the mouth. An excellent damsite ex- I
ists and enough water for 31.000 acres !
can be stored there. i
It is not visionary to predict that
the time will come when the Verde
dam will be constructed and the ea
nulsy and ditches will be lined from
enc l end with concrete, thus great
ly Increasing- the irrigated urea. It
is certain that as time goes on the
farmers will leurn how to
produce
OF THE IJESKUVOIU
AND TO SPAIJE.
of water' enough to insure maximu;n crops ;n the Salt River Valley for
he water going over the spillways, one of which is 220 fert wide, the other
below, forms most beautiful waterfalls.
I abundant crops with much less water
I than they are now using, thereby
j making available water for the irriga
j tion of many thousands of additional
j acres.
Evaporation and seepage are not
the only jirobkms connected with the
maintenance of the irrigation system,
but investigations and experiments by
the reclamation service have kept the
cost of maintenance down to a mini
mum. In some canals, where the ve
locity of the water is slow, moss
growth sometimes seriously irnneds
the flow. The most satisfactory meth
od of removing moss, it has been
found, is by moans of a spring-t'JoUi
harrow, pulled by horses. Silt is
removed from the canals with fresno
scrapers.
Tile removal of weeds from the
'banks of the canals
effected in
is by the
two
use
ways. The first w;
ivX--p?'J-'
m'-iX rifSrr-
FOIiKUAY AT ARIZONA. FALLS POWER IIOUSK
Located northeast of Phoenix on thj Arir.ona Canal near Inqleside. This power house is one of the four hydro
electric plants in the Salt River Project.
I of mowers, scythes and shovels. The
j most satisfactory method is to lot
I sheep and goats graze off the weeds.
ITh's plan was first tried in 1914 and
j the cost of maintaining the canals
: dropped $114.95 a mile that year. In
addition to a profit of $3,199.47 was
j realized from the flocks.
; Now, what is being accomplished
! in the world's most favored farming
idisirict, under the "show" project of
I the reclamation service?
! According- to statistics collected by
i the United States government, the av
erage value of the. crops produced in
j tiieSait River Valley during the year
j extending from October 1, 1913, to
j September 30, 1914, was $23.S0an acre,
j The returns were from 169,719 acres.
I Alfalfa was planted on 80,733 acres
! of the total. The average yield was
1 three tons to" the acre and the aver-
AT ROOSEVELT
Pliotograpl:, Courtesy Romnine Fielding.
age price was $t) a ton. Anyone who
Knows anything at all about farming
in the Sjlt River Valley will concede ;
that betli of these figures are ex-
treniely conservative.
Some of the most profitable crops;
small fruits, ?14o an acre; deciduous;
fruits. $1h'i; watermelons, $110; sugar
tune, ?1S; long staple Egyptian cotton, ,
$70; cantaloupes, $70; broom corn,
$37.50. Other crops figuring promi
ncntly on the report were barley,
beans, corn, garden truck, oats, olives,'
potatoes and wheat. I
The climate of the Salt River Val- J
ley is semi-tropical. It is healthful to
man and causes to flourish every pro- ,
duct of tropical or temperate zone. '
There is never a crop failure. All
danger of drougth is eliminated by the
Roosevelt (Jam and the magnificent
irrigation system which supplements
it. I'ests which devastate less favor-
cd agricultural regions have never
; made their appearance here,
i No crop failure! No drought! Un-
equaled climate! Assurance that ulti
I mately every rural home will be elec
trically lighted and that much of
the farm 'labor will be accomplished
by electricity!
What more can man desire?
j Power System.
The people of the Salt River Valley
are to be congratulated that in the
I development of a reliable irrigation
system there was incidentally made
possible the development of a com-
prehensive power generation and
i transmission sstem which will be
! come a source of very satisfactory
! revenue, as well as the means of pro
! inotins local industry and greater
comfort throughout the valley. ..The
I power system got its start from the
, i- v
need of power in the construction of
the dam. Fuel, when transported to
the site of the Roosevelt dam is very
expensive, hence a power canal was
built above the high water line of
the reservoir of sufficient capacity to
carry the low flow of the river. A
power plant for construction purposes
was located in a cave that has since
become the switchboard gallery of
the permanent power plant.
This power system has been nearly
completed to a total installed capacity
of 17,000 kw. distributed in four
plants. There is connected with the
system a total of 173 miles of 54.000
volt transmission line and 32 miles
of 10,000-volt transmission line, act
ing as a distributing system. These
lines supply nine sub-stations and
twenty pumping plants used for irri
gation. The Roosevelt power plant, having
a capacity of 9,50(1 kw is located at
the toe of the dam. Five units have
laiion ii liic sixiii i.nil, capacity i.iiuu
kw., will be completed within the next
few months. There are two strik
ing innovations at the Roosevelt plant.
The first one is the installation of
the electrical generator on the top
of the water wheel case; the second
is the use of a single runner turbine
for a range of head operating from
90 feet to 226 feet with a good power
outpait and high efficiency through
out the range. The plant is built on
shelf cut from the edge of the
canyon wall, and the type of' unit
installed was developed to fit the small
amount of space available for the
plant, on account of this condition.
The plant generates at 2300 volts, and
this current is transformed in the
transformer and switching honse 600
feet away to 45,000 volts which is the
voltage of the transmission line.
The South Consolidated plant is lo
cated about one anil a half miles
below Granite Reef dam on the South
and Consolidated canals. It has a
demonstrated capacity of 2000 kw.
with a fall of 32 feet. The plant is
a standard low-head type of plant of
reinforced concrete construction, and
is so designed that it can be operated
with only one man on shift. The
overall efficiency is unusually high
while the operating cost is low on ac
count of its simple and substantial
design.
The Crosscut plant is installed on
the Crosscut canal, which is used to
transfer water from the high to the
low lands of the valley. This plant
stands out a one of the most unique
hydro-electric developments in exist
ence. Due to the great variation in
the flaw of water in the Crosscut
canal and the silty character of tho
water, a new type of plant was nec
essary. Water is supplied to the
wheels of this plant through force
mains and passages composed en
tirely of reinforced concrete. The
water wheels are of the impulse type,
supplied with six nozzles under indi
vid.uil control. This makes possible
the control of the water through the.
riant to equal the supply of the
Crosscut canal by varying the number
of nozzles in use. It also brings
about a very high average efficiency,
for the plant will sustain its maxi
mum water wheel efficiency down to
4
,2 u jr
r
'7
- f , I
1-30 of full plant load. The output
of the waterwheels has exceeded all
expectations and the efficiency will
undoubtedly be above the guarantees.
The water wheels' are connected to
alternating current generators, deliv
ering 11,000 volts both to transformers
for connection to the 45,000-volt trans
mission line and directly into tho
10,000-volt distributing system. The
result of this layout is a plant of
moderate cost and great flexibility.
The cost of maintenance will be very
low, as there will be practically no
repairs to the concrete structures and
very small repairs to this type of
wheel in spite of the silt. .The plant
can be operated with one man on
shift, bo that- the cost of operating
is also a minimum. This plant has
also been made the switching sta-
(Continued on Page Three)
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