Show MOY 6 I 1 THREE MILLION DOLLAR IR irrigation RIGA PROJECT EXPECTED TO RECEIVE indorsement endorsement INDOR congress Con greis wilt will be asked to authorize construction next season will water vast territory of utah lands land benver denver colo if all necessary preliminaries limin aries are worked 0 out ut in utah between now and july 15 secretary work and reclamation co commissioner amis mead may be able when they conclude their trip through the northwest to close a contract with the water users or their association under which the government will proceed aeed at once with the building of the echo reservoir and crosscut canal which are to form the first unit of the salt lake basin irrigation project they will not be able this season to authorize construction on the provo day bay unit as they interpret the law as permitting them at this time more merely to conclude investigation of this unit with a view to having its construction st specifically authorized by congress next session if found entirely feasible this information was given to engineer V R green and dr john T widtsoe by commissioner mead be for they left denver for salt lake city commissioner mead anticipates no serious trouble in working out the preliminaries so far as the echo unit is concerned but surprised dr widtsoe when he told him the provo day bay unit will cost an a acre cre based on the latest available estimates which Is more than the cost of any project yet and a figure which compels most careful study of that work before it can even be recommended om ded to congress mr green brought with him to denver estimates on the he echo unit and it was disclosed that there Is a material diversity of opinion as to the acre cost of this part of the project according to mr greens figures I 1 we the cost of supplemental wi water ater to the farmers under echo reservoir would be 40 an acre commissioner mead alad called attention to the fact that the echo reservoir and the crosscut canal will cost three million dollars and it is certain that water can be contracted tor for only anly sixty thousand acres which would bring the cost up to 50 an acre mr green thought the cross cut ut canal could be paid for separately ly and he therefore figured 45 as the he outside cost coat to those not taking water from this canal at the conclusion of their consideration of this matter commissioner mead said he and the government Is not concerned with the actual cost per acre or how the cost of the crosscut canal la Is assessed but when the association or corporation representing all the water users of this unit has been formed he will want a contract with them under which they will agree to repay the government the three million dollars which it is to be called upon to spend and the association can op portion the costs among land owners as it sees fit and can determine whether a common price shall govern all the oheans th eans lands or whether those served from the crosscut canal shall pay more than those getting water from the echo reservoir the reservoir in contemplation will mill hold more water than will be required by the sixty thousand acres to be represented in the association but once the association is obligated to pay the cost of the reservoir and it can use its own discretion as about selling surplus water the government ern ment the commissioner made plain is concerned solely with getting a contract under which it will be fully reimbursed for or its investment it wants to deal only with the association or corporation or whatever body Is formed and that body in turn will deal with the individuals |