OCR Text |
Show TIIE PROVO POST vT t ol'oJlTol'n i' ry'l'rtr 3 PAGE SEVEN. 'n'n 0 Wk. 'i:: sp II U0 M Provo Reservior In any arid section the question of Waili miSTOl treasurer. - Lake Irrigation Company Company-U- tah ir- - - The directors were J. William and treasurer; Francis W. Kirkham, C. E. Loose, Stephen L. Chipman, L. L. NunntW. L. Biersaeh, Abel John Evans and H. It. pends the success or failure of the country. This question has been uppermost in the Knight, Abel John Evans, Fancis W. Kirk-minham, Stephen L. Chipman, J, C. Jensen, George H. Brimhall and 0. CrBeebe. Their first move was to go to the head minds of the settlesrs of Utah ever since waters of the Provo river and determine up- - This compahyl was not put to the necessity of. building a reservoir to conserve water for nature had completed the day President Brigham Young and that s' sturdy band of poineers halted on City creek success of a conservation'problem whier notable engineers had pronounced as the, work bv creating Utah lake. Surveys were made showing that the noth end of in the good.' Soona road was being constructed to - Utah county and the southwest end of Salt the headwaters of he Provo, where many- - Lake county could be covered by a pumping lakes abound. Later the lakes were being system. Applications were made for water converted into reservoirs to conserve water and granted and once again the fortes were during the high waterperiod for use during at wprkr A big electricpunipingplant was rigationrigation is always uppermost in the of the people for upon irrigation dc-- ds Waldo, directors; r - Salt-La- on the Valley on' July 24, 1847. ke The birth of irrigation and the making of the desert to blossom as the rose dates back - to that memorable occasion." Ever since the --waters-of --p- - - were diverted and the City-cree- k Mormon pioneers raised their first crops, . the question of conservation of water has July, August and September. Uncle Sam had set the pace, but he was not to pace alone. As soon as the reservoir plan had For fifty years this question , however, did not come into prominence that during the past twenty years, for pop- - been growing. it-h- e developed into a success private rights that were not properly developed to do full duty -, w ual, and one by one new irrigation systems : pn Provo bencli around.Pleasant Grove, Al entered the field. As was the rule, the new- - pine. Highland,. Lelii and the southern end comer sought water from the old source, and of Salt Lake under county could new canals were run from the mountain cultivation and happy homes made for thou- streams into new districts,, until the time ar- sands of men and women who were seeking streams the flow the of natural rived when places to settle down and to become perma- was all taken. Yet thousands and thousands nent home builders in this beautiful brush plain will witness farms and orchards- and a well developed farming district. The of acres of the best land in the Utah valley When the lines to the north shall have been complted a line will be rnn to the south to irrigate 2000 acres between the pumping SI j be-brou- ght , valley. Surveys to construct a canal skirting the foothills of Mt. Timpanogos were made and the hardy sage brusch still thrived upon the soil that should remained untouched, and it was not long before the men who were have been producing food and wealth for pUy the water were busily engaged in of The the sons and the pioneers. daughters the construction of the canal to conduct that first impulse was to rush to new lanas water to their home sites. Tunnels were where the water questions was not a prob- - - necessary and aqueducts- were necessary streams the even and rolled time but lem, by and both were made. The Provo river was of other states were largely appropriated, spanned and the water came gushing forth and the children began to turn their steps high on the bench, and the first in - up homeward. ' ,, - step the conservationof'the great resources of the Provo river had been taken. . , The development of irrigation had by this time reached a stage wliere conserya- tion became (lie watch word of the hour. The r covering the great plateau which had defied y - In Utah county, as in other sections of the state, the increased population was grad- - f .. the farmer for many years, with the water held were purchased and the - In three years time wonderful changes, water was brought to 'the mouth of Provo - had been wrought and the end is not yet. canyon. Surveys had already been made The Utah Lake Irrigation company has just. upon the lands lying to the north of the Pro- - fairly begun its work and within a few years vo and it was found that thousandsof acres the traveler instead of viewing a great sage ulation had not received a point where the - run into Salt Lake valley to the vast acreage bring under cultivation was eaqal " as necessity of utilizing every possible acre-became the question of the hour. erected on the shores of the Utah lake and a - system adopted in furnishing water to the- farmer has been considered one of the best for the farmer, for he is given an opportuni- ty to buy his water and when payments are completed he will be the owner. - station and Pelican Point. - ' . The financiers of the two great systems now have under consideration a pumping plant on the south end of the lake to bring under cultivation approximately. 20,000 ae- res of land in the Lincoln Beach district, which is not covered by the Strawberry pro- jecL This project has been delayed owing to some technical questions brought up by The next step forward occurred when the company was able to make and exchange the state engineer but will undoubtedly be government through investigation made by Vitli the farmers of American Fork and an- - taken up again in the spring or early c spirited citizens in the south end of other high line canal carried water to the mer. the county sent men to Utah and after care-- farmers on the Alpine Bench and last spring decided uponthe now fa- - the final stagey was reached,, when another- The tconserva tion policy inaugurated on tlie-Narthe and ordan sageJ mous Strawberry project; great 'aqueduct panned Utah streams through the pioneer work water sent was around rows and brush plaint Mapleton, Spanish high up along the one y the roy Reservoir company will Fork, Payson, Santaquin, Payson and other foot hills in . the south end of Salt, Lake undoubtedly prove a lasting benefit for not sections of the south were doomed to' go, county. ' . only Utah county, but other sections. Dur-. and in their places waving fields of golden ' Flushed with the success 'of the Proo ing the past summer Water Commissioner grain are springing up. Sugar beet factories are being built to grind the beets from Reservoir company and the good being ac- - T. F. Wentz demonstrated that the Provo thousands of acres of this arid land and to complished for the people of Utah' county, valley is a natural storage basin and by stor- convert the beets t obe raised into sugar to .1912 marked the being of another great ir- - ing water during high water time, the river feed the millions. rigation project; which when completed, will was kept normal during the latter part of ! .What Uncle Sam could do. others could bring under cultivation another.20,000 acres ,.the season. ' do so in 1909 public spirited citizens of of the best land in the strife of Utah. .The made during the summer will' go toshbw Utair and5 Wasatch counties organized the new company was also rgainized by Joseph, that what is needed is proper conservation Provo "Reservoir company.- Joseph It. Mur- - 11. Murdock and his associates with the fob of water through proper care on the part of dock became president of the company and lowing officers and directors: Joseph It. the users, and there will be enough to sup- its general manager; Joseph B. Keeler, vice Murdock, president; .J.- William Knight, ply the demands of all as long as thefarmers president and K.J. Murdock, seertary and vice president; II. J. Murdock, secretary confine themselves to its beneficial uses. sum-publi- V . . - . - . - ZSSSirf ' 1 1 . . - - - |