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Show DISASTER AVERTED ST THE mm Dl j New Spillway Provides Needed Outlet and Vindicates Wisdom Wis-dom of Projectors. Special to The Tribune. MACKAY. Juno 10. Two thousand cubic feet of water per second, or nearly twice as much as Is carried off by tho valves, the only outlet for the water before be-fore the spillway was built, is now passing pass-ing over the dam In the spillway built by the state. The spillway was obtained at the earnest request of tho Mackay Minor, backed by the Mackay and Lost river citizens. A bill which Senator Macbeth Mac-beth introduced and had passed in the last session of the legislature provided for this improvement. With three or four days last week Lost river began rising at a rapid rate and by Sunday it was evident that the valves in the Mackay dam. which it was claimed by project engineers would carry off all the water that ever comes down Lost river, would not bo equal to the emergency, emer-gency, ass all the valves were wide open and tho water raised in flio reservoir at the rate of a foot a day for several days. On Monday at 11 o'clock the water had reached the level of tho spillway and began be-gan flowing over the structure, in a small stream at first, which gradually swelled until on Tuesday night, when the high bank on tho upper toe or tho dam gave way and let In about 3000 cubic feet per second of water, which taxed the capacity ca-pacity of the spillway and lowered the water in the reservoir moro than a foot. Cold weather set In the first part of the week and the flood waters subsided, but at 11 o'clock this morning there was still about 2000 cubic feet per second of the waters of Big Lost river flowing over the spillway. The spillway appears to be holding well and If the valves and the spillway arc not called upon to handle moro than 1S00 cubic feet per second all will be well. Many predict that over 5000 cubic feet of water may bo expected this month, especially es-pecially if a full week of continued warm weather should occur, in which ovent the capacity of tho spillway and the outlet tunnel would be overtaxed. The citizens of Mackay and Center county's representatives in the legislature legisla-ture wuged a hard fight for the construction construc-tion of this s'plllway over the gravel dam, and were accused of playing politics, etc. Engineers and others stated that there was no need for a spillway, that to build it at the state's expense would be a waste of money, as there would never be a drop of water run over one if it was built. Some were going lo drink all the water that went over and others ridiculed ridi-culed the proposition as preposterous, but tlie light for the spillway was won and It was built, and now, with the high water Just beginning to come down, there is about L'000 cubic feet passing over the cribbing and dropping down to tho old channel of Lost river. Undoubtedly a disaster dis-aster has been averted. |