Show I BASIN ASIN OF r COlO GREAT EMPIE Future Possibilities Are Enormous The department of the interior has Isas jue jUf issued a a 10 comprehensive report on Colorado river as a result of engineering studies by the tile Geological Geological Geological Geo Geo- logical survey The author is E. E C. C LaRue hydraulic engineer who I has made a study of oC the river durIn during during dur- dur ing In the last fifteen years ears in the I course of ot which he has ma made e oat boat at I trips aggregating nearly 2000 miles mies along the river and Its Is major trib- trib including the whole of at the Grand Grard canyon Less than half a century after the dl discovery covery of ot America merIca b by Columbus Columbus Col Col- umbus a Spanish expedition sailed saied up the the Gulf Gulf Gul of California and explored explored ex ex- the lower reaches of or the Colorado Colorado Col Col- orado river It I was not until the middle of the nineteenth century however that hat the river began hegan to hf play Mayan ay an Important part in the deI de- de loment I of the West After the thel l Mexican n. n war ar the tle low lower 30 o or 40 miles In Ud detail t 01 Ot tl t me cue and d s strem in e was Major laj John Wesley esley Powell Powel traversed traverse by boat the then wholly unknown canyons through which it Id flows from Colorado Colorado Colo Cob rado to Nevada Prior to the tIle Civil w r boats on the lowel reaches of ot the river r afforded means of ot transportation trans trans- for a large region In the southwest that was then difficult of ot access This navigation persisted persist persi ed until trans continental railroads were vere constructed through Arizona and southern California late in the nineteenth century The Tile basin of or th the Colorado which affords the second largest concen- concen lon of Irrigable lands' lands and waterpower waterpower waterpower wa wa- ter-power ter sites in the tile United States has for tor the most part pat an arid or semi arid climate and Irrigation is therefore required for tor the production tion ton of or profitable crops Irrigation Irrigation tion in the tho basin has been beers Extended I slowly but but steadily until more than thana a third of the land irrigable from the Colorado river is now receivIng receiving reedy reedy- ing water With Wih the river as as' as now regulated the present irrigation consumes the entire entre water low-water fo flow and in occasional dry years ears there is a water shortage Further development of irrigation is therefore therefore therefore there there- I fore dependent on a stora storage e of oC flood rood waters and regulation of or dis dis- charge The power resources of the Colorado arc ns' ns asyet yet practically un- un demand for but a heavy electric energy in the southwest which hits his resulted in the tIle development development develop develop- ment and use of power sites sies nearby nEarbY is now about to force torce a rapid development development de de- de- de of ot all al available power sites sItEs on the tho Colorado within reasonable reasonable rea yea transmission distance of or orthe the markets As wih will Irrigation so with wih power less than a third of ot the potential energy can be de developed developed developed de- de I less un-less storage flood waters and regulation of discharge are provided for Colorado river at present is not only a source of water supply for hundreds of or thousands of acres of land in Arizona and California but buta a menace to do o these land lands In In- 1905 the tile river as It had ione one intermittently intermittently intermit intermit- in the past broke through its Is siy banks and forced Its Is way Into the tIle lying low Salton Salon Sea re region region re- re gion glon of oC California where instead of ot the barren baren desert a few years ears before there here were fo flourishing IrrIgated Irrigated irrigated gated ranches ranches farm homes ana anaI I thriving communities te threatening them with wih Inundation anc and complete destruction Much dama damage e was was' done but with the expenditure oCr oCo of oC millions I of f dollars o and more than two years r o of persistent leai sr effort f tt the river was turned turne agaIn to the Gulf Gulfo Gul o of California The danger of a re recurrence recurrence re- re currence of of oC flow floto to Salton Salon Sea is 13 ever present flo and the tho safety of or great areas of highly productive land and prosperous towns owns can be assured only by storage e of f flood floodwaters floodwaters I tUe teS oraf ora oral waters a antI and maintenance l of a well l designed designe system stem of ot levees and the bank works protection rc ecton Thus Thua safety safety safety safe safe- ty from Inundation complete use of ot waters for Irrigation and adequate development t of at potential po power por r d def doi de- de f- f i S i v J i r V. V mand storage and regulation works I Ion on the Colorado river The The Geological survey report published as Water yater Supply Paper deals with wih the comprehensive development of ot the Colorado river below beloW the mouth of oC Green river ri with particular reference to flood control and the development of oC hydro-electric hydro power records o or of stream flow are summarized and estimates of or water supply available at many points under a variety valety of conditions are presented The princIpal principal principal prin prin- cipal reservoir sites sies are re described and their availability and usefulness usefulness useful useful- ness are discussed Plans cross- cross sections and area and capacity curves together with wih engi engineering and geologic discussions are presented presented pre pre- for all al known wn dam sites on nearly a thousand miles mies of or river all al of which has been surveyed and I mapped In summarizing Mr LaRue LaRue LaRue La- La Rue suggests that the scheme of development should be comprehensive sive and should provide for the maximum practical utilization of the potential power the maximum storage of water for irrigation and above all the tIle effective elimination of oC flood menace and an adequate solution of the sIlt sUt problem problem Such a apan pan when executed necessarily covering many years would In his isis opinion include the construction of or thirteen dams das which would make m available feet of ot head or r r fall fal for tor the development of ot power and a maximum of ot feet acre-feet of or storage capacity for the control of ot floo floods s equalization of ot flow fow and storage of silt sit Under this plan nearly acres of land could be irrigated by the tile waters of or the Colorado river continuous ous horsepower could be developed In the canyons below the mouth of ot Green river and a domestic water wa 1 ter supply could be made available for a population of ten to million milon urban communities or of the southwest |