Show rAVO KAULE IMPORT ItE lORT ON 0 BOULD PAt CANIO CAINION cr CT director of reclamation arthur P davis has just made his report on the boulder canyon project to the secretary of the interior in which he endorses the project by declaring it feasible the essential features of the report follow the preliminary report on the problems of imperial valley and vicinity published in january 1921 described the progress of investigations up to that date and these have been continued up to the preparation of this report surveys under the direct direction of charles F shaw have been prosecuted and land classification based upon this examination baa has been made and shown upon maps these subjects are are treated in this report on subsequent pages boring made borings bolings Bo rings have been prosecuted at the proposed in boulder canyon and the cross section of the canyon has been fairly well worked out large amount of additional boring is however necessary to develop the entire foundation of the proposed dam and this will probably modify its location similar information is also necessary for the cofferdam which must precede the main construction st and must be tor for temporary work of a rather substantial character results of the borings bolings indicate the maximum depth to bed rock of about feet below low water let lei el this Is regarded as feasible although the foundation work will of 0 course be difficult and expensive in view of the great volume of the river when in freshet various studies have been made on the basis of the information available and upon these studies tentative estimates have been made which indicate the cost of a dam with flow line at 1265 feet to be about this would have a storage capacity of acre feet A dam thirty five feet higher and affording acre feet more storage capacity would cost about include dam these figures include preliminary work and the completion of the dam in shape to serve for storage purposes and upon which to install power plants but do not include any other cost of power development of transmission A reconnaissance has been made tor for two possible railroad lines one approaching from the west and joining the salt lake and los angeles railroad near las vegas the other approaching from the north being a continuation of the branch which runs from moapa to st thomas A reconnaissance should be made also with a possible connection with the santa ve system to the south with a comparison of the cost and results pou ponca er de development clop ment the development of power at the boulder canyon reservoir Is a byproduct which does not in all respects conform to the requirements of irrigation but can be made to conform thereto with some adjustment the extremely arid and and semi semitropic trople character of the lands in the lower colorado basin makes it necessary to irrigate throughout the year and the irrigation requirements therefore conform more nearly to the requirements for water than do those in nothern latitudes it Is estimated that the feasible irrigation projects in the lower basin comprise acres of which about 60 per cent Is in the united states and 40 per cent in mexico the full development of the proposed projects in the upper basin will subtract substantially from the total water supply but there will still be left ample water to irrigate all the lands of the lower basin it it Is conserved and regulated in a storage reservoir of ample capacity the water can be used tor for power as drawn from the reservoir with acres of land in the lower basin irrigated and with a total storage capacity of acre feet of which the lower is reserved tor for silt storage and the upper Is 16 reserved for flood control it Is possible to develop over firm horsepower hugo huge potter with the entyre acres of irrigable land iana developed in the lower basin the possibilities are still firm horsepower and besides this there is in both cases a large amount of sec secondary andary power which Is not constant but hlll ft be of considerable value the great value of this power and the wide demand for it together with its magnitude indicates that the power power privileges of the boulder canyon yon reservoir should bear the major portion of the cost cos t of the dam for preliminary purposes it Is recommended that this portion ba be fixed at 76 75 per cent subject to adjustment by a board appointed for or this purpose recommendations recommendations are it Is recommended that through suitable legislation the united states participate in the construction of the boulder canyon reservoir and the high line canal from laguna dam to the imperial valley in proportion to the interests of the public lands and the indian lands as set forth in this re port it Is recommended that the secretary ocre of at the interior be authorized to enter immediately into contracts with such states counties municipalities and other interests as may desire to participate in the benefits of at the construction st herein recommended providing that each participating agency furnish funds with which to defray its ate share of the expense as allocated by a board to be appointed it Is recommended that there be appointed a board of three competent persons who shall not be resident in any of the states affected by the decisions of the board and who shall have no financial interest in those decisions ci one being an irrigation engineer engineers one a power engineer and one learned in irrigation law to allocate the cost and benefits of the proposed construction and assess the cost upon those receiving the benefits in Pro pr tion to such benefits the decisions of this board should supersede the preliminary allocation recommended in this report and contract should jb entered into with all participating parties to abide by the decisions of at this board and so supply funds tor for construction in proportion to benefits as determined by said board I 1 it Is recommended that the secretary of the interior be authorized to proceed with the work of development as rapidly as the funds are made available from any of the sources provided aril ari |