OCR Text |
Show V?t f4, - - t0 rs, if 1 - Where modern irrigation was born. On July 24th, 1847, water was diverted from .City Creek upon the baked soil; the soaked land was plowed, and potatoes yere planted; From that initial experiment in Salt Lake City has grown the reat Western Empire depending forjts existence upon centers of irrigation development. The whole world has " learned lessons in. the successful reclamationof arid landsfrom the Utah experience. Irrigation is the key to the development of the west. The twenty million acres of irrigated land make possibleand: prosperou.thecitiesandtowns,:theindustriesandvocations,thechurches:andchools,:oOKeWesternUnitedStates.. rzx rrospenty does not thrive in the wilderness. .Without irrigation the West would be a desert. - Utahs Need un-UE- . ed and is wasted into interior lakes or into' the ocean. Western prosperity keeps and with the extension of the irrigatstep with improved methods of using-wated area. Every acre of land brought under irrigation contributes to the annuaE income of the commonwealth. Not much more than 2 of Utah's lands are irrigated; and only-- small part of Utahs water supply isjised in irrigation. Utah ,jieed is a larger irrigated area This will ensure a corresponding development of all her industries. er 1! iti ' a - The Federal Reclamation Act of 1902 provides that jalL moneys derived in the Western States from the sale of .public lands, and from coal and oil royalties, shall be used in these states for the reclamation of land by irrigation. The government has already spent $ 43,000,000 for irrigation works in the west. Of this sum $3,500,000 or about 2.5 has been spent in Utah on the Strawberry Val ley project. It is conceded that Utah should now share more fully in the benefits of Federal reclamation by irrigation. M any inviting irrigation projects are await ing development in Utah. Among these,the GreatSalt Lake.Basin' Project ,has been recommended by Senator Smoot, Commissioner Elwood Mead, Secretary of the Interior Hubert Workr Director of tne Budget, General Lord and President Coolidge. 7 his Is Utah s Opportunity. . i rZ. t i 1 x - ?i - , - The Great Salt Lake Basin Project ta the This, project: extends from the north end of 'Cache .south end of Utah Valley, and includes the following, ten counties:. Cache, Boxelder, Weber, Davis," Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah,7Wasatch, Morgan and 'Suirimit. In the sevenlowervalley counties there are about 897,097 -acres of irrigable land. Of this' area, 389,697 acres are not irrigated. About 44 per cent of the land in these fertile valleys needs irrigation water. n .Valley -- Water Supply Storage Capacity There is ample water,;when conserved, flowing in to. Cache, and the threeupper- - lying counties, to supply all their irrigable lands. The average annual flow into the remaining six counties is about 3,3 1 4,-- " 00 acre feet. If conserved this would cover. the irri- gable lands of these counties to mi average depth o( nearly. 4 lJTeet, or much more than is necessary, under a wise irrigation practice, for the production of crops. The water supply is abundant. The problem " . is one of storage. Reservoirs must be built to catch the spring and early summer' flood waters arid to hold over water from a wet to a dry year. The existing reservoirs in this project have a capacity of 357,797 acre feet. Possible additional reservoirs would have a capacity of 945,290 acre feet. Utah Lake is a natural reservoir which, if diked," would hold an additional 50,000 acre feet Bear Lake might also be used to prevent waste of water. The possible reservoir sites would make available most of the water now going to waste. 1 - - - ' The Problem . The flow of wateris greater intothe north than rintothe80uthend of tKeproject. The total flow into Weber-Prov- o . mation. . , TheNProgram - - J-! 1 Weber and Davis counties, if conserved, would cover the irrigable lands there an average of 6 feet The total flow into Utah county would cover the irrigable lands 2.6 feet. Salt Lake and Tooele counties must It is -- necessary receive iwaterfrom Utah county. therefore to move water from the north to the south' end of the basin. This can best be done by diverting water from the Weber River, across Kamas bench, into Provo river. . To store at a reasonable cost water now wasted. 2. To move water from nprth to south. 3. To secure united action on the part of the water users and all citizens. 4. To present our claims and vievr" convincingly before the U. S. Bureau of Recla1 t - Geographical Distribution . - 1 B. 1 - The Utah Water Storage Commission has recommended to the Bureau of Division of. the ' Great "Sat Reclamation, for first construction the Weber-Prov- o of consists Basin This Lake Project. 1 This Is The Place 1 For a successful irrigation project, because , 1 It meets-thof Fact the Finding Commission of the Departmentof the Interion requirements 2 The water will be used largely tosupplement the present water supply for lands under cultivation. The problem be smsulP-- 6f reclamation-wil- l 3 The lands to be served arejalready well colonized and linkedjogether by cities, roads, steam and electric railways, telephones, electric lightsfschools and churches. The problem of colonization will be small. 4 The new lands to be reclaimed are in the midst ofon contiguous to the partially irrigated lands, so that the problem of reclamation amLsettlement wjll.be easily solved. 5 The Governmentfcan be furnished with repayment contracts, fully secured, before construction begins., 6 Theeconomicconditionsaresuch asTo insure repayment. . e -- Financial Significance is $62.80; The additional acreage that may be The annuaf average acre income of the farms of Great Salt Lake-Basi- n : reclaimed is about 389,697 acres. ' The additional annual acrelncome from this area to the State of Utah is in round numbers 20,000,000. Moreover, in the building of this project the water supply of Salt'Lake City will be increased, r and from safe sources. : . Let hs all pull together for the Great Salt Lake Basin Project - 1- Division The Weber River Development . A dam at Echo (followed later by such dams in side canyons, as may be found desirable.) The Provo River Development . A diversion canal at Oakley to convey water from the Weber to the Provo " River. . , 2. Diking of Utah Lake for storage purposes. ' 3. A.dam on theProvoRiver " This program has been approved tentatively by the Bureau of Reclamation. i i Utahs Opportunity The West lies under a low rainfall. Therefore, there is not enough water for the irrigation of all the irrigable land. Yet, much of the water of .the west is :il . ' X , |