Show irrigation PROGRESS IN UTAH following is ia the official report of the utah irrigation commission to the fourth irrigation Uong congress presented by 0 jj Sleven Steven soo eov secretary of the commission to the fourth natio lal irrigation congress coo grebe hold held at albuquerque now new mexico september 16 1895 the irrigation commission for utah appointed at the last meeting of your body held at denver colorado 0 respectfully presents herewith ito ite report tor the past year believing that ft a brief recital of what bas baa been effected by utah people way may be of some value to all where irrigation methods are in vogue rogue rhe impetus given through the post irrigation congress has haa been most moat maikel in ID our territory in fact it may be called a revival in a region which was the forerunner of showing what could be through irrigation in the intermountain inter mountain region known generally so ae 6 he great american desert JDee ert perhaps no one of these conventions gave a greater incentive to a better belter utilization of water than the last held at denver the interchange of ideas idea at all ail of those these gatherings formal and in formal has ban proved most moot beneficial not only from the irrigation standpoint but bat in bowing the great value of water even in small email streams stream anu bow 1100 they maybe may be utilized tor for power transmission Cil solon and subsequently perform their duty doty as promoters of agriculture during the past year in utah more work of this character has baa been placed under construction tasa ever before dd ad ere long some or more horse power will be added to our steam plants planta and at a cost for working averaging one third less and this without interference with the waters of tiou a great mining region our people have seemingly just juet found out tb immense value of water in promoting more cheaply the production of the metals crude and refined and now tunnels driven into the bowels of our mountain ranges and miles in length are furnishing furn labing their quota ot of stored adored waters in addition to the stream sa a api dpi plies id perhaps perhaps RN as notable an instance of this assay as any Is 18 furnished by the now new drain tunnel oi of the be great ontario silver mine t park cly Y here we have an addict with a cruse crose three miles long and through which literally courses a small river owing flowing fl 1388 1338 cubic feet or gallons per ml minute D u te not only does this tunnel the mine to a depth of 1600 feet but it also furnie bea the electrical power for lighting the entire mine and extensive mills of the company and running a portion of the machinery having bavine thus fulfilled its function sri as a creator jf f power out our little river flows on and irrigates IrrIgate lt some thousands of acres acrea wf ut land along the provo valley in like manner we find the water flow dow from the adjacent tunnels of the anchor and alliance mining companies respectively it if and 1313 1 miles long harnessed to pelton felton wheels supplying power and light for mines ald aid mills and for operating power drills in the prosecution ol of the mine work and then these streams pass on con to witter water the farl farms 10 fifty miles callen away in the canyons of the big and little cottonwood creeks there will soonbo soon be completed electric plants for supplying energy gy to operate the street railways ot of sail bait lake juske city thirteen miles distant and furnish light and power to it and to the great reduction work mills and factories along the line of the union pacific railway south souta of that city here again the and more horsepower that can be obtained is generated above the lines ot of the highest litigation irrigation ditches and the present sye eye tern of watering the valley ot of me jordan from the mountain streams is tn in no way interfered with the largest and most em complete work of this kind is now being constructed by the pioneer company and utilizes the upper waters of the he ogden river oue one bof of the he larger streams of the territory the irbe power thus obtained will bousek be used tor the city of ogden for like purposes as that ot of the cottonwoods Cotton wooda woods for silt lake city and also for extensive manufactories manu factories at that point near the line of the southern pacific railway this thin power can be increased ably by continued series of plants above I 1 must not here omit mention of another great work the bandoo tunnel this thin means the be tapping of what la Is known SO as the rang commonly called west mountain or bingham district well under way the aam 00 son oo tunnel ia 18 now drifting westward to perform a work like its predecessors on the park city side of the wasatch mo f P with five miles of length it underlies a thousand or more feet jeep some of the world renowned pro dicing mines pirt present sent pumping expenses are a revere tax the water thus bus released it la is estl estimated mated will irit irrigate acre above the high line flitch on the west side ot of the jordan river lands now worth perhaps pros five to ton ten dollars per acre with no possible present haleyt sal eyt eyet wh wb ch cb such of water will make worth from rom to per acre at once when irrigated on account ot of their proximity to salt lake city while this abia form of utilization of our fir flowing wIng water is in no way new it is in cited as ae showing the great progress made in utah during the year in this direction and how bow vastly it will ado add to the material resources of the state and cheapen the cost of production in many lines the past year has also seen the completion of the outlet sewer newer for salt lake city which in itself at once become ii an important factor in irrigation pro green especially valuable for its proximity to a great city six miles long with a terminal diameter of 6 leet it can deliver to the rich but now barren lands adjacent jacent au to its outlet some gal looes per day and for this thin usage the city of salt lake has called for proposals of rental seven ebous and acres of market gardens thus rendered possible lying alongside of 0 two transcontinental cental railways to is surely a valuable adjunct to tj say any great low town a like salt sall lake I 1 n this connection we must not for met get to mention another project ft fast approaching pro aching comple completion tiou viz vix the pumping of the waters of ophir creek to the great reat gold camp at camp foyd and the ibe town of mercur 15 miles distant to furnish a supply chien renders it possible to increase the gold output of wat that camp two to three million dollars per year the most g feature of this enterprise Is the fact tuat the water is bumped by worthington engines to a vertical height of 1800 feet through feet of pump main showing a forcible exemplification ot the value of water in our material interests te and this brings us to a state meat of what has been done in the irrigation riga tiou field proper during the past year we way may be said to bave fairly inaugurated la utah the era of reservoir construction for fir riga tin ti n purposes thereby making available three times the amount of water possible to obtain heretofore from our streams in no region probably has there been exhibited a stronger opposition to wo toe impounding of water by of dams and one of the actors that tended most strongly to t do away wian this sentiment was wag the he great success of we be people of bunol son oon who with a few hundreds of dollars constructed an earthen dam rome thirty feet high across a small stream known as an the san pitch river and chicki during ng the irrigating season sason dwindled to a row flow sufficing for only a few thona and acres the winter and spring flows flow enabling the reservoir to be twice filled and nd this season reason their drain will be raised another five feet and by also draining some ome of the small email effluents the be guam son aon irrigation district now cow covers coven 2 acres acre the success of the beer bear river dam or rather diverting weir across that river further strengthened the belief that dame could coula be built which would stand all freshet freshets fresh ets it may be well to here state that the bear river com panya works are among the large irrl khints of the west at a cost of nearly there Is ie here over miles of canals with towns and settlements already covering square equate ailee of most moat fertile bautis part cart belne being colonized during the he past year acres have been placed io in cultivation fruit tress tree tet t betout et out and ao an extensive grain elevator constructed alongside of the southern pacific railway among the first to gr go extensively into the impounding of water we find the works of the clear land and irrigation company situated on the sevier river near deseret Dea eret in millard county where swan lake and a series of smaller emiller lakes are connected and raised by dams to cover some twelve ire miles ot of surface which reclaim upward of acree acrea this company has some ome fifty miles milea ot of ditches ditc bea the main canal being thirty eight feet wide and seven feet deep the snake valley land water company also of millard county and some miles south of salt lake city has recently completed its reservoir receiving the waters of lake creek with a dam forty five feet in height the supply has baa been determined as suffield iele it tor for acres ot of land which seams admirably adapted to general furest forest and almond raising as experience has hass bowe the el elevation evalou la ia between five ave and six thousand feet above sea level and singularly free trout from frosts the leavington leamington Liaa Lea irrigation cow corn inaugurating its system itis it reater voir with a fifty foot dam across aero the sevier river will be one of abe largest in the world covering a surface area of about twenty square miles and impounding some ome acre feet of water sufficing oinK vita the average alah utah duty for acres abrea of laud availably situated several miles west of the reservoir site still further farther south in beaver county is we recently constructed system of the beaver valley land jand J and irrigation company with impounding reservoir live five miles milea long having sufficiency of water to cover acres this thin company is organizing a somewhat unique system fur for colonization four thousand or more acres acre are divided into farms of lorty forty acres which are fenced and on each of these will be erected a small aman dwelling dw elline hautio these lai improved proved tract swill will besold be sold on the be installment plan tio no payment being required wis first year As the same have made this method a success in texas it ft to ie presumed it will work well here bore near the south end of utah lake its is the extensive reservoir and canal eye ayt tem few of the mt nebo irrigation company the works ot this company are of a more expensive character obar acter than the average due to the of first at GIs class methods of construe construction tion and the character of the country their dam across current creek conserves conser vee water enough lor for irrigating acres ae adjacent jacent to we town of gosbee the land being ex well adapted to fruit culture and the raising of the sugar best beer lies lie along the linte of the union pacific and rio granule western rait railway while a constant market la Is insured from the contiguous mining coining districts the boldest project naw now under way te Is that known as a the mammoth reservoir ou on gooseberry creek in sanpete county eight miles east of the town of fairview the dam of this company will be a most massive structure ot of earth and of masonry 26 feet high it la Is between solid ledges oi of rock with curved line up stream aej solidly buit built into the ledges the outlet to ie by tunnel also through the abe solid rock and the spill way in the natural rook rock ties baa a barge capacity twice that thai of the creek flow dow during the he heaviest frem bets As aa there here are very few highs higher dams dam than b this in the world it shows the immense progress making in work and in public opinion of the advisability of such euca great structures and also aleo warrants a more detailed description than usual As ae now designed a short abort canal connects cou be reservoir with a tunnel westward through the au so joining range this tunnel la 18 four lost feet wide by six leei feet high and will be about one and 0 one I 1 halt miles milea lot loi g debouching Debou ching into a 8 ravine oo on the west elope it allows allowa t abe be water to reach some acres in the san ban pitch valley of great a a 0 sov this thio reservoir will store acre feet of water in summing up we find chat there has haa been in augurs ted and under oun con 1 1 tructien irrigation works for watering 0 over vor one third oi of a million acher not the least leant important feature ot of this gross is i the greatly improved cha character of all the works now being built whereby a saving in the be cost coat of annual maintenance to la being brought troug bt about another feature tUrO la in that the young joung generation of utah naturally tu to irrigation methods methode met bode Is ia rapidly settling up treue newly opens open regions gioni re the vastly 0 improved mot methods bride of moreover boa ba nut but enhanced the cost of a perpetual water right for in utah it la Is the rule that the lend land ana the water go together and that the owner or of the lanu eventually becomes the owner of the right fight to use the water the coo doai of this perpetual water right averages veranea ver agea about 10 per acre lands landa out auk loot act to it are worth worm about 25 per sore acre while the average for all utah of improved farms Is 26 per acre the farm unit to is rarely more than 40 acres sore lil while fr for the whole le territory the average holding is 27 acres the cost of annual maintenance lame heretofore ben been bibb but it is in rapidly coming down to less 1098 than one ODO dollar per acre another gratifying feature to la that the duty of water to is being greatly enhanced our people are learning that much lea jesa work wark suffices lese for a given acreage while an aim increase in to la also brought about heretofore be acreage duty in utah has baa been acres for a cubic foot of water per second in many places this amount now irrigates WCO twice that area notably do we have on an object lesson given us by the people f the settlement at lovan levan here miners inches or 7 cubic feet per second thoroughly irv irr gate 2100 of diversified cropp croper this is IB a duty 0 of acres acrea to the second toot foot and the yield per acre la Is above that of the rest real of the territory the record ol of active work ha more than ever emphasized the utah system of building even great tion works by association by cc cooperation opera by swapping land for both labor and material and by making a be bc gi fining finally anally construct the whole without debt in the field of irrigation inquiry much has been done during the past pasi year careful measurements and study demonstrate that no do more perfect con conservers servers of water exis axis than our irrigated lands themselves water thus applied is in only partially evaporated while on the longer streams this water adraius bacil and Is so leei over and over in the doity miles of the gordau ri river ver this occurs at least bat three times and a project 1 Is bow on foot to take the water out again by current motors near the outlet on the siJ ati jacent lands fifteen to twenty feet above the river level while return waters vary with different streams it is in a great step in advance to even partially determine them locally A forestry association composed 0 some ot of the best educate anu thinking I 1 in men an of this region |