Show Range Long Water Plan Play Now Becomes A Reality By ByR R. R LYNN NIELSON A group of Sanpete County men whose calloused hands and suntanned d faces show a love an and commitment to the soil solI have actively been engaged in a project to assure the future of their land A struggle yes In the lives of at least a dozen working hard-working men over a period of 25 years or more Some have laid down the plow who originally began trying to improve and stabilize this source of water Those who carry the burden of paying for the project and realizing some of Its benefits live in and near Chester and include the following J. J Emil Jensen Spafford Sum Sum-sion Delon Dyches Ralph Jensen John Jensen Reed R. R Maxfield Glendon Jones Elmer R. R Olsen Iris L. L Irving Kent Strate and Carl Anderson The project a pond which is located just west of Spring City and will provide late summer summer summer sum sum- mer water to mature farmers' farmers crops In the Chester area Isnow is isnow isnow now close to a reality stage It was way back In the that water from the five existing ponds failed to supply needed Irrigation water for these far farmers farmers' farmers farmers' farm farm- mers' mers m- m ers' ers crops A decreed water right of acre feet of water had been allocated to them many years earlier earlie- but almost half this amount was not available le lefor for use because they had no place to store it Recent measurements m meas- meas as- as showed that acre feet of w water ter was all aU that could be held in the ponds A proposal some som years ago for an additional storage pond seemed feasible but the cost of the pond was high and financing fi financing financing fi- fi could not be provided N Now ow their dreams are coming true Bill Nay of Gunnison contracted contracted contracted con con- to build the dam which will c con contain o n t a i n approximately cubic yards of earth with witha a gravel belt In the toe area of the dam This special gravel belt Is des designed to relieve water pressures within the dam itself it itself itself it- it self and will prevent dam fing and leakage due to the ab absorption absorption absorption ab- ab sorption of water by the earth material in the dam The in installation installation installation in- in of this gravel belt is in interesting and involves water absorption qualities of the earth fill material ob obtained from near the dam site The soil soU in this area is damp and needed careful spreading and drying Rollers were used to tamp the soil solI In the dam to its proper compaction The new pond will be filled with water which will comE comp from early spring sprin runoff however however however how how- ever a lesser amount will come from seeps and springs which bubble up in the vicinity of the dam site This latter water supply although not great in volume does run fairly steady throughout the year The beneficial beneficial benefi benel- cial use of this water source alone represents an accomplishment accomplishment which Is difficult to measure What about the problem of money This had been the great stumbling block Is perhaps the answer The farm farmers rs although discouraged for lack of funds never lost sight of their goal They had acquired the land for a pond site some years earlier and arranged many of the details on how to accomplish the work Little things done here and there thereon on the project through the years kept the group somewhat united and active Finally an Interest free loan from the Utah Water Resource Board appeared possible In addition the Sanpete County Committee allocated cost sharing funds under Agricultural Agricultural Agricultural tural Conservation program to help The farmers themselves needed to provide at least 25 of the total estimated cost of There w we were e r e engineering needs and problems to be solved sov clearance of water rights with the State Engineers Engineer's Office plans and specifications to be drawn up and other details which kept the farmers busy Correlating all details required effort planning cooperation patience and time But through continued effort these and other problems were worked out to to- to gether It would seem after these problems had been dealt with that it would be easy to get the job done But not so as those who have tried to complete a large project such as this well know A challenge it is indeed to spearhead such a job from beginning to end N Now ow that the pro project is almost completed the loan must be repaid water properly utilized and there will be other problems some perhaps yet unseen But water will be stored and will be available in late summer to mature crops A project which began as a means to get needed water will remain to conserve and to benefit farmers for many years s sto to come It will beautify the tho immediate pond site as well as the farmland In the Chester area The additional storage will encourage home gardening and provide increased pride in intha inthe th the tha community The effort spent In time and money on this project could couldwell couldwell well ell benefit the economy of this area far greater than the most optimistic expectations of those early planners 6 y adr I Bill Nay his at the Chester Pond construction site to move th the earth for the dam 4 J Jf f A well planned spillway for the theat dam has been constructed at the site k r LT s E t t. t Emil Jensen points out to Spafford the hill where rock for the dam was obtained |