| OCR Text |
Show placing old wooden structures, no lo er serviceable, with pernpnent concrete structures has, been done. ?n addition'to thisthe.;&plrpr work of operating and,maintaining the systemhas been prosecpted. Construction work of that part of the Satus Unit,,of the Wapato project, Yakima,Reservation, Wash., to be krigated by gavltjl from the drainage water from the Fapato. project, was,carried on, thus assuring the conservation of this drainage ,wa$r f ~$hre lands of the unit. Prior to progress of this work~nsiderable coqcerq 1 had been evidenced that possibly this drainage. water would be lost as it flows down to landsin private owcesship and migh4;thvs bq appropriated by others unless steps were taken, to enable its bein 4 placed to beneficial use on the reservation lands. The possibility , the loss of this water has accordingly been avoided and the .lands susceptible of irrigation from this -g ravity flow can now be irrig-a ted qt veii small cost: ,. There has been considerable agitation for the c6mpletion &f :the Wapato. Unit of the project on this reservation by the installation of pumping and power machinery. It is estimated that the ,cost af installing the unit, will be $520,000. When the installation shall have been accomplished the unit will be complete and will then serve, 120,000 acres of excellent farm land. . ,,, . On the Uintah irrigation project, Utah, there are 15 separate headings complicating its operation., Some of the canals and laterals 2' 4.t he project are jointly used by canal and irrigation companies. With a view to facilitating operation,' forms of agreements wlththe Dry. Gulch Irrigation Co. were approved February 19, 1925. It is to L+e hoped that the carrying out of the. provisions of these agree-ments will result ,in more successful o-p eration of the irrig-a tion works. On the Crow project in Montana curtailpent of construction work, . wnsisting primarily of replacing wooden structures with. permanent t ones, was effected with an approximate savipg in the appropriation of $67,000 without impairingthe operation thereof. It is also gratifying tonote that saving of .$1,560- per. innurn has been made in irrigaiitiop district $0.1 by the removal of the dis-trict o&w from tented quarters to the Federal building at Yakima. In addition to. the various:activities herein enumerated some 150 projects, many of which are small in character, have been operated 4ndmaivtained during the past year. The total area of irrigable. lax& under constructed works. on Indian projects approximates. 636,000 acre$, with an ultimate area approximqting 1,370,000 acres, The estimated value of the crops raised on these rojects for the past gear is $23,000,000. I n copstr~otionw. ork on &ese projects, to June 30, 1924, there had been expended approximately $24,000,000, with an additional expenditwe approximating$6,660,000 for opera-tion of constructed works on these projects. Originally the w t s of these Indian rojects were considered gr~$ultous or were payahle out of triba 7 finds. By tliis latter method of a ment the Gbvement advanced funde;for the. eon-stnuction o f t I e irrigatiw works on .the diminished ..parts bf thei resenvatiana and was :to meeive its reimbursement fmm. the sale of the lands of- the ceded portion of the remrvabions. By the act: & August 1, 1914 (38 Stet. Ii. Em), however, a ahan* w$s mLde.ia, |
