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Show 48 THE ATT^ATMTCRTnATT CANAL. feet of water for a low-level mesa canal. The installation at this point should be for the utilization of 6,000 second-feet of water in which, the lands outside of Imperial Irrigation District will have a small interest. At power station No. 2 the water intended for Imperial Irrigation District, or 5,500 second-feet, can be dropped 47 feet. The total water power, when the canals are flowing at capacity at these two stations, would be nearly 50,000 horsepower, of which, with suitable machinery, the peak utilization would be a little more than one-half, or about 25,000 horsepower, for the development of which suitable machinery should be installed. The United States Reclamation Service proposes that some time provision shall be made for the development of power with the water of the Yuma project at the siphon drop. The utilizable fall at this point will be only 10 to 12 feet and the maximum flow in the Yuma Canal will be only about 1,600 second-feet. The amount of power here obtainable is not, therefore, large. When the Yuma mesa is thrown open to settlement, water in large quantity must be pumped to~an elevation of 56 to 80 feet above that of the project's lower canal system. Much more power will then be required than could be made available at the siphon drop. This power, if the Yuma project were developed independently without consideration of the requirements of the Imperial Valley, would be obtained, according to the tentative plans of the Reclamation Service, from a power station located at some convenient point near Araz. The water for power would be carried from the siphon drop on substantially the line which has been selected for an all-American canal to or beyond Araz, where it would pass through a power station with discharge either back into Colorado River or, under suitable agreement with Imperial Irrigation District, into the head of the Imperial Canal. The latter arrangement would be of advantage to the district because it would thereby be assured a supply of desilted water from the Laguna Dam. It would be of advantage to the Yuma project because there is less fluctuation of the water surface of the canal below its controlling gates than there is in the river. The power output would be larger at the summer high stages when the irrigation demand is at a TnftTriTnmn and when the most power will be needed, because the water in the canal is then considerably lower than the water in the river. Under construction of an ail-American canal before the Yuma project power canal is constructed, some plan of procedure should be agreed upon by which the Yuma project will be assured the power which it needs at no greater cost than that at which it could be obtained without cooperation. It is possible, for example, that the first step toward an all-American or high-line canal into Imperial Valley will be the upstream extension |
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Original book: [State of Arizona, complainant v. State of California, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Coachella Valley County Water District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, City of Los Angeles, California, City of San Diego, California, and County of San Diego, California, defendants, United States of America, State of Nevada, State of New Mexico, State of Utah, interveners] : California exhibits. |