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Show 14 PROBLEMS OF IMPERIAL VALLEY AND VICINITY. POWER DEVELOPMENT. Ine development of power at the Boulder Canyon reservoir is a by-product wnich does not in all respects conform to the requirements of irrigation but can be made to conform thereto with some adjustment. The extremely arid and semitropic character of the lands in the Lower Colorado Basin makes it necessary to irrigate throughout the year and the irrigation requirements therefore conform more nearly to the requirements for power than do those in northern latitudes. It is estimated that the feasible irrigation projects in the lower basin, which would divert water from the main stream, comprise 2,020,000 acres, of which about 60 per cent is in the United States and 40 per cent in Mexico. The full development of the proposed projects in the upper basin will subtract substantially from the total water supply, but there will still be left ample water to irrigate all the lands ol the lower basin if it is conserved and regulated in a storage reservoir of ample capacity. The water can be used for power as drawn from the reservoir and the amount of power that can be developed with different amounts of storage capacity and with different assumptions of irrigated land below is shown by the diagram in plate VI. It shows that with 1,505,000 acres of land in the lower basin irrigated and with a total storage capacity of 31,400,-000 acre-feet, of which the lower 5,000,000 is reserved for silt storage and the upper 5,000,000 is reserved for flood control, it is possible to develop over 700,000 firm horsepower. With the entire 2,020,000 acres of irrigable land developed in the lower basin the possibilities are still 600,000 firm horsepower, and besides this there is a large amount of secondary power which is not constant but will be of considerable value. All this is on the assumption that the total area of irrigable land in the upper basin is irrigated, namely, about 4,000,000 acres, of which about three-eighths is now under ditch. The development of the upper basin will doubtless proceed steadily, but it will be a long time before the full development is reached, and the water later to be consumed by future irrigation will be available for power at Boulder Canyon until that development is realized. This will greatly increase the figures shown above for a long time tb come, and in the meantime any regulation of the river above for any purpose will also tend to increase them. The great value of this power and the wide demand for it, together with its magnitude, indicate that the power privileges of the Boulder Canyon reservoir can be made to bear the entire cost of the dam. The markets for power are numerous and various in this part of the country, consisting in general of the mining interests in Arizona and Nevada, the pumping requirements in the Colorado River valley, and the needs of the municipalities of Arizona and southern California for municipal and commercial uses. Possible municipal customers of importance are Prescott, San Diego, Riverside, and Los Angeles. The last-named city has indicated a desire to share in this development as shown by the letter dated December 16-, 1920, on page 92. This city has already developed considerable power on the Los Angeles aqueduct, and owns a system for distributing electric current |
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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] : |