OCR Text |
Show A60 APPENDIX 207 figures being the average over the period of 1899 to 1920, both included, a period of 22 years. However, during the period of 1905 to 1920, both years included, Yuma shows an average of 18,244,444 acre feet and Laguna 17,218,000 acre feet per annum. Adding to the amount disclosed at Yuma the amount diverted and used above, including tbat from the streams in Arizona, would make the production of the basin between 22,000,000 and 24,000,000 acre feet per annum, reckoned from that station. Further calculations and deductions will disclose practically the same amount of water passing Lee's Ferry as Laguna, each approximately 1,000,000 acre feet less than at Yuma. Further, there is an inflow between Lee's Ferry and the measuring station at Topock, which would be practically the same as at Boulder canyon, of 2,500,000 acre feet; the principal streams which must furnish this are Little Colorado, Kanab creek, Cataract, Diamond creek and the Virgin river. This amount of water is lost by evaporation, percolation or seepage and diversion before it reaches Laguna. That amount, however, is present at or near the Boulder canyon, for use from there if the river can be stabilized and controlled so as to reduce the waste to a minimum. The Topock station shows about 1,500,000 more water passing there than passes Yuma, or 2,500,000 more than passes Laguna. The 1921 record shows the following: Yuma, 19,300,000; Topock, 21,500,000, and for 1922: Yuma, 17,600,000; Topock, 19,000,000; Lee's Ferry (the first year), 16,100,-000. Now that we have stations at Lee's Ferry and at Grand Canyon, a few years will verify our deductions or show an error in the calculations. There is, therefore, approximately 17,000,000 acre feet per annum passing Boulder canyon. There is also 16,500,000 passing Lee's Ferry each year on an average. Under the compact the upper states are allotted 7,500,000 acre feet, of which 2,500,000 is already used, leaving 5,000,000 more to be used; that is 1,250,000 acre feet to each of the upper states, if they can make use of that much, and the best-informed men say it will be nearly a century before they will be able to use that much more water, if ever. For the sake of argument, suppose they take all of the 5,000,000 acre feet from now on, there will be left in the river at Lee's Ferry 11,500,000 acre feet per annum on the average. With no more diversions than we now have that amount will show up at Laguna and a million more acre feet will be added at Yuma. Nevada's wants from the river are nil. California will ultimately need less than 4,000,000 acre feet to reach her limit. If the upper states could take the whole allotment and Arizona waited until California satisfied her needs, there would still be in the river 3,500,000 |