OCR Text |
Show 28 THE AIX-AMEBICAN Imperial Valley has been done in Mexico. Thi&levee work, although "upon foreign territory, has been done without contribution by Mexican interests. Not only were several millions of dollars expended in 1906 and 1907 in turning the river from itssuddenly established northerly course back into the gulf; but since then a million dollars, contributed by the United States, were expended on levee work in Mexico and in addition thereto, the Imperial Irrigation District and its predecessors have spent more than another million in levee maintenance, levee extention, and betterments, all giving protection to Imperial Valley and other lands, and all necessarily in foreign territory. Without attempting to give a full history of the efforts which were made to keep the head of the Imperial Canal from being choked with river silt and of the many other difficulties relating to maintenance of flow in the canal and to protection against flood which were successfully overcome, the following facts bearing upon the flood menace may be briefly recalled: The original canal heading or intake from the Colorado 'River was in California, a few hundred yards north of the international boundary line. Owing to trouble with silt it could not be kept open at sufficient capacity to meet the growing demands of the irrigators, and when in 1904 the concession was obtained from Mexico to make a diversion on Mexican territory another intake channel was constructed just south of and paralleling the boundary ine, delivering into the canal, which was there only a few hundred feet from the river bank. As this did not sufficiently improve the situation, another cut was made about 4 miles farther downstream, at the so-called lower Mexican heading. In 1905 the river scoured out this cut to river dimensions and in November of that year completely changed its course, sending a flood of water over the broad fiat areas of Imperial Valley. In December, 1906, the river was turned back into its old channel by the construction of the so-called Hind Dam, but broke out again a few weeks later. It was turned back a. second time in February, 1907, by the construction of the Clarke Dam, which is practically a southern extension of the Hind Dam. In 1909, about 20 miles by river below the California boundary line, the river again left its old channel and cut a new channel westerly, dropping its waters into a delta channel known as the Abejas or Bee River. It abandoned its old bed below this point. On the new route it flows westerly into the Volcano Lake region. Its waters there inundate a broad extent of country which is being raised by silt deposit and in which tha copious annual watering has stimulated the growth of willows, brush, and plant growth generally. To the northward the spread of the waters is checked by the Volcano Lake levee, now an embankment about 13 feet high, against which in 1917 for 10 miles or more water stood 7 to 8 feet |
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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. |