AZ vs. CA:16 California Exhibits, Vol. XVI; Nos. 2600-2644

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As a natter of historical significance it is to be noted that in keeping 'tilth the new ->olicy originally expressed in the 1904 Act, Con^recc did by tlie Act of April 13, 1906 (35 &tat., 77) provide for the establishment of the present town cite of Parkjr, Arizona (see Appendix A). The present pumping plant and irrigation system were installed under authority of the Act of April Ut 1910 (36 Stat., 273) which provided in part as follows: For the construction of a i>unping plant to be used for irrigation purposes on the Colorado River Reservation, together with the necessary canals and laterals, for the utilization of water in connection therewith, for the purpose of securing an appropriation of water for the irrigation of approximately one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, fifty thousand dollars, to be reimbursed fron the sale of the surplus lands of the reservation. Continuance of construction and the subsequent operation and maintenance of the system thus authorized, has been provided for in the annual acts of Congress to date. The land within the present pumping project was practically all cleared and leveled by lessees through improvement leases generally piecemeal, a small farm at a time. This method was unsatisfactory, the period of the lease being so short that the work was hurriedly and poorly done and the various allotments were leveled and subjugated as separate units, which does not provide for economical operation of largo areas. Then again the early subjugation and the planning of the distributing system were based on the use of the then muddy waters of the Colorado, Now that the water has been cleared by storage behind the Boulder Dam both the ditches and fields must be realigned. v;hile the present project was planned for 6,100 acres the capacity of the pumps, there have been 10,000 acres in all cleared, leveled and farmed at one time or another over the years since work was begun. Approximately 4,000 acres of the original area, however, became waterlogged resulting in heavy surface deposits of alkali. Since no adequate drainage was provided the farmers were forced to move on to new land, abandoning the old area to the desert growth. AUTHORIZATION OF SURVEX3 LOOKING TOWARD IRRIGATION OF 100,000 ACRES Obviously one of the purposes of this Act of April U, 1910 was to "file" on Colorado River water for the irrigation of a maximum of 150,000 acres of land; certainly it was not expected that $50,000 would construct a system of sufficient capacity to irrigate a tract of that size. The Act