OCR Text |
Show First water was available in 1953 through works constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation. By contract dated June 8, 1950, the Eden Valley Irrigation and Drainage District assumed responsibility for repayment of construction cost of $75 an acre over a 60-year period with the remaining costs to be repaid from revenues of the Colorado River Storage Project. Operation and maintenance is being performed by the Bureau of Reclamation, financed by funds advanced by the District. Short water supplies in some years, short growing season, limited crop production, general economic conditions, and farm management have been factors limiting farm income. Rehabilitation and Improvement The Farmers Home Administration, Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service, the Soil Conservation Service, and the Bureau of Reclamation have been active in improving adverse project conditions. The House of Representatives Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the 87th Congress in House Report No. 1728 suggested the appointment of a review commission to study all reclamation projects in the State of Wyoming. The results were published in 1963. The Bureau of Reclamation has continued study of the adverse situation on the Eden Project. As a step in alleviating water shortages on the Eden Project, a contract in the amount of $461,981 was awarded for lining selected sections of the Means Canal and West Side Lateral on January 21, 1966. This work was completed in spring of 1967. Other minor contracts to improve the operation and efficiency of project canals and laterals are being undertaken in fiscal year 1968. During April, 1967, a $13,591 contract was awarded for widening and deepening the 2.7-mile-long Little Sandy Feeder Canal. The work was completed late in September, 1967. Bids were taken October 5, 1967, for enlarging a half-mile reach of the McComas Lateral and placing compacted earth lining in one mile of the lateral. Other work to be undertaken during fiscal year 1968 includes placing shale beach belt protection on the Eden Canal and replacement or enlargement of turnouts on West Side Canal to make all turnouts capable of delivering 12 cubic feet of water per second. The Bureau of Reclamation has also scheduled award of a contract for constructing a return flow pumping plant and discharge pipeline for augmenting project water supply. 129 |