SALT DEPOSITS IN BOULDER CANYON RESERVOIR SITE

Ion. CARL HAYDEN,

Washington, D. C.

MIAMI, ARIZ., November 28, 1923.

DEAR SIR: I am inclosing a newspaper clipping which gives a escription of a salt mine or a mountain of salt on the Virgin River southern Nevada which the backwater from the Boulder Canyon Pam would cover, which I believe in time would spoil the water of he Colorado River for irrigation purposes, which would be a detrient to Arizona as well as to the Imperial Valley.

I was at that salt quarry in December, 1876.
Yours very truly,

S. W. KENTON.

PHOENIX MAN SEES DANGER IN SALT MINE

Statements of S. W. Kenton, of Miami, that there were salt mines a the Virgin River within the boundary of the Boulder Canyon ater were confirmed in a letter received yesterday by the governor om J. A. Porterie, assayer, geologist, and metallurgical engineer of hoenix.

Mr. Porterie states that in 1877 he was engaged in quarrying salt rom the two mines, one on either side of the Virgin River about 8 iles from where that river joins the Colorado. He also confirms. he statement of Mr. Kenton regarding the poison spring in the icinity. Mr. Porterie's letter to the governor is as follows:

[r. G. W. P. HUNT.

DEAR GOVERNOR: I have read in the Republican mention of Mr. S. W. enton about the salt mines on the River Virgin within the boundaries of the oulder Canyon watershed or reservoir.

The statement of Mr. Kenton is true. On each side of the Virgin River, bout 8 miles north of its confluence with the Colorado River, there are two lt mountains, one on the east side of the Virgin and one on the west side. hey are about 11⁄2 miles apart and are a continuation of the same salt deposit. he Virgin River crosses the salt rocks at that place. I was engaged in the ear 1877 in quarrying_salt at $10.50 per ton and made plenty of money on my ontract. The quarry I mention is about 200 yards east of the bed of the Virgin ream at low water.

The salt deposit mentioned used to be a salt lake in past geological times and parated from the Colorado stream by a basalt mountain. The continuous ow of the Virgin assisted by cartguages assisted that river in breaking the basalt va obstruction and the salt lake emptied its contents into the Colorado River. I also read of a poison spring in the article mentioned in the Republican In 1878 three Chinamen and two Chinese women traveling from Pioche, Nev., ■ Mineral Park lost their way. They drank some of the waters of the poison oring and died. I assisted in their burial with the men working for me at the lt quarry and the men that owned the ferry on the Colorado crossing, known Bonellis Ferry. It was known at that time as Stoones Ferry. I took a quart ottle of the water and made an analysis of it and found it to contain large proortions of arsenious acid. The salt rock I quarried at that time was hauled by cams to the Colorado River 8 miles away and loaded onto a schooner that used

to come up the river from Yuma and distributed all over Arizona to treat siver ores by the amalgamation process that was in vogue at that time.

The building of the Boulder Canyon will back up the waters impounded a over that former salt lake and dissolve all the salt rocks several hundred fee in thickness and ruin all of the land irrigated by it. I remain, Yours sincerely,

Hon. CARL HAYDEN,

J. A. PORTERIL

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

House of Representatives.

Washington, December 8, 1927.

MY DEAR MR. HAYDEN: In reply to your letter of December 5 inclosing a letter and newspaper clipping from Mr. S. W. Kenton Miami, Ariz., dated November 28.

The possibility of contamination of water in the proposed Boulde Canyon Reservoir by solution of salt from the deposits mentioned tr Mr. Kenton has been carefully considered. It is the unanimous opinion of those who have studied the question that there is abs lutely no chance of harmful contamination of water in the reserved through solution of the salt in these deposits. After a certain am of salt has been dissolved from any of the deposits the silt from abore will slip down, sealing off the remainder of the deposit from the direct action of the water. Any further solution will be extremely slow. The amount of salt dissolved before the deposits are covere will have no appreciable effect on the very large volume of wate which the reservoir will contain.

Mr. Kenton's letter and the newspaper clipping are returned herewith.

Yours very cordially,

GEO. OTIS SMITH, Director.

PROPOSED TUNNEL FROM MARBLE CANYON AND THE LITTLE COLORADO TO THE VERDE RIVER

By C. C. TILLOTSON

Hon. CARL HAYDEN, M. C.,

CLARKDALE, ARIZ., April 5, 1924.

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. HAYDEN: I thank you for the pamphlet covering hearngs before the Federal Power Commission and other things relating o the Swing-Johnson bill.

In connection with the subject of the Colorado River, and particuarly its discussion before the Irrigation Committee, I am sending ou a photostat copy of a map which I recently made.

Last summer while the Arizona Engineering Commission was still n the field and later engaged on its report I examined the Geological Survey maps and discovered that by far the shortest route for divertng the water of the Colorado River to southern Arizona was by way of the Verde River.

I wrote Governor Hunt giving him the outline of my plan early in September, about two months before the publication of the Arizona Engineering Commission report.

Since 1909 I have made a special study of hydroelectric power. In 1913 I began giving particular attention to the Colorado River question and at that time wrote Governor Hunt urging preparation by the State for the big developments to come.

I was then in the engineering department of the Montana Power Co., engaged in the various kinds of work covered by that company and the Great Falls Power Co., Missouri River Power Co., Thompson Falls Power Co., Montana Reservoir & Irrigation Co., and several other companies subsidiary to the Montana Power Co., and continued in that work until 1920, when I came to Arizona again in engineering work for the Phelps Dodge Corporation and the United Verde Copper Co.

I mention the above lest you may think my scheme a half-baked idea of an idle dreamer. Before presenting the plan to Governor Hunt I studied up the lengths of tunnels involved and the cost of large tunnels built in the past. Since then I have gone into the costs of deep mining and hoisting, getting valuable material from the United States Bureau of Mines and from a mine superintendent of years' experience in some of the deep mines in Butte, Mont.

The process of making long tunnels such as I propose consists of boring a few miles from each of the two ends and excavating the materials for the remainder and hoisting it out of shafts, exactly as s done in mines, and as proposed in the longer tunnels shown in the plans of the Arizona Engineering Commission report.

While this work in the longer tunnel I propose is in the class of deep mining work, it does not approach in depth and difficulty the

work that is already being done in many mines in the world. The only serious objection anyone has raised is that the tunnel is so deep it would have to be done from the two ends and would take 40 years to complete. I have the figures to prove that the mining part is not nearly so deep as many mines in the world, nor the dept of the tunnel nearly so far beneath the surface as tunnels already made, so the time required would not be any longer than for other tunnels.

I hope I have your confidence in these statements, but will be very glad to support them with full proof if you wish to have it. If you have any doubts in your mind as to the complete feasibility of the project in any part I trust you will not hesitate to let me know of them. Assuming the feasibility of the plan, there remains the question of cost, and how to meet the cost.

The main features of the project are covered in a synopsis attached to the map. Please take special note of the fact that two and one half million gross horse power is added in the Verde Valley alte and the power below the Verde would be as much or more than the total diverted in any other proposed plan. Also 1,300,000 horse power of this would be unavailable if left in the Grand Canyon but would be available in the Verde River.

My estimate that the cost would be not much over half that of other plans is derived from comparison with plan D of the engineer ing commission report. I believe that the one dam and diversion conduit (of 120 miles probable length) will cost but little more tha half the cost of the three dams and 370 miles of conduit included in plan D, for 134 miles out of the total of 370 in that are tunnels If the cost be met by equitable proportioning according to bene fits, we might get results assumed about as follows:

United States Government, for dam for flood protection..........
Lower Colorado lands now menaced by flood..

Land under water from diversion to Verde River, 2,000,000 acres
at $90.

$40,000.00

Land under water along the Colorado, 300,000 acres, at $90. Power at storage dam, capitalized present value, 600,000 horsepower, at $20..

10,000,000

180,000,000 27,000,

Power along Verde and below (worth more because of smaller transmission losses) at $30....

Power along Colorado due to storage, at $20____

Total contributions___.

374,000.0

These are only rough figures, not claimed to be accurate, but illustrate the possibilities of cooperation.

It has often been said that since the cost development is too gre for the land irrigated to pay for it, the power should pay all ite cost. That is just as preposterous as to say that if the irrigat

value was sufficient to handle the project it should provide t

power free to the mines and every one else, because the irriga paid the cost and the power was a by-product. The only fair way is by a pooling of interests.

The conclusion I draw from the above is that by doing the wei of three dams with one, and replacing 370 miles of conduit with miles, the cost will be reduced so enormously that everyone werkg together can pay the cost, and that the project might under the

circumstances be started right now.

I have great faith in you, Mr. Hayden, as being our most useful presentative in Congress. I believe that you will acquaint yourf with all the facts, find out if this plan of mine is not truly feasle, and when you are convinced that it is, make it known to the rigation Committee and the Federal Power Commission.

This plan perfected and put into execution means just as much the future greatness of Arizona as those that have been prooted by Mr. Maxwell and others but is so much simpler and more actical that I feel sure it will ultimately be selected, purely on

s merits.

I will send copies of the map to Mr. Ashurst and Mr. Cameron

ter.

Yours most sincerely,

C. C. TILLOTSON.

SYNOPSIS OF THE COLORADO-VERDE PROJECT

PRINCIPAL FEATURES

One dam, serving four purposes: (1) Flood prevention by storage f flood water; (2) supply of water by storage to irrigate new land; 3) diversion dam to divert water to the Verde River; (4) equalizing ow increases power available by millions of horsepower.

Tunnels, or tunnel and flume-the shortest route yet discovered. Minimum probable total length, 90 miles. Maximum length, 140 niles to Lees Ferry. Average and probable length about 120 miles. ength of artificial conduit depends on location of dam.

Main canals, the Verde, Salt, and Gila Rivers, provided free by

ature.

ECONOMIC BENEFITS

Irrigation of some 2,000,000 acres of land, besides that along lower Colorado, which is irrigable with or without Colorado-Verde project. wo million acres of land added to Arizona's irrigated area would robably mean 1,000,000 more people-permanent population on roducing farm land-and $1,000,000,000 more wealth in the State. Power increased both in diverted water and that remaining in the Colorado River.

(A) Water for irrigating 2,000,000 acres, diverted, (1) can be used ntirely for power from 3,500-foot elevation to 1,500-foot elevation, dding 2,500,000 gross horsepower to that from the natural flow of he Verde River; 1,300,000 horsepower of this can not be developed f left in the Grand Canyon, because of being in a national park. 2) Salt and Gila Rivers, for the remaining 1,500 feet to sea level vill develop lesser amounts of power according as water has been aken out for irrigation. (3) Canals will furnish power, as do those of the Salt River project, and probably about ten times as much, as here is about ten times as much water.

(B) Water remaining in the Colorado River will develop more Dower because it will be regulated.