overflow, say every seventh year, and a dry river in a like period, no system of irrigation for the Rio Grande can prove satisfactory that does not embrace a grand storage system sufficient both to restrain, to a great extent at least, the tidal flow and maintain a constant annual flow, especially since the great emigration and settlement in its valley is constantly doubling the demand for water. Being on leave of absence in the city of El Paso recently, where I was a citizen before the war, having surveyed the first plat of the town and being well known to most of its citizens, I was invited by the city council to submit to it a plan for water supply and irrigation that would overcome the difficulties above referred to. It at once occurred to me that as the Rio Grande was the joint property of the two nations, and especially as the Mexicans had used its waters since time when "the memory of man runneth not to the contrary," that any plan to be acceptable and satisfactory must be international in character, and the works, both before and after completion, under the joint Federal control of the two nations, the more so as riparian rights in this country, so far as regards irrigation, are not well defined by law, and could be best brought about in this instance by treaty stipulations between the two countries. The matter of restraining the tidal flow by storing the water, and thus protect the constantly changing national boundary, occurred to me-if it could be introduced into the project-as likely to secure encouragement and substantial aid by liberal appropriations in money from both Governments. And further, that El Paso, being now a city of over 11,000 population, and having every prospect of being a large manufacturing city at no distant day-there being no place within 500 miles likely to compete with it-the subject of water power ought also to enter into the problem, which of necessity is of such vast proportions as to require all incidental aid possible to attach to it to insure its suc cess. It will be apparent, from what has been written, that the Rio Grande is one of the first magnitude, not only in length and breadth but for short annual periods in devastating flow of waters, and that its general characteristics, as compared with other rivers with reference to irrigation, are so abnormal as to require different or more heroic treatment. I therefore projected a scheme which may be briefly outlined as follows: To build a strong dam of stones and cement-say, 60 feet highin the pass before referred to, and, by submerging about 60,000 acres of land now subject to overflow and of little comparative value, create a vast lake 15 miles long by 7 wide, with a probable storage capacity of 4,000,000,000 cubic yards of water; place gates on each side of the river in the dam at the 50-foot level for waste weirs and irrigating canals to supply each side of the river and keep up a flow in its bed which would bring the water in the canals 70 feet above the streets in the cities of El Paso and Juarez, respectively. The gates at the 50-foot level would give an available reserve of water of 10 feet over the entire surface of the lake-over 2,000,000,000 cubic yards-which would be exhausted during the long season of little flow for the purposes of irrigation and other needs, as well as maintaining a constant stream in the river beds so arranged as to exhaust the reserve about the period of annual flood, which would be checked and held in reserve for the next season of little flow, and in this manner produce a comparatively constant and unvarying flow of water for each entire year below the dam, redeeming many times the number of acres submerged above in the lake from overflow below, and fixing permanently the national boundary, the banks of the river, as well as the boundaries and titles to private lands, and making it an easy matter to collect duties and prevent smuggling, detect crimes and misdemeanors generally, arrest and punish criminals, as it is along other national boundaries. The assumed flow given for the 75 days of high water will give about 6,500,000,000 cubic yards, and that for the remaining 290 days 1,500,000,000, making an aggregate annual flow of 8,000,000,000 cubic yards. If we allow 2,000,000,000 of this for loss by evaporation and other wastes, which former in this dry atmosphere is very great, perhaps 20 inches, we have 6,000,000,000 cubic yards remaining. This should be divided into three equal parts, one for each side of the river, for irrigation and other needs, and the third for overflow, through water motors, to furnish power to the future manufacturing cities on each side and to maintain a constant flow in the river below to the Gulf, as would no doubt be demanded by the people there as their right ere they would permit the scheme to be carried out. The 2,000,000,000 cubic yards falling a distance of 50 feet over the dam, estimating the weight of a cubic yard of water at 500 pounds, and 1 horsepower the energy required to lift 33,000 pounds 1 foot in a minute, would expend energy equal to over 10,000 horsepower for eight hours every day in the year and produce a constant stream in the bed of the river 26 yards wide by 1 foot deep, running with a velocity of 5 miles per hour, to say nothing of the probability that the greater part of the other two-thirds would find its way again to the river bed through the earth and air, the whole flowing in a steady, continuous stream to the mouth of the river, to be used as required at any season of the year, instead of, as is now the case, three fourths of the entire mass of the annual flow going rapidly to the Gulf in the short period of 75 days untaxed. Estimating the amount of water required for annual irrigation at 20 inches, the water reserved for that purpose would be sufficient for 1,000,000 acres on each side of the river-all that could be reclaimed from the desert for 100 miles below. To carry out this project I recommended to the people on each side of the Rio Grande that they petition to the executive authority of their respective nations for the creation of a joint commission to draw up the necessary treaty stipulations to protect the work and the rights of all interested in them, the fundamental feature of which should certainly be that each nation should have the right to divert no more than one-third of the flow at any period, and that one-third of the flow should be maintained in the bed of the river, and that this international commission have charge and control of the work after completion as well as during construction. That the legislative authorities of the two nations be asked to appropriate, after complete investigations and estimates have been made, money sufficient to complete the work, probably $100,000 for the dam proper, $100,000 for the condemnation of the 50,000 acres of land to be submerged, and $100,000 for the removal of some 15 miles of the roadbed of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad to bluffs above the old bed of the river, where the track now lies, subject to annual damage, and sooner or later total destruction, unless removed. It will also be apparent that the waters of this great lake will be clear and fresh, the silt held in suspension in the current of the river being precipitated as soon as it enters the still water of the lake, doing away with the great trouble and expense now necessary in keeping the canals and ditches cleansed of sedimentary deposits, and a further great benefit derived from using water reduced in temperature by exposure for months in a warm climate far below that used in the early spring, which comes in three days from snow and ice and is immediately applied to the young and tender sprouting plants, chilling and checking their growth. I know of no point in the Rio Grande between Albuquerque and the Gulf of Mexico where nature has provided both the natural basin and rim for a lake of such great dimensions, for, indeed, it can be made 100 feet deep if desired, and it may be questioned whether a depth of 60 feet, with 10 feet reserve to draw from, will afford sufficient storage to control perfectly the tide at its highest flow. This project was well received by the people and has been earnestly discussed in the public press of the locality ever since with general approbation and a disposition to endeavor to carry it out as quickly as possible; the only question exciting any general distrust being that of the sedimentary deposit in the lake, which, it is held by some, will shorten the life of the reservoir by filling the lake at such an early period as to render the scheme of doubtful expediency, and opinions differ very widely upon this subject, which is, indeed, a problematical one, and can only be determined, even approximately, by actual measurements of a great majority of the annual flow, for the quantity of sediment changes with flow and season. That the bed of the river will eventually be filled, of course, is only a matter of time, but whether in 15 or 150 years can only be ascertained by prolonged, actual measurements; but even if filled in the near future it seems to me that the difficulty may be overcome by raising the dam, unless, indeed, that should be required too often. The matter has already been referred to Major Powell, chief of the Geological Survey, who has sent Capt. Clarence Dutton, of his department, to El Paso to investigate and report on the feasibility of the scheme; but as the initial steps, should it be pronounced feasible, must come from your department in the nature of international treaty stipulations, I have thought it proper to thus early acquaint you with the grand project. I beg to refer you to Hon. Mr. Lanham, Member of Congress from Texas, who is acquainted with me personally and my projected scheme. SIR: I am obliged to you for the exceedingly interesting memorandum you have sent me under date of the 10th instant, in relation to your plan for an international dam and water storage in the Rio Grande River, near El Paso in Texas. As I informed you in our late personal interview at the department, the sundry features of engineering and treatment of the Rio Grande, are now undergoing examination by two military engineers of Mexico and the United States, respectively. When the reports of these two engineers have been made, and some plan of international agreement outlined, I think the further sug gestion contained in your communication to me can be advantageously considered and possibly be engrafted upon any international arrangements that may be agreed upon. Very respectfully yours, T. F. BAYARD. Col. Anson Mills, Supervising Engineer, Geological Survey, to Col. E. S. Nettleton. FORT BLISS, TEX., October 10, 1889. SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of my investigations in connection with the United States Geological Survey. My relations with that part of the Government service, which are rather anomalous, came about in the following manner: While on leave of absence here last fall I submitted to the city council of El Paso a grand project for a dam and reservoir in the Rio Grande above this place. Later on, while in Washington, I presented the same to the Director of the Geological Survey, Major Powell, who gave me such kindly encouragement that on the 10th of December, at the request of the then Secretary of State, Mr. Bayard, I wrote and he had printed a detailed explanation of my project, which is inclosed herewith, marked "Appendix A.” In April, at the instance of Major Powell, I received the following order from the War Department: SPECIAL ORDERS, [Extract.] HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMY, ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE, * 6. With the approval of the Secretary of War, Maj. Anson Mills, Tenth Cavalry, will report for temporary duty to the commanding officer, Fort Bliss, Tex. In addition to his military duties at that post he is authorized to extend his services in every proper way when they may be requested to the officers of the Interior Department in charge of the Geological Survey on that part of the Rio Grande 60 miles north and 60 miles south of El Paso, Tex., this survey having for its object the redemption of areas of irrigable lands in the Rio Grande Valley. The travel enjoined is necessary for the public service. By command of Major General Schofield: Official. Major Mills, Worcester, Mass. R. C. DRUM, Adjutant General. J. C. KELTON, Assistant Adjutant General. 1 [For enclosure, see ante, p. 183.-Agent's note.] |