Mr. CHILDERS. That is partially true. On the other handSenator PITTMAN. Hydroelectric power, I am in favor of it, and I am satisfied the Government will be in favor of it, but whether the capacity should be 15,000,000 acre-feet, or sixteen, or seventeen, or eighteen, or nineteen, or twenty, we don't know, and it is an engineering proposition. That is the reason I regretted that you put any definite figures in there. We are going to all contend for as much as we can get. Mr. CHILDERS. We hope we will get it, Senator. The CHAIRMAN. Will you now conclude your statement? Mr. CHILDERS. I have just one more sentence here that I will read. All this is being done without protest of the United States or without any treaty or legal obligations in any manner concerning this water for irrigation. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Childers, when do these contracts with the foreign corporation expire? Mr. CHILDERS. In perpetuity so far as the contract is concerned. The CHAIRMAN. Would there be any change in the operation of the present canal if the Government should construct for the water users the All-American Canal? Mr. CHILDERS. I assume, Senator, that so far as the district is concerned it would be abandoned. The contract provides that of the water that is carried into Mexico one-half of it must be left there if demanded. We are under no obligation to carry any water into Mexico. And if that necessity were obviated we would not, of course, deliberately carry water down there that we might give it away. The CHAIRMAN. Then, as I understand, the irrigable acreage in Mexico would receive no water in case of construction of the AllAmerican Canal? Mr. CHILDERS. No; I would not so understand it, Senator, that would be the legal situation in the absence of treaty; but we take it that the Government of the United States is going to be fair with Mexican lands, as we hope they will be, and the lands that are actually receiving water will continue to receive water in some form from this river. The CHAIRMAN. The Senator from Colorado. Senator PHIPPS. Mr. Childers, your irrigation district at the present time is under agreement with the United States Government to take its heading from Laguna Dam instead of from the present point below Yuma? Mr. CHILDERS. Yes, sir. Senator PHIPPS. And taking it from the Laguna Dam you would be getting the other waters of the Colorado and no water from the Gila River; is that correct? Mr. CHILDERS. That would be true; I think that is, generally speaking, true, anyway. We take very little water; the Gila, as I understand it and I think it is correct-is more of a menace to us than it is of a benefit, because it is undependable; it comes down in great flashes once in a while. Most of the time it is wholly dry. I believe for two years we received no water, until two weeks ago there was a small amount came down the Gila. COLORADO RIVER BASIN Senator PHIPPS. This flood menace from the Gila that contended with in the past, do you expect that to be cured by the you have Government dam that has been authorized on the Gila? Mr. CHILDERS. I understand there is two or three projects on the Gila that will probably, at least, very materially remedy that situation. Now, the Gila, if I remember correctly, we never have had but one serious flood from the Gila. A number of years ago, in January, I think it was, we had a large flood come down the Gila. Senator PHIPPS. A former witness testified that the Gila came down at times to the extent of 200,000 second-feet. Mr. CHILDERS. That is exactly what I am talking about, Senator. And I think at one time we have had that condition. Of course, when that happens it is quite a serious condition. However, the Gila comes up quickly and goes down quickly. Even if it flowed into the Imperial Valley it would not inundate the valley by any means. It is a thing, of course, that we want to get rid of, and the construction of a weir that has been authorized on the Gila will very likely take care of it. Senator SHORTRIDGE. Mr. Chairman. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Shortridge. Senator SHORTRIDGE. Has the contract you were speaking of been incorporated in the record? Mr. CHILDERS. I think it was in Washington last winter, but if it has not, I will be very glad to furnish a copy, and I will attend to that, Senator, so we may have it. Senator SHORTRIDGE. So that the record may speak clearly, so we may understand it-In whom is the title to the stock of the corporation? Mr. CHILDERS. It is in five directors of the district, whoever they may be at the time. Senator SHORTRIDGE. Are the directors the legal or equitable owners? Mr. CHILDERS. Well, we would say legal owners. Senator SHORTRIDGE. Do they hold the title in trust, or do they hold it as legal owners-in personal ownership? There seems to be a confusion in the record in regard to that matter. Mr. CHILDERS. Yes, there is. And it is a matter that is somewhat delicate. The contract provides that stock can not be held by a foreign state or country. Senator SHORTRIDGE. What contract? Mr. CHILDERS. The contract as between Mexico and the Mexican Corporation. Senator SHORTRIDGE. Yes, I see. Mr. CHILDERS. Now, as I said awhile ago, we have endeavored to live up very strictly to the terms of that contract. It has never been decided; we have not attempted to decide just what the effect of the district directors holding that stock might be. They hold it and we assume that they own it. Senator SHORTRIDGE. The contract is in writing, and it will appear in the record? Mr. CHILDERS. Yes, I will furnish a copy of it for the record. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you, Mr. Childers. The next witness is R. W. Shoemaker, who will discuss the value of power in the AllAmerican Canal. Mr. Shoemaker, will you take the stand? STATEMENT OF R. W. SHOEMAKER Mr. SHOEMAKER. Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee, the part that I wish to discuss is a very small part of the proposition as a whole. There are two power developments in this project, one of them being the Boulder Canyon, about which I am not mentioning. The CHAIRMAN. Will you please speak a little louder so the Senators can hear you? Mr. SHOEMAKER. There are two power developments possible in this project. The one that I am discussing is not the Boulder Canyon power development. The CHAIRMAN. You are to confine yourself to the All-American Canal, aren't you? Mr. SHOEMAKER. That is it exactly. But I wanted to make it clear to the committee that there are two power developments possible in this project. Now, this power development comes in this way, that here on the Laguna Dam the water is of an elevation of, roughly, 140 feet above sea level. And at this point here [indicating on map] it is 250 feet below. The CHAIRMAN. Designate those last points so the record will show. Mr. SHOEMAKER. Salton Sea. Consequently, this water as coming from the Laguna Dam to the Imperial district is capable of developing power; the water has sufficient flow. Now, if it happens that there are three points, major points, one at Pilot Knob, one here, just before the main canal is taken off, and one farther down here [indicating], right about that point-I don't know how to designate it. Senator SHORTRIDGE. Beginning where? Mr. SHOEMAKER. Right about here, just west of sand hills. Now, I have only had a very short time to look into this, but in a general way, there is about 40,000 to 50,000 horsepower that must be developed at these points, and the value of that power, while it is somewhat problematical, due to the possible effect of the Boulder Canyon Dam, should be approximately equal to the fixed charges on the cost of the All-American Canal; we will say about 75 or 80 per cent. The CHAIRMAN. Does that include the cost of the refund of the money, interest, and the maintenance and operation charges? Mr. SHOEMAKER. No; I am just speaking now of the actual development of the All-American Canal. Senator DILL. Would it to build a dam? Mr. SHOEMAKER. No; in carrying the water from Laguna Dam down the canal you come to a point where you have got to make a change in elevation. Now, there are two ways of doing it; you can take it to a point and let it make a waterfall or you can let it go through turbines and generate power. Now, if the power is not developed, there will have to be a waterfall there, with the only value being scenic. If the power is developed it will pass through turbines and power will be developed. There are other points below that where it would be possible to develop power, all of which could be collected together into one system, but on those points I am not prepared at the present time to make any statement. The CHAIRMAN. Are you prepared to offer the committee an estimate of the cost of this development? Mr. SHOEMAKER. That has been already done. There is an estimate in the report, an estimate of about $800,000; I think that figure is certainly ample to cover the cost of the power itself. I think that is about all that I have to say. The CHAIRMAN. Then you make this simple point-it is an interesting one to me: If you develop the water power of the All-American Canal, the land that would be irrigated would not have imposed upon it any additional burden for bringing the water into the valley? Mr. SHOEMAKER. I believe so, very little, if any. The CHAIRMAN. Does any member desire to ask any questions? Senator JOHNSON. Just state your occupation, will you please, Mr. Shoemaker? Mr. SHOEMAKER. I am electrical engineer for the Turlock irrigation district. Senator JOHNSON. You have developed the power at that district, have you? Mr. SHOEMAKER. Yes, sir. Senator JOHNSON. And it is a going concern and a successful municipally operated power district? Mr. SHOEMAKER. Also electrical engineer for the Merced irrigation district, doing the same thing. The CHAIRMAN. Thank you very much, Mr. Shoemaker. Senator JOHNSON. Mr. Chairman, would you transpose, if you please, the next two, and have Mr. Jennings follow instead of Mr. Rose, and Mr. Frisbie? One of the gentlemen has been called away and Mr. Jennings is here. The CHAIRMAN. Am very glad to do that. Is Mr. Jennings present? Senator JOHNSON. Doctor Jennings; he is here, Senator. STATEMENT OF DOCTOR JENNINGS The CHAIRMAN. The title of your discussion is "Additional lands to be irrigated by All-American Canal and Coachella Valley interests." You may state your relations to the project or your present occupation, Doctor. Doctor JENNINGS. I am a physician by occupation, sir; rancher. Senator JOHNSON. How long have you lived there? Doctor JENNINGS. Since January 1, 1912. Senator JOHNSON. How much land are you interested in there, Doctor? Doctor JENNINGS. One hundred acres, all under state of cultivation. Senator JOHNSON. Have you made a study of this particular matter? Doctor JENNING. The irrigation of the Coachella Valley, I have tried to, Senator Johnson, as I am a member of the board of directors of the Coachella Valley water district. Senator JOHNSON. All right; will you proceed? Doctor JENNINGS. I have reduced my remarks to writing, upon request, and in the interest of time. It is my duty as well as my pleasure to address this committee as an official representative of the board of directors of the Coachella Valley County Water District, a public organization under and by virtue of the laws of the State of California, and unofficially as a representative of the unorganized land, publicly and privately owned, not included within the boundaries of the Imperial irrigation district nor within the boundaries of the Coachella Valley County water district. The purpose of these remarks will be to impress upon this committee the necessity and the advisability of securing for these lands a competent water supply from the Colorado River. This great river, at once our fear and at the same time our hope, in times of flood threatens to destroy the development in a large part of Imperial and Riverside Counties, that part known as the Salton Sink. On the other hand, because of our geographical position, it affords the only source of dependable irrigation water for the lands in question; consequently we are spending our best efforts not only to assist in the proper development and control of the lower Colorado River but also to provide a way by the construction of the AllAmerican and High Line Canals to make use of this controlled river upon the lands within the United States that are possible of reclamation by the use of these waters. You have heard of the development in the great Imperial Valley, and while my remarks will bear chiefly upon the development of the lands in the Coachella district, what I will have to say will serve as an index of the return that could be reasonably expected from the vast body of land, both privately and publicly owned, now lying dormant because of no water supply, or partially developed because of an inadequate supply of water, because conditions are practically identical. The lands I have referred to may be visualized by referring to the map, as it will depict not only the areas within the various subdivisions under consideration, but also the acreage the engineers of the Reclamation Service believe to be the most feasible of and proper for immediate development in each of the subdivisions. Thus we find in the Imperial irrigation district a total of 515,000 acres, of which 100,000 acres yet remain to be reclaimed; in the East Side Mesa there are 160,000 acres of land with none under cultivation; in the Dos Palmas area 5,000 acres with a few acres under partial development. The lands within the boundaries of the Coachella Valley County water district amount to 72,000 acres. Of this amount the survey made by the Water Commission of the State of California, in 1923, shows that 13,000 acres are under cultivation; and last, the West Side Mesa lands, comprising 33,000 acres, of which some few acres are under cultivation. In the aggregate this represents 270,000 acres of land outside of the boundaries of the Imperial irrigation district, or a grand total of 785,000 acres against which it is intended to charge the construction costs for the AllAmerican Canal, amounting to $29,793,000, or a per acre charge of approximately $37, excluding Mexican lands. |