WATER FOR THE THIRSTY LAND

MOUNTAIN STORM

One lamb-white cloud appeared to browse In the azure above the aspen boughs, When suddenly on the western rim Thunderheads loomed, majestic, grim, As lightning forked through the stormy wrack And black was piled on deeper black. Abruptly, all the heavens fell And furious torrents crashed pellmell On every crag where treetops swayed Beneath that gusty fusillade. Booming from peak to echoing peak, Thunder drowned out the gale's thin shriek, While the only color the sky could show Was an angry smudge, a saffron glow Low in the east . . . then it lightened, spread Till, just as swiftly, the tumult fled, Rainbows sprang over granite brows, And diamonds dripped from the aspen boughs.

Civilizations in the past have crumbled and their mighty empires turned to dust because of the inability of the people to provide water for thirsty lands in time of drought. It was all well and good for them to have faith and to depend on the generous gods to bring them the rain for their crops, but when no rains came-then what? The people perished or were forced to move on to greener pastures, all their works to be abandoned to the relentless sun and wind and eventually vanish.

Here in Arizona, in the most arid part of this continent, within the confines of Maricopa County, is a flourishing agricultural empire of some 250,000 acres of rich farmlands reclaimed from the desert by man's vision and a series of dams on the Salt and Verde rivers. The Salt River Project, as we know it, could well be described as one of America's outstanding accomplishments. Here are a few facts and fancy figures of what the Project has meant to the Nation: The federal government's original investment to finance the project was $10,166,000, about one-seventh the cost of a modern battleship. That has been paid back in full, the last payment being made last fall.

Uncle Sam never spent a wiser dollar.

Since 1910, when the Project first started, crop production, now totalling $57,000 annually, is 20 times greater than the output before the project was built.

Since 1934 the federal government has received $609,000,000 in income and excise taxes from Maricopa County alone.

Investors holding bonds in the Project have been paid $21,000,000 in interest.

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"ARIZONA CANAL" BY CHARLES NIEHUIS. Arizona Canal is one of the Canals in the Salt River Valley bringing water to thirty farmlands. This particular scene is near the Papago Bass Hatchery, a few miles east of Phoenix. Speed Graphic, 4x5 Ektachrome, Ektar lens, f.16 at 1/20th second.

WATER

And the Project itself has invested $78,000,000 in expanding facilities.

Maricopa County's population, about 500,000 (and still growing) is 35 times greater than it was in 1910, before the completion of Roosevelt Dam.

In dollars and cents the Salt River Project is a mighty big thing.

The canal system serving the Valley is also something to talk about. Based on a per acre allotment of 3.00 acre feet of water here are some canal figures: Arizona Canal-37.92 miles in length and on an average carries about 250,000 acre feet of grav-ity and pump water per year to serve 71,000 acres.

Grand Canal-25.13 miles in length, carrying about 202,000 acre feet of gravity and pump water to serve about 55,000 acres.

Consolidated Canal-27 miles in length, carrying about 192,000 acre feet of gravity and pump water to serve 45,000 acres.

Eastern Canal-13.75 miles in length, carrying about 98,000 acre feet of gravity and pump water to serve 22,000 acres.

Tempe and Western Canals-34.76 miles in length, carrying about 240,000 acre feet of gravity and pump water to serve 48,000 acres.

Two very important factors regarding these major canals are often overlooked. One is that they ring the Valley forming an overflow system to collect flood waters from lands surrounding the Salt River Valley. As an example, upper end of the Arizona Canal can carry flood waters through the system at a rate of 900,000 gallons per minute. The second item is that the canals introduce moisture during the extremely dry days of summer to make the desert more liveable.

Water for thirsty lands, Arizona style, makes a pretty picture.

MY EVERLASTING HILLS

My hills seem everlasting Not a movement, not a change Save for colors, awe inspiring When the seasons tint the range.

I've watched the early rising sun Paint peaks with morning's gold, Saw them blister in the mid-day heat Turn blue at evening's cold.

I've seen them bathed in moonlight And drenched in summer rain, And darkened by the storm crest With an evil looking mane.

In them I caught a rabbit With a simple boyish snare, And coughed to clear my throat of dust While cutting cattle there.

I played in them in childhood Rode through them as a man, They gave me pleasure and livelihood To me in my life span.

And when God Says time ends for me And my soul He calls to eternity.

Let my body rest in the brawny breast Of my everlasting hills.

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"SUNSET ON THE ARIZONA CANAL" BY CHARLES NIEHUIS. This view was taken on the Arizona canal northeast of Scottsdale. Water stored in the dams along the Apache Trail is sent through this and other canals to irrigate the farm lands in the Salt River Valley. When asked for camera information for this photograph the photographer replied: "I came upon this scene suddenly. I grabbed my camera and just guessed. The exposure, you could say, was by heck and by gosh."