Imperial County CA Archives History - Books .....The Laguna Dam And Its Purpose 1918
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Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com February 14, 2006, 4:21 am

Book Title: History Of Imperial County California

THE LAGUNA DAM AND ITS PURPOSE

   Much has been said concerning the project of putting the water system under
the Laguna Dam at some future time. This is known as the Yuma Project.-Twelve
miles north of Yuma, on the Colorado, the water falls between two rocky
headlands, Laguna on the Arizona side, and Potholes in Imperial County. These
rocks are about one mile apart, and the government has built a weir which cost
$1,650,000. This is a fixed spillway ten feet from the bed of the channel, and
water may be taken from the sluiceways at either end of the weir. The purpose
here is to partially settle the water which is taken into the distributing
canals, the top being skimmed for irrigation purposes, and the silt carried back
into the river with the surplus. The total cost of this structure in Imperial
County is about $750,000, in addition to the dam itself. Most of this work has
been completed. The reasons for the diversion of this water under the river are,
first, the only available site for such a structure was at Laguna, and second,
that the entrance of the Gila River on the east prevented carrying the water in
canals in Arizona to the Yuma lands, which lie below the level of the Gila
stream. Many plans have been proposed to put this Valley system under this
diversion weir. But there seem to have been insurmountable objections to all of
these thus far. And among these is the opposition of the people to any plan
placing their water system under the control of the government Reclamation
Service because of its antagonistic attitude from the start.

   The opening of the Yuma Reservation lands to settlement in 1910 added some
173 farms to those already in the county. These average about forty acres each
and are proving very productive under the excellent water system provided. These
farms pay $65 an acre for water rights under the Laguna project.

   The Yuma Indian School was built by the United States army in 1848, and it
stands on an historic hill. Generals Fremont and Kearney made their headquarters
on this hill on many occasions, and for ten years a large garrison was
maintained there. It was the scene of many battles with the Indians, and there
are still many marks of those conflicts. While these Yuma Indians are now quiet
and docile, they do not take kindly to American civilization, as most other
aborigines do. There appears to be a discouraging tendency among the tribesmen
to return to their native ways after they leave school.


Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

THE HISTORY
OF
IMPERIAL COUNTY
CALIFORNIA
EDITED BY
F. C. FARR

IN ONE VOLUME
ILLUSTRATED
Published by ELMS AND FRANKS
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA 1918


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