MOON LAKE PROJECT UTAH 1 The Moon Lake project 1 was found feasible by the Secretary on January 11, 1935, and approved by the President on November 6, 1935, pursuant to section 4 of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 836), and subsection B of section 4 of the act of December 5, 1924 (43 Stat. 702). OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, THE PRESIDENT, The White House. MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: The Supreme Court of the United States in the Parker Dam decision (United States v. State of Arizona) indicated that Section 4 of the Act of June 25, 1910, 36 Stat., 835, is applicable to irrigation projects constructed under the National Industrial Recovery Act, and this report upon the Moon Lake project, Utah, is made to you under said statute of 1910 and under Subsection B of Section 4 of the Act of December 5, 1924, 43 Stat., 701. Section 4 of the Act of June 25, 1910, provides, in effect, that after the date of that act no irrigation project to be constructed under the Act of June 17, 1902, 32 Stat., 388, and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto shall be undertaken unless and until the project shall have been recommended by the Secretary of the Interior and approved by the direct order of the President. Subsection B, Section 4, Act of December 5, 1924, 43 Stat., 701, provides as follows: That no new projects or new division of a project shall be approved for construction or estimates submitted therefor by the Secretary until information in detail shall be secured by him concerning the water supply, the engineering 1 The Moon Lake Project was initiated under the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933. features, the cost of construction, land prices and the probable cost of development, and he shall have made a finding in writing that it is feasible, that it is adaptable for actual settlement and farm homes, and that it will probably return the cost thereof to the United States. Under date of November 29, 1933, I approved an allotment of $1,500,000 for the construction of the Moon Lake Project, all of which is still available or has been expended toward the construction of the project. The water to be developed by the project will be used for the irrigation of privately owned lands already under irrigation in what is commonly known as the Uintah Basin. The lands are under some nine or ten existing canal companies which have recently formed the Moon Lake Water Users' Association and which association has entered into a contract with the United States to repay the cost of the project. The lands of the project were first settled in 1905 when the Uintah Basin was opened to entry. Most of the area in the basin west of the Ashley Valley is irrigated from the waters of the Uintah, Lake Fork and Duchesne Rivers. There are approximately 85,000 acres of private lands of which 65,000 acres will be benefited by the project. Indian lands in the vicinity of the project which control the prior water rights of all these three streams are fairly well irrigated in most years, while practically all of the private lands experience severe water shortages during the summer seasons of every year. It is the purpose of the Moon Lake Project to furnish an additional water supply for these private lands in order that the severe water shortages may be reduced or eliminated so far as possible. The furnishing of additional water for the project lands will be accomplished by the construction of the Moon Lake Reservoir on the Lake Fork River for the storage of 30,000 acre feet of water, the construction of the Yellowstone feeder canal from the Lake Fork river to the Uintah river, a distance of 34 miles; the construction of the Duchesne feeder canal from the Duchesne river to the Lake Fork river, a distance of 22 miles; and the construction of the Midview reservoir. The capacity of this latter reservoir is 5,000 acre feet, but the plan of use contemplates that it will be filled twice each season. The Moon Lake reservoir, which is now being constructed by contract under the allotment previously mentioned, will be used to furnish water during the middle and late summer months to the stockholders of the Association. The Duchesne feeder canal will be used to divert surplus water from the Duchesne river to the Indian lands in the vicinity of Arcadia and to the Lake Fork river. In both cases water will be furnished to Indian lands thereby making possible the diversion of a like quantity of Indian water by exchange to the higher lands of the Moon Lake Project, and thus make a more economical and advantageous use of the available water supply. The Midview reservoir will be used in conjunction with the operation of the Duchesne feeder canal. The Yellowstone feeder canal will be used to divert water from the Lake Fork river to those lands of the project at present inadequately served by the Uintah river. What is mentioned as Moon Lake project lands are lands which lie under certain existing canals owned by canal and irrigation companies which are participating in the repayment of the cost of constructing the project through and by subscribing for stock to the Moon Lake Water Users' Association. Studies and investigations made by the Bureau of Reclamation indicate that the water supply is adequate for the purpose intended, that the construction of the dams and canals is feasible from an engineering standpoint, that the project can be built within the allotment of $1,500,000 which the Association has agreed to repay (although in the repayment contract the construction of all works except the Moon Lake dam were only contingently provided for) due to the fact that considerable of the work in the construction of the Duchesne feeder canal, Midview reservoir and the Yellowstone feeder canal is being done by CCC camps. I find that the project is feasible, that the land watered thereby is adaptable for actual settlement and farm homes, that the lands are badly in need of an additional water supply, that the continued existence of the community depends upon the furnishing of an additional water supply as contemplated by the project, and that the project will probably return the cost thereof to the United States. I recommend that the project consisting of the Moon Lake reservoir, Duchesne feeder canal, Yellowstone feeder canal and Midview reservoir, and which is already under process of construction, be approved, that any steps or action heretofore taken toward the construction of the same be ratified, and that authority be issued to this Department to proceed with the work and to make contracts and take any necessary action to construct and complete the project. Sincerely yours, (Signed) HAROLD L. ICKES, Secretary of the Interior. Approved November 6, 1935. (Signed) FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT, President. NEWLANDS PROJECT NEVADA The Newlands project, originally called Truckee or TruckeeCarson project, was authorized by the Secretary under the Reclamation Act of 1902 on March 14, 1903; examined and reported upon by a Board of Army Engineers and approved by the President on January 5, 1911, pursuant to the Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 835). See the Director's recommendation of March 7, 1903 (p. 10), and the Secretary's authorization of March 14, 1903 (p. 14). The Truckee-Carson project was renamed the Newlands project by the Secretary on February 27, 1919. NEWTON PROJECT UTAH The Newton project was found feasible by the Acting Secretary on October 12, 1940, and approved by the President on October 17, 1940, under the terms of the Water Conservation and Utilization Act of August 11, 1939, as amended. Completion of the project was approved by the President on August 31, 1943. THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, THE PRESIDENT, The White House, (Through the Bureau of the Budget). MY DEAR MR. PRESIDENT: In accordance with the requirements of the Act of August 11, 1939 (53 Stat. 1418), as amended, I submit this report on the Newton irrigation project in Cache County, Utah, and request your approval of the findings and certifications contained herein. PROJECT PLAN The proposed work involves the construction of a reservoir of 5,200 acre-feet capacity on Clarkston Creek to supplement the water supply for 1,660 acres of irrigated land and to provide a full water supply for 565 acres of good, arable land near Newton, Utah. An area near the town of Clarkston, above the reservoir site, also will participate in the project to a minor extent. The lands are all under cultivation and for the most part under ditch, but because of lack of late season water cannot be intensively farmed. Construction of the project will assist greatly in stabilizing the agricultural and economic situation of the area. The principal engineering feature will be an earth-filled dam 109 feet high above the stream bed and 640 feet long on the crest. The water distribution system has already been constructed. |