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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 29, 1956)
Sunday. July 23. 1951 HehabilitationOf Srrigotiosi Sy Under Way stems $1,712,000 Program to Continue Five Years A8PCT WALL Tbp 175-for.t lonZ 3': foot hizh parappt wall along he rrcsl of Fourmile lake cam. one of t'.'.o rehabilitation IlIP-RAF WORK New rip rap long the face of Fish lake dam rear to reinforce the face of the r . - , iii CONCRETE SIPHON A 60-unh precast con crete siphon 645 feet long will replace tne flume pictured above at the junction of North LAKE CREEK SIPHON A 60 concrete siphon S45 feet long dhis 4irt.foot metal flume a- . z C' ocean penmsuia. Th suit char:- BID REJECTED Property Owner Hies ensmee ,v..n(i.d Fnr,;,ndu-co!. jackson Suit Against Engineers the Tillamook bay jetty in 1333. Graham. Portland district en Portland li.t- The Army ciaPin- the natural course of eineer. said Saturday the S107, Corps of Engineers is defendant ocean C;irrPnts and causing sand ; 600 bid of F. S. Somers of Med in a $9000 damage suit filed "i . erosion w hich resulted m the ford for repair of th north Federal Court here Friday by the j cottages falling into the sea. i iottv ?, the mo o t) c attornev for a Bayocean property - Octopi have the abilitv to quille river had been reiected owner. , , , , Mtornev John Reynolds said ! change color through the expan- . because it was more than 25 per he filed the suit in behalf of Ly- sion and contraction of pigment cent over lb- government esti- man Latourette of 1'oi'tiann who , owned 42 cottages on the Bay, ... . k .-. . structure. i. constructed to from washing was placed earlier this dam. Rock . iv JT.,' - ? " was taken from the site of the new spillway, which will be constructed to the risht of, construction metal in foreground. and Souln Porks of Little Butte creek. The siphon will be in the cleared area just left of the present structure. ft - incti precast will replace Lake Cr.eek. sM.u. - . skin. ?tiown abo'.e. The wall was prevent water, in hiah winds, oer the top of the dam. :' -. - ...-... - t . f . -;ir s ss5 'mi" a 5 i Loose rock at right of structure is where the new siphon will he constructed once water has s'opped flowing later this ear. i. mt un,; diq re- ceived. Rehabilitation of system : which first carried irrigation wa ter into Rogue valley in 1902, was started last year in a joint project undertaken by Medford ! and Rogue Valley Irrigation dis-; tricts. Tne SI, 712. 000 program, av proved by voters in both districts j at a special election July 15 last I vear. will continue for about . another five years, but major portions in the program in the two districts will be completed as soon as possible. Work at Fourmile lake, stor age reservoir for the districts, has been completed; work at Fish lake, from which water is drawn daily during the irrigation sea son, will be completed this fall: and rehabilitation work along the main and individual district canals has started. Replac Flumei Copenhagen and company, Portland, will start work on re placing two metal flumes with precast concrete siphons when the irrigation season ends. Bids are expected to be called soon on two spihons in the main canal, which carries water from North Fork Little Butte creek to Brad shaw drop, where it is divided between the districts. The rehabilitation program was deemed imperative to insure a dependable water supply to district lands for continued high agricultural production. The pro gram will put both irrigation systems in first class operating condition and will reduce pres ent leakage and waste. Among the rehabilitation work completed or scheduled are the following: Spillway Reconstruction Fourmile lake Work on re construction of the spillway and construction of a parapet wall along the crest of the dam have been completed. The wall was constructed to keep waves from going over the crest of the dam and deteriorating the outside of the dam. Fish lake A concrete-lined side channel spillway at the left abutment will be constructed aft er the irrigation season ends this year. Design capacity of the spill way will be 500 cubic feet per second, and will be 190 feet long. Seepage from the spillway site lias been sufficient to meet April ; and May demands at times. ; Earlier this year, rip-rap work j was done on the surface of Fish lake dam to prevent erosion, i Rock used came from excavation j for the new spillway. I South Fork crossing, main ca-1 nal The existing 625-foot j metal flume will be replaced j with a 60-inch precast concrete siphon 645 feet long. Copenhagen I and company, Portland, probably will start construction after the i irrigation season. Melal Flume Culbertson flume ReDlacing a metal flume about 360 feet long is the new Culbertson flume. 352 feet long around a rock curve a short distance dow n the main canal from the "junction." The new flume is concrete. Lake Creek crossing A 460 foot metal flume will be re placed with a precast concrete siphon 545 feet long by Copen hagen and company this fall. The new structure will parallel the present flume, which is trestled some 45 feet above the road and creek. Bids will be received until 10 a.m. Aug. 22 on two projects along the main canal. They are the Wyant Wash and the Osborne Wash crossings. The 300-foot Wyant siphon will be 500 feet belowt the present structure, which curves its entire length. Precast Concrete The Osborne Wash siphon will be a combination of 51-inch and 53-inch precast concrete pipe 1.073 feet long. The siphon will eliminate a flume and about 11, 500 feet of canal, a section wiiich presently has considerable seep age. Other work along the main canal includes replacing three metal flilmes. Two will be bench flumes and the third will be re placed with a concrete wall 40 feet long which will dam the l draw. The latter is just upstream from Bradshaw drop. Financing rehabilitation of the main canal and Fourmile and Fish lakes will be shared by both the Medford and Rogue River Valley irrigation districts. Critical Structures Critical structures along the Medford canal, which extends southward along the east side of the valley to Bear Creek at Phoe nix, are the Yankee creek siphon, the Antelope creek flume and the Bear creek siphon. The present 43 - inch wood stave siphon at Yankee creek will be replaced with a 57-mch precast concrete siphon 1.970 feet Ion? with a design capacity of 115 cubic feet per second. The present siphon has decayed in several places, and only because of water pressure inside does it remain intact, district officials said. The Antelope creek crossing will be a 215-foot concrete siphon replacing the present 200-foot metal flams which has insuif l- cient clearance for passage of flood water. The flume must be removed each fall and replaced in the spring to prevent damage from anticipated floods. Bids on both the Yankee creek siphon and Antelope creek si phon will be opened by the bu reau of reclamation in Medford Aug. 28. Perhaps the largest project in the rehabilitation is replacing the Bear creek siphon just south of Phoenix. A 1.860-foot concrete siphon will replace the present decayed 44-inch wood-stave si phon. The new structure will cross under Highway 99 in an existing box culvert. Major Projecli Two major projects were in cluded in rehabilitation of the Rogue River Valley Irrigation district system below Bradshaw drop the Antelope creek cross ing, which is completed, and the Bear Creek siphon. The new Antelope creek struc ture is being used for the first time this season. It is 95 feet long and replaces a metal flume 100 feet long which had to be re moved each fall and replaced in tile spring because of danger from floods. The Bear creek crossing will be 625 feet long, replacing a pre sent wtood flume 464 feet long at the north edge of the city of Medford. The flume is generally in poor condition with advanced decay and bad leaks. The pre sent structure also is in consider able danger during flood periods. Small Structures Several small structures scat tered throughout the main canal and distribution systems of both districts will be rehabilitated. Structures include concrete pipe lines, small flumes, farm bridges and canal w-astcways. and short sections of canals and laterals having relatively heavy leakage will be lined. The latter work smaller structures and rehabiliation of laterals will be done during the next five years. The number of acres served by the two districts totals 13.969. of which 9.138 are in the Med ford district, and 4.831 acres are in the Rogue River Valley dis trict. Supplemental Supply A supplemental water supply for the districts will be avail able from return flow and stor age will be provided for the dis tricts from the Talent project. which is expected to get under way in the near future. An an nual average of 9.000 acre feet of water will be available in average years. However, in years of short supply the pro rata share basis will be used. Irrigation of land in the valley got its start in 1898 when the Fish Lake Ditch company was organized to bring water into the valley from outside sources. Water rights were obtained on Little Butte creek and a storage dam at Fish lake and canals from the North and South Forks of Little Butte creek were built. Deliv ery of water started in 1902. The public Water company. which bought the Fish Lake Ditch company interests in 1908, operated the system under vari ous names until 1930. The firm made enlargements to the system in 1908. 1915 and in 1916, but were inadequate to furnish and deliver the necessary supply of water. Develops New Sources The Medford Irrigation district was formed in 1917 with the ob jective of developing new sources of water to provide a supply to lands not previously irrigated. It contracted with Rogue River Valley Canal company, success ors to the Public Water com pany, to build Fourmile lake dam and Cascade canal, reconstruct Fish lake dam and completed the distribution system within the district. Since 1920, the Medford dis trict has operated the entire canal and storage system above Bradshaw drop as well as its own system. Rogue River Irrigation district was organized in 1929 to pur chase the Hopkins canal and all other rights, properties and equi ties held by Rogue River Canal company. The district has oper ated Hopkins canal anad its dis tribution system since 1930. Steel Pipe Arrives For Natural Gas Line Ontario U.R) Ernie Jorg ensen. president of Eastern Ore gon Natural Gas Distributors, said Friday his company had re ceived its first shipment of steel pipe for installation of natural gas lines here. Other shipments are expected to follow. Friday's shipment consisted of one mile of two inch pipe and some 500 feet of four-inch pipe. The pipe is picked up at Walla Walla and is being shipped to a number of distributors through the area to be served by the na tural gas line. Jorgensen said he hoped to get the job of laying the pipe in On tario started within the next ten days. by A-, IVTV TP J 5 ' !y;.,.Mj&4MM' 1,1 """Si. - " NEW SPILLWAY The new spillway at Four mile lake, shown above, is 60 feet wide with a plank deck across piers to facilitate replace SPILLWAY SITE A concrete-lined side channel on the left abutment at Fish lake will provide an adequate spillway. Construc tion will start on the 90-foot long spillway as CULBERTSON FLUME This new concrete flume 352 feet long replaces a metal flume in the main canal was completed by Copen- 9 . i Mr 9 jt ftA42fi, 11 fs INSPECT NEW SIPHON Officials and users Antelope creek in Rogue Rivrr's system. The of Medford and Rogue River Valley Irriga- structure i part of the Hopkins canal and tinn districts inspect new A5-foot siphon at replaces a metal flume. Commercial Fishing To Resume on Columbia Portland (U.R) The Oregon gon Fish commission said Sat urday commercial fishing on the Columbia river below Bonne ville dam would be resumed at 6 p.m. today after a 14 -day-closure. The season will remain open until August 25. Week end clos 1 ures will be in effect between 8 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sun day during the season. I a Dove tsonnevine dam, com mercial fishing will close at noon Monday and reopen August 14. The above Bonneville sea son has been open since July 4. Tobacco has been grown suc cessfully as far north as Que bec province. I i tw-jw. -"--rTr-..-ST -.:55SS2rsMt.j-.. iat-i!-' j-.-.-i i:a.vv . y. 1 $J$ltorr ment and removal of flashboards. A concrete lined deck below the spillway prevents erosion around the structure. SL 1 ' 4 soon as the irrigation season is finished. Head of the structure wall be at left center in abov picture. ha gen and company, Portland, early this year. Fill work between the flume and the rock ledge remains to protect the structure. 1 ! FIVE MILES OF NYLON i Shirley, Mass. -U.R' The I longest anchor cable ever made has been turned out at a cordage works here. A five-mile length of nylon cordage, it will be used by an oceanographic expedition sponsored jointly by the National Geographic Society and the French National Scientific Re search Center. USE TRIBUNE WANT ADS
