WSP11253

• File Number: 8277.200
• Description: California Water Resources Association/California Salinity Projects
• State: CA
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 1/1/1953
• Title: Palo Verde Irrigation District - Blythe California - Annual Report 1953
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

Tonopah School of Mines, Tonopah. Nevada, and later was employed b.y
Tonopah MiniJig Company as .engineering o:ssistant, mine shift boss, and
assayer. Earl went with Phelps Dodge Corporation at Bisbee, Arizona, in
March 1923 as assayer, advancing to drainage engineer, and later to
superintendent of copper leaching operations. Depression conditions neces-
sitated curtailment in the mining industry and Earl worked as a civil
engineer with the Arizona state highway department from 1931 to 1942.
From 1942 to 1945 he was a civil engineer with private consulting firms
on . location, design, and construction of air bases, landing fields, and the
basic magnesium plant and townsite at Henderson, Nevada. He _Joined the
District on September IS, 1945 as engineer and advanced to superintendent
of operations on February 20, 1946. Earl is a registered professional
engineer with the state' of Arizona with proficiency in mining and civil
engineering.

G. T. (Jerry) Wolford Jr., Watermaster, was born in Riverside, California,
February 9, 1921. He finished high school in Blythe and spent two years
at Riverside Junior College. He served in the air corps of the United States
Army dUring World War II and reached the grade of flight officer with
specialty as bombardier. He served in B-17s and participated in thirty-six
bombing missions over France and Germany. He was with the engineering
department of the Distrid from August 26, 1946, to March 12, 1949. He left
the district to operate his father's ranch in the ,Palo Verde Valley until
June 18, 1951, when he returned to the engineering department. When his
father, Jerry, Sr., retired as watermaster on November 30, 1951, Jerry
was promoted to that position.
Distrid personnel numbers between 100 and 115 employees. Many of
these have given long and faithful service: Amos Emery, zanjero, began
his service in 1912 and has been employed continuously since with excep~
tion of time out for service in World War r. H. S. (CaD Sterling, machinist,
was first employed in 1919 and for many years worked as Ruth dredge
operator. before transferring to the machine shop. Other employees with
long service are Jess Compton, machine shop foreman with 29 years; N.
M. (Mike) Warren with 20 years, most of which was in the capacity of
dragline operator, is presently the intake operator. C. Q. (Curt) Murdock,
construdion foreman, has 19 years of service with the district all of
which has been in construction work. Joe Dysart, heavy duty mechanic.
and Joe Caldera, labor foreman, have each given long and valuable service.
Your Board wishes to acknowledge the very fine degree of cooperation
received from all District employees, without which the continued progress
and low water tolls would be impossible. It is hoped that future boards will
continue to recognize in its annual reports the outstanding efforts of its
employees.

C. C. (Cliff) Tabor. Engineer, was born in Sebastopol, California. He
studied civil engineering at the University of Cincinnati and worked
approximately ten years on bridge and road location and construction
with the state highway commission of Indiana. He served on active duty
with the corps of engineers, United States Army, from 1940 to 1946 in
grade of first lieutenant to major. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel
in the army reserve in 1953. He joined the District on February 14, 1946.
He is a registered civil engineer in Indiana and California and is a
member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
L. S. (Sloan) Shipley, Secretary-Collector, was born in Okmulgee,
Oklahoma, and grew up in Amarillo, Texas. He attended Draughn Business
College in Amarillo 1920-23. mdjoring in accounting. Moving to Oregon in
1925 he worked two years with the U.S. Forest Service, general accounting
in winter and fire suppression in summer. He performed general accounting
work for the California-Oregon Power Company from 1931 to 1947 starting
in their general office at Medford, then as assistant district accountant at
Roseburg, and district accountant at Grants Pass and Klamath Falls, Oregon
and Crescent City, California. Sloan was responsible for originating and
putting into operation the public relations department for the power com~
pany. He joined the district on November 15, 1947.
Edwin F. Williams, Assessor, was born in Breemer County, Iowa, on
December 8. 1866. A complete and accurate account of his colorful life
would fill an interesting book. As told in the chapter on "History of the
Palo Verde Valley", Ed visited the valley in 1904 and came back to stay
in 1908. In 1912 he became a member of the Board of Trustees of the Palo
Verde Mutual Water Company and was later president of the drainage
distrid and of the levee distrid. He withdrew from active participation in
distrid affairs after a mowing machine accident in 1923 in which he lost
hi. right arm below the elbow. He became assessor in 1927 and has held
that position since. He was very instrumental in bringing about the con~
strudion of Boulder Dam. in awakening the federal government to respon~
sibllity for flood control on the lower Colorado River and in conferences
leading to the equitable division of the California portion of Colorado River
water.

.....
Colorado River Water Litigation
In 1952, the State of Arizona filed a petition and bill of complaint
in the Supreme Court of the United States against the State of California,
Palo Verde Irrigation District, Coachella Valley County Water District,
Imperial Irrigation District, Metropolitan Water District, City of Los Angeles,
City and County of San Diego for determination of Colorado River water
rights. The United States has been granted l~e to intervene and has
filed a complaint in intervention. The State of Nevada has requested leave
to intervene. California's answer to the bill of complaint, a printed
document of 502 pages, was prepared by attorneys representing all member
agencies of the Colorado River Board of California and is a common
defense agreeable to the boards of directors of all member agencies.
This case will be long, expensive and important. However, the expense
is greatly minimized by the fact that the legal talent is pooled and the
secretarial and printing costs are divided. If this district had to defend
itself by itself in a suit of this magnitude, the costs would be a major item
in the annual budget.
The Colorado River Board of California is a political agency of the
State of California authorized by state law to study and formulate the
policies of the state relative to the Colorado River. Walter Bollenbacher
landowner here and former member of the Board of Trustees, Palo Verd~
Irrigation Distrid. represents this district on the Board. Other agencies
are: Coachella Valley County Water Distrid. Imperial Irrigation Distrid
Metropolitan Water District, City of Los Angeles. San Diego County Wate;
Authority. Engineer C. C. Tabor and Attorney Frank E. Jenney are members
of the Technical Committee which acts in advisory capacity to the Colorado
River Board.

R. A. (Reg) Darrow, Assistant Engineer, was born in Reedsburg,
Wisconsin. He served in the United States Navy from 1938 to 1945.
reaching the grade of chief pharmacist's mate; two years of this serevice
was with the Office of Strategic Services. He graduated from the University
of Wisconsin with a degree of bachelor of science in civil engineering in
1949 and worked two years with the bureau of reclamation at Paonia and
Grand Jundion, Colorado. Reg joined the District on February 21, 1952.
He i. an associate member of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

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