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Because of the higher water releases from the Dams during and prior to the period covered by this report, there was an increased amount of sand deposit in the Settling Basin, for this reason it was necessary to operate the suction dredge for a period of three months. It is estimated that from 750,000 to 1,000,000 cubic yards of sand was removed. Since the river flow has dropped to normal, the rate of sand deposit in the settling basin has decreased, and does not appear to be a problem at this time. New equipment purchased during the year included two diesel engines for the No. 20 and No. 22 dragUnes, a "Hyster" handy crane for use in District yard, two concrete mixers, five trucks, and one Willys four wheel drive pickup. With the addition of these items, the equipment is ample to enable accomplishment of all contemplated operation, construction and maintenance work. Your Board is happy to report that all construction, maintenance and operation was performed with an unexpended balance of some $25,000 at the end of the fiscal year; with this and the anticipated revenue from new land in cultivation together with expected future economies, the water toll for the fiscal year 1953-54 was reduced. The water toll for 1953-54 is $5.50 and $6.00 per acre and the ossess- ment charge is $4.25 per $100 assessed valuation on lands and $0.70 per $100 assessed valuation on improvements. The maximum assessed valuation is $100 per acre. The water toll charge on any 40-acre parcel is determined by whichever one of the following is the greater: $5.50 per cultivated acre, including private ditches and private roads, or $6.00 per $100 assessed valuation. Riverview Farm and Cattle Company (Travis Farms) also added 2.5 miles of drains to the system. They built the Richens Drain, 1.75 miles, parallel to J Canal, in Sections 25 and 36.5-23 and extended Fifth Avenue Drain for 0.75 mile in Section 11-6-23. Tile drainage installed during the year was 44,000 feet. This was installed by Union Stock Farms, Wayne H. Fisher, Lawrence Chaffin and Fred J. Toole. The district participates by paying one-half the cost of tile lines which are parallel and adjacent to district canals. Tile drainage installed in the valley now totals 138,000 feet. Necessary maintenance of drains has proceeded during the year. There were dragline cleanouts on 48 miles of drains. The average ground water table in the valley has lowered approxi. mately ,0.2 feet below the 1952 level. The 1953 ground water level is approximately 0.8 feet below the 1946 level. The 1946 level is used as a criterion for the reason that ground water reached a maximum at that time. S. T. Harding, the District's consulting engineer on irrigation and drainage, who inspected the drainage facilities here in May advised that drainage is holding its own in spite of increased acreage and increased water use. He estimates that the District can maintain its present drainage system and construct necessary additional drains at a cost to the land- owners of $1.00 per cultivated acre per year. ..,.. .... Canals Outfall Drainage ..,.. The Bureau of Reclamation proposes to construct a 12-mile cut through Cibola Valley beginning immediately below the Imperial County line and ending downstream. from Three Finger Lake. This cut is authorized by Public Law 469. 79th Congress, 1946. The proposal also includes enlargement and relocation of Outfall Drain from the present gage in Section 36-9-21 to the new channel. It is anticipated that this will lower the water surface of Outfall Drain at the gage to an approximate elevation of 218, or 4 feet below the 1953 average, and will greatly improve drainage conditions in the south end of this valley. However, it is not likely that this work (a 3-year project) c:an begin until some permanent means of diversion is established, since retrogression of the river bed, working upstream from the 12-mile cut, could undermine the present weir. Laguna Dam. was constructed north of Yuma in 1909. This started an upgrading of the river bed which began to affect the outfall after ap. proximately 16 years. The water surface of the river at the mouth of this Valley's Outfall Drain in Section 36-9-21 (present site of the gage) in 1925 was 217 feeet above the sea level (Palo Verde Irrigation District datum). By 1930 it was 223 feet and did not drop appreciably below this level for another 18 years. The Bureau of Reclamation completed a two-mile pilot channel in Cibola Valley opposite the mouth of Outfall Drain in June, 1947. This channel began to take effect in January 1949, and carried ap~ proximately 90% of the flow during 1950 and 1951. This caused the lowering of the water surface at the mouth of Outfall Drain so that the average for .1951 was approximmely 221.5 feet. The increased flow of the river during 1952 forced more floW' through the old channel so that the average elevation of the water surface at the mouth of Outfall Drain in 1952 has been approximately 223.8 feet. Canals constructed this year were: Extension of C-03-10, 0.35 mile for Union Stock Farms; Extension of C-21, 0.25 mile, for J. F. Hubbard; C-28, 0.75 mile, and C-28-1, 0.2 mile, for A. S. Stanfield; Canals abandoned this year due to changes in method of irrigation were: C-03-9, 0.5 mile, for J.A. Henderson; F Canal was relocated for 0.1 mile immediately below the new heading structure and was reconstructed for 0.4 mile immediately south of 6th Avenue in prepartion for a new check to be built to serve approxImately 1600 acres of land in Sections 14, 15, 23, 24, 25 and 26-6-23 now being leveled by I. E. Haddock. Lid. There are 269 miles of canals in the district system. Drainage New drains. to the extent of 2.7 miles, were added to the system during the year, making a total of 108.3 miles. The new construction was: Extension of Rannells Drain from HIghway 60-70 to 12th Avenue; the first Portion of Goodman. Drain. near 18th Avenue and Intake Boulevard, 1.7 miles; Fifth Avenue Drain, 0.5 mlle along 5th Avenue east of East Side Drain. 8 9 ~t6100