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<br />I <br /> <br />and they were able to provide a reasonably <br />stable supply of water by pumping in a fairly <br />small area right around Well ton. This only <br />operated for about three years and, in quot- <br />ing from the Bureau's report, which incidentally <br />Mexico has, shortly after 1931, during the next <br />few years many wells failed as the water levels <br />declined. Also the quality of water deteriorated <br />until the majority of wells had a salinity level <br />in excess of 6,000 ppm. This is stated in the <br />Bureau's report. So this project was abandoned <br />again. <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />In 1948 the project was again revived by <br />diverting water from the Imperial Dam and <br />bringing it down to this point and installing <br />a pump lift. At this point all of the project <br />water was lifted to about this point (pointing <br />to map) in the project area. The part of it <br />that went back then was used in irrigation below <br />and about two-thirds of the water was lifted <br />again about to a point in here from which it <br />then went back to the valley and was used for <br />irrigation. A third lift brought it to the upper <br />end of the valley. After about five years of <br />this operation the whole project was becoming <br />waterlogged and it appeared that it would have <br />to be abandoned again if it were not drained. <br />So a drainage project was devised by Region 3 <br />of the Bureau of Reclamation. This project <br />consisted of 67 wells through the project area, <br />approximately 100 feet deep. They vary some ten <br />or fifteen feet in depth but most of them run <br />around 100 feet. The quality of water which <br />they pump is approximately on an average of <br />6,000 ppm, the same as it was when the project <br />was abandoned. The quality varies from, as I <br />recall, around 2500 ppm up to as high as 18,000 <br />ppm. To give you an idea of what this was like, <br />25,000 is about what sea water runs, or ocean <br />water. So the quality was not good. <br /> <br />He think this is the water that has stayed <br />in this project area since the 1930's. There is <br />a geologic constriction in the Gila Narrows, up <br />in this general area (pointing to map). The <br />base rock does not let the ground water through <br />