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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />'''''-''''.''''l,,,,..,.-'., . ~~'i; , <br />, _' "c_ "'_ ' " ,_ _;'!I<:' _ . _>..,_~__;:,___~...~., __'~'-:-"_'_ _ _, ~"~". ~~._~ . _ _.~ <br />" 'i ,40- ,.~>.:~;: -'_-f' ' ~ f <br /> <br />_~i'#;;::~~;~F _~ _ ';-' .--.,._,,-.~.~'{,;f:;'~,_ - <br /> <br />::-:~~~~~~~:~~~Z~~!~ <br />._,; <br /> <br />~w/,. <br /> <br />-9- <br /> <br />Col. Besson: Thank :>Iou. Mr. Lmdstrem. <br /> <br />Mr. Corlett: .Mr" F..'B. ;Goudy. who is a long-time resident here. <br />will make a statement. <br /> <br />Mr. F. B. Goudy: I was connected with the Rio Grande and Monte <br />Vista Canals for many yeal"S. and knQw their histories from 1891 to <br />the present time. The problem of those two Cailals. and especially the <br />Rio Grande. is puculiar. Because of, the shifting channel of the river <br />above Del Norte. it was necessary for. the Rio Grande Company to build <br />a channel of its own so. all to. bring the flow to the headgate at low <br />stages in the river. When the ri..jet' wa.$ high there was plenty of <br />trouble trying to preserve the headworks. In times of high floods <br />there wns.a'large number of trees that came in. to, this channel and <br />against the river gates and against the rivet'dams, That was a <br />problem for years, and after having spent some tilne en the problem <br />the Canal Company installed a craile to get these trees out of the dam <br />and the gate in to the can-al. In maintaining the levees at one time, <br />in one year, we spent $3.000..00.. I do net have the exaot figure but <br />I think it is safe to say that the maintenance of that levee ~ost <br />the Canal Company $l,OOO.OOeach year. We operated that Canal <br />Company for fifty years and the fanners took it over in. 1931. It is <br />safe to. say we spent $50,000".00 in fighting floods there, <br /> <br />One of our difficu1tues has been the silt that comes in in <br />high floods. The' .silt is in solution and it is impossible to keep <br />that silt from coming in to the oanal and for years we had great <br />difficu1 ty in cleaning out the lower ends of the Canal System so <br />as to keep it operating. I think it is safe to. say that we spent abeut <br />$500.00 a year to keep the ~e,"terals clean of the silt which came in <br />during' floods. so over our en'tire period of operation we spent <br />$2.5,00q.,OO due to the silt callsed by floods. In later years we put in <br />a sand trap and that was a very good thing for the larger rocks that <br />c'ame in with the water. ' <br /> <br />.:~ <br /> <br />,~, <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />On the Monte Vosta Canal we had a different difficulty and that <br />was. caused by bank erosion ef the stream above the headgate and it was <br />when the river was in flood. At nonnal stages it is alright but in <br />flood times it makes inroads in to. the bank. I think I oan say that <br />we spent $500:00 a year for that purpose. Fifty years weuld mean an <br />expenditure ef $25.000.00~ Tho Rio Grande, as yeu know. is a'stream <br />that normally carries comparatively small quantities of water. most <br />of it di vertod frcm the main streams. Yeu have a shifting river <br />channel and a sandy bottem. There are works in there which take <br />care of the nerma1 flow and are adequate for that purpose, but the <br />first thing you know, almost without warning, you have a stream <br />increasing to. several times its nermal flow. rerhaps in the space <br />of three days it may doulie in size. The result is that we have a <br />river that is out of control whenever it goes in to flood. The <br />floods are so large and so quiok that they overoome the works, whioh <br />