WSP04599

• File Number: 8278.200
• Description: Title I - Wellton-Mohawk
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 1/1/1978
• Author: WM I&DD
• Title: Wellton-Mowhawk Irrigation and Drainage District - District Overview
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

Soon, however, the river began to pull away from the heading and
no longer overflowed at this point, A stone heading was then constructed
and two pump>; were installed to lift the water into the canaL Remnants
of the plant may still be seen at the north end of Antelope Hill. The
Antelope District built the first electric plant in the Wellton area, the
second in Yuma County (see Power). Mesquite and iron wood were
used as fueL Thrifty farmers frequently reduced their power bills by
swapping wood for kilowatt hours. With the coming of electricity more
and more farmers dug wells for dependable irrigation water,

Roosevelt Dam on Salt River was completed in 1911 thus materially
reducing the Gila's flow, In January 1916 the Gila River ran its greatest
flood within memory of the white man; the flow was estimated at
200,000 cfs at Dome, The flow was mostly from the Gila River; not
from the Salt as is the usual case, In the Spring of 1919 the Gila flow
was slight and Antelope Canal was used for the last time,

About 1915, settlers sought a more dependable supply of water
by drilling wells. The Mohawk Municipal Water Conservation District,
with headquarters in Roll, and the Gila Valley Power District, with
headquarters in Wellton, were formed in the early 1920's to assist in
the distribution of water and power. In 1931 there were approximately
11,000 acres irrigated by well water, But by 1934 excessive salt had
developed in the groundwater and the water table declined alarmingly,
Due to extensive upstream diversions, wells, and increased irrigation
use, there was seldom any surface flow in the Gila,

One after another, farms were abandoned as water and soil became
too saline for successful agriculture, The production that survived con-
sisted mostly of alfalfa seed and bermuda grass seed, the only crops
that were suffIciently salt tolerant to be grown prufitably, In the early
1930's farmers turned to the Bureau of Reclamation of the United States
Department of Interior and sought engineering advice and financing
which, after years of study and negotiations, resulted in the construction
of this project. The Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District
took over the assets and liabilities of the Mohawk Municipal Water
Conservation District and the Well ton-Mohawk Operating Company
which had succeeded the Gila Valley Power District.

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