Roosevelt Water Conservation District Canal, South of the Salt River Mesa-Chandler Vicinity, Maricopa County, Arizona: Written Historical and Descriptive Data, Photographs, Reduced Copies of Drawings

Summary

The establishment of the Salt River Federal Reclamation Project in 1903 led to the construction of a modern irrigation system to serve the productive farmlands of the Salt River Valley. However, lands outside of the project boundaries, which generally had no legal claim to surface water, had to rely on alternative sources of water. The Roosevelt Water Conservation District was one of the earliest successful efforts to increase the available water supply. By applying simple but innovative technology, along with a broad economic strategy, and cultivating a mutually beneficial partnership with the Salt River Valley Water Users’ Association (Association), landowners were able to appropriate enough water to irrigate the 41,500-acre from three primary sources - groundwater pumping, excess flood waters of the Salt and Verde rivers, and water conserved by lining SRP canals with concrete. Individually, each of these water resources would have been too expensive or unreliable; by planning to selectively exploit the most cost-effective resources as they were available, the District was able to develop a viable water supply.

The Roosevelt Water Conservation District’s irrigation system includes the Main Canal, the Eastern Canal Extension, and a series of pumping plants and other structures. The Main Pumping Plant conveys water delivered via SRP’s distribution system to the District’s Main Canal at a rate of 350 second feet. Wells equipped with small pumping units, originally planned as a supplemental source of water, have provided most of the irrigation water for the District. The existing irrigation system has remained relatively unchanged since its original construction, which was completed in 1928.

This report provides a history of the Roosevelt Water Conservation District and its irrigation works, from its conceptual development and construction to its evolving design and function in an increasingly urbanized environment.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Salt River Project Digital Library

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Salt River Project Cultural Resource Manager

Landowner(s): Roosevelt Water Conservation District

Prepared By(s): Salt River Project

Record Identifiers

SRP Library Barcode No.(s): 00091035

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