Consolidated Canal, Chandler Power Plant - AZ-55-B - Written Historical and Descriptive Data, Photographs

Summary

The Chandler Power Plant was constructed by the Consolidated Canal Company as a power source for supplemental groundwater production in the Southeast Salt River Valley. It also provided power to Tempe, Arizona and Mesa, Arizona. By World War I, the plant was incorporated into the SRP power system. The plant operations ceased in 1950.

The Consolidated Canal was a relative latecomer to the southside canal system, and the water-rights claims made by earlier settlers took precedence over any asserted by A. J. Chandler and his associates. As a result, the Consolidated Canal was assured of adequate water only during years of normal to high river flow. As the decade of the 1890s unfolded, residents of the Salt River Valley were confronted with a period of prolonged drought, and dependence on the flow of the Salt River was uncertain at best. Even the Tempe Canal with its venerable water rights occasionally ran dry during this period. Confronted by this latest threat to his plans, the resourceful Chandler devised a solution to the problem – he would supplement water diverted from the river with groundwater raised by electric pumps.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Salt River Project Digital Library

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Daniel Garcia

Record Identifiers

HAER No.(s): AZ-55-B

File Information