Irrigation in Yuma is one of the biggest things here because half of our jobs depend on it. Describe in detail how irrigation changed Yuma/Southern Arizona. Irrigation has change Yuma and Southern Arizona half of our income is agriculture with help of irrigation.The Colorado River is the water source for Southern Arizona around 17 million people depend on the colorado river “Total population in the immediate area is estimated at 4,500 practically all dependent on agriculture” without it Southern Arizona would just a waste land. Irrigation projects in Arizona have been going since Theodore Roosevelt was in office he even turned an abandoned military fort into development of irrigation projects. Post construction for the Yuma irrigation projects the workers wages were about …show more content…
With irrigation has imorovped so much.So how does geography impact the development of irrigation it changes because with it might look like nuclear fallout and maybe somethings can live there but it’s not this place might seem like a desert but it’s not we have irrigation which is half of the jobs in Southern Arizona which is a good thing. So what was the various costs to irrigation they were many costs for the Southern Arizona irrigation projects. Post construction one of the cost for these are the wages they were getting payed for if they skilled or unskilled. Also there was economic impact the jobs that was coming in because irrigation projects which made really big “Part of this impact is in the form of annual tax contributions, which are estimated at $32 million.” This shows that how much big of an impact this was. One of the biggest thing that help with irrigation was the gold rush from the citrus groves the profit was around “a net profit in 1925 of $800” this helped so much with the
In 1935 the Hoover Dam was completed forming Lake Mead, providing flood control, reservoir storage, power generation and regulates the downstream flow to the Lower Basin States. [footnoteRef:20] In 1963, the Glen Canyon Dam was completed forming Lake Powell, providing the Upper Basin States with enough reserve capacity to allow them to meet their annual obligation of 7.5 Million Acre Feet (MAF) to the Lower Basin States, allowing the Lower Basin States to use the allocation.[footnoteRef:21] As a consequence of the construction of the Hoover Dam and the Glen Canyon Dam, the Colorado?s flow often evaporated in Mexican sands close to the Delta.[footnoteRef:22] Around the 1970s, the Cienega de Santa Clara had shrunken by 500 acres. Nevertheless, due to the following wet decades, the Cienega was resuscitated to about 10% of its original acreage in the 80?s and 90?s.[footnoteRef:23] Currently, the Cienega is a 40,000 acre wetland that exists due to the return flows from the Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage District near Yuma, Arizona.[footnoteRef:24] This Cienega is the home of less than 100 members of the Cucapa tribe and is the habitat of several endangered fish and birds, including Desert Pupfish and Yuma Clapper Rail.[footnoteRef:25] [19: D.F.
The Yuma Project was important because it dealt with all the uprising conflicts that occurred.Irrigation greatly changed southern Arizona, also known as Yuma. It started out small, but as more people moved there it grew largely. There were a series of different irrigation systems, but the commonly used one was canals. Some of the canals that were built long ago still stand today, and Yuma is the most linked place. Yuma today is the largest agricultural place, but will not be for long if they keep having the problems they do. They also need to have money so they can fix what they need to and be able to pay workers to help.
There are many different ways irrigation has changed Yuma and the rest of Southern Arizona very drastically. Irrigation has existed in Southern Arizona and Yuma County since the 1800’s. Irrigation has been practiced in the Algodones Grant with a view to determine if gravity canals would be effective for irrigation. 50,000 to 60,000 acres are extremely fertile and are very capable of producing crops when there is a sufficient amount of water given for irrigation to take place. “Water is too valuable to use on farms” was a myth in the 1900’s about irrigation but there is 80% of the Colorado River water the is used in agriculture. Agriculture business in Yuma county has changed
Yuma used a lot of water for their crops to grow healthy and good. The Colorado River Siphon was built in 1912. They transported water from all California to Arizona. They used a lot of technology. They had soil issues. The farmers spent $300,000 on equipment in two years. The would spend there money on different crops and techniques. The bridge that was completed in 1877 was 187 feet long. The sprinklers helped the seeds grow. They would germinate in heat. The land use to cost ten dollars an acre it would just depend on how close it was to the river and how much they wanted. Yuma’s important years were 1858 and 1859. They were important because they bought permanent presidents, a new streamer. And the discovery of gold on the Gila. On June 17, 1902 is when National Reclamation
The Colorado River compact has been the most beneficial project for the seven states that share it. The river has 29 dams that serve different purposes together with hundreds of miles of canals. Many farmers have been known to divert the river into their own farms to be used for irrigation. Irrigated land accounts for four million acres of the total land use. This relates to a large percentage of water used for agriculture. The products got from constant irrigation are a major economic boost to both the farmers and the United States. This also enhances living standards due to income earned by such farmers (Michael, 2010). This has enabled them to feed not only their states, but also the other neighboring countries through
Due to the decline of the water levels in Lake mead and Colorado River, this has a huge impact on the the southwest of Arizona. This hugely impacts the agricultural industries and ranchings because they face drought, scouring heat and water shortages which decreases their farms yields and productivity. Because Arizona farmers are dependent on irrigation for vegetation, with a water crisis they would have feed shortages which would cause them to sell their farms with weaker disaster relief support.
In his book, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water, Marc Reisner’s main thesis is to show the inefficiency, greed, and inherent difficulty in the American West’s never-ending struggle to turn its unwelcoming desert into a lush garden. One of his main sub-points is that the West is not meant to support millions of people. It has a wide range of geographic challenges throughout the entire region. Its inconsistency and diversity is a primary cause of its water problems. For example, Reisner notes that the West consists of “plains so arid that they could barely support bunchgrass; deserts that were fiercely hot and fiercely cold; streams that flooded a few weeks each year and went dry the rest; forests with trees so large it might take days to bring one down; . . . hail followed by drought followed by hail;” (23).
In 1930, drought struck Arkansas, worsening the already terrible conditions under which the poor sharecroppers and landowners lived in. The Depression had already been had on these farmers, who had seen the market value of their produce dwindle significantly. As conditions worsened,
Some challenges that Yuma County had with the Irrigation System was flooding, the use of water for crops on farmland, the supply of water for irrigation, and the transfer of water from the canals. Millions of years the Quechan Indians would depend on the flooding river to fertilize and irrigate the farmlands crops Companies had formed irrigate lands in the Yuma Valley, but they were not successful at all with this plan they thought would work.
Irrigation is significant to Yuma County because, it has assisted agricultural growth over the years. Financially, the county of Yuma is in the top economically successful counties in the world as the crop sales are in the .1% every year. Before Yuma was successful they first had to overcome many challenges in the land, this changed Yuma geographically and caused for new technology needed that is now used around the United States in the present day. This advancement called for more jobs for thousands and slowly gained population in Yuma. The effects from irrigation are still benefiting Yuma and the people of Yuma today.
Water is a precious resource. It is the lifeblood of every living thing on Earth. California is in the midst of a water crisis. Combined with a three (plus) year drought and many people moving into the state there is not enough water to support the crops the farmers need to grow. There is also a tiny little fish that is causing a mess in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The Delta water pumps were turned off to prevent the extinction of the tiny little fish. Some farmers have to let their fields sit idle for the fall and spring planting season. This is causing a lot of problems in California. The pumps need to be turned back on. The needs of the people should come before that of a fish.
California has always had a warm climate, yet its supply of water has rarely been affected. In 2014 California’s water shortage issue truly began. Due to low amounts of snow in the winter in recent years, California has tried to equal out these shortages by drilling water from underground aquifers. Yet, underground aquifers recharge much slower than surface water sources. California has already made significant drawbacks to attempt to limit the amount of water they use, so these aquifers can recharge. But still resources continue going down and the Central Valley Aquifer’s water level is rapidly declining. Luckily, on April 7, 2017 the drought stage of emergency in California was ended. Yet the issue isn’t truly resolved. Glen MacDonald
Now Arizona is not the typical state that has a lot of precipitation and rain yearly, but it depends off other reservoirs, lakes, and rivers located in other states to for their water supply. After searching and conducting research, it was found that the main impact Arizona is suffering from the drought is decreasing water levels is from Lake Mead (located in Nevada), and the Colorado River, which flows North to South through several U.S. states. Research and data found shows that the Bureau of Reclamation releases water into the Colorado River below Lake Mead to meet water demands of downstream users in Arizona and California, and also to satisfy treaty obligations to the Republic of Mexico. Findings by the Bureau of Reclamation show that Lake Mead water level’s peaked at 1,214.26 in January of 2000. Almost a decade and a half later, recorded in January 2014, the water levels of Lake Mead are now 1,108.75 (Smith, 2014). This findings show that Arizona is continually getting a decline in water from Lake Mead every month that passes, affects thousands of residents living in Arizona, which already lacks water to begin with. If this continues, this can cause many civilians to both stand by and bare the drought as long as they can, or decide to move out of Arizona to states with a better water supply, so they won’t be burdened with the continual burden of having to ration and conserve water. The state has
As we all know, water is essential for mankind's survival. However, people seem to believe that our water supply is endless since there is more water than land on this Earth. Water regenerates and is redistributed through evaporation, making it seem endlessly renewable. So why worry?
What is the source that more than six million people rely for drinking water and irrigation? What river did Will Rodgers describe as “the only river I know that is in need of irrigating?” It is the Rio Grande. With the help of hours of research, this paper will discuss some information about The Rio Grande Basin, why The Rio Grande Basin has been declining and why, the effect that this occurrence has on the environment as well as the economy, and to sum it all up a few ideas of what can be done to help the situation.