ABSTRACT
S upplying water to crops by irriga-tion is an ancient practice in areas where rainfall is insufficient for successfiu agriCluture. Between 300 and 900 A.D.
built networks of canals on the Gila and Salt
Rivers. Early Euro-American settlers in the
U.S . and Canactian West created small, local
irrigation works, willie Mormon settlers creat-
ed more substantial works covering over
16,000 acres (6,400 hectares) in Utall by 1850. By the late nineteenth century, truly massive irrigation works, made possible by the
development of industrial technology, began
to appear. A typical project featured a storage dam, which created a reservoir to store water
for later use. Water released from the dam was
canals, flumes (large pipes), and, sometimes, pumps to move water to agricLutural land
where it was ctistributed to inctividual farms \~a ctitches, canals, or pipes. Irrigation made pos-
sible the opening of the arid lands of the West
to settlement and development. Supporters promised that irrigation
would "reclaim" or "improve" western lands,
which they portrayed as simply waiting for
water to become fruitfi.u. Irrigation engineers were understood to be working with nature,
laying the groundwork for idyllic and natural,
yet modern and prosperous commwuties. By
opening up new farmlands and making water
supply cOllU"olled and prectictable, irrigation
offered the ordinar'y marl the chance to escape
the factory and become an independent
farmer, thus bettering himself, Ius fanlliy, and
society in general. Finally, irrigation would
contribute to national prosperity, turning the
alid western regions of the Uluted States arld
cities with grain products and fruits arld to
provide commodities for overseas trade.
