Kameron Thompson
Coursework
Ploude 1 Yuma & It’s Irrigation
Intro
Question One Describe in detail how irrigation changed Yuma/Southern Arizona?
Irrigation in Yuma has evolved quite a lot, but before irrigation was evolving it was Yuma being evolved by irrigation. Before the help of irrigation, Yuma would often be flooded due to over rising waters that came from The Colorado. With the start of The Yuma Project, irrigation would be able to come into play. The Yuma Project would result with the construction of The Laguna Dam and various “networks of canals.”The dam would help keep the flooding to a minimum, though flooding was less likely, it still occurred. This flooding helped create …show more content…
Some of those things being difficult. For instance with the creation of the dam steamboats became very unpractical. Before dams were put into use,“the steamboats ruled the river and supplied much of the early building blocks of the territory.” Though creation of dams lead to water levels dropping which would create unsafe boat movement and almost if not impossible movement for upriver travel. The creation of the Laguna Dam would permanently end steamboat era yet would mark the start of truly great irrigation services to Yuma County. This end of an era and start of a new on would cause land developers to find ways of transportation which would not be hard although definitely be a task. Another negative thing that land developers had to overcome was the massive amounts of flooding that plagued Yuma. These floods were spoken about in the paragraph above but in a positive tone. These flood did indeed help with the rich soil however they were not helpful with the buildings that were in the town of Yuma. Flooding cause a lot of damage to important and not so important buildings. “Led to high costs for building head works and levees to hand the flows, or repair them after the floods subsided.” There is even a photo of people boating through what was Yuma’s main street but the flood waters were so high they had to use a boat to get around. This meant more work into buildings and keeps them flood proof …show more content…
The Yuma Project helped bring successful irrigation to Yuma and a great supply of water for its inhabitants. The project helped provide a stable economy, without it , Yuma County would have fewer crops,less development and far lesser opportunities for the people. With the project, people became more motivated when something would break “the people of Yuma rebuilt, promising to build bigger and better and a little smarter.” There was not only significance to Yuma’s people but many other groups were helped and or affected by the project itself. People of the Cocopah Indians of Northern Mexico were effected in a worse way. “The Colorado River, on which the Cocopah people fished and farmed for about 2,000 years, is often drained dry by upstream demand before reaching this part of Baja, California.” This is due to the effects of the Yuma Project. Water is used and separated before going into Mexico. Water comes to Mexico but is often gone by the time it makes it the now once needed areas. This shows that the Project was positive for people of Yuma though on the other hand, negative for some people of Mexico. Although it was negative for Mexico with time a treaty would come into play from the IID and Yuma Project California Division and guarantee Mexico “1.5 MAF of Colorado River water each year.” With this also came the right of water even low flow time, Mexico would receive the needed water
Coursework
Ploude 1 Yuma & It’s Irrigation
Intro
Question One Describe in detail how irrigation changed Yuma/Southern Arizona?
Irrigation in Yuma has evolved quite a lot, but before irrigation was evolving it was Yuma being evolved by irrigation. Before the help of irrigation, Yuma would often be flooded due to over rising waters that came from The Colorado. With the start of The Yuma Project, irrigation would be able to come into play. The Yuma Project would result with the construction of The Laguna Dam and various “networks of canals.”The dam would help keep the flooding to a minimum, though flooding was less likely, it still occurred. This flooding helped create …show more content…
Some of those things being difficult. For instance with the creation of the dam steamboats became very unpractical. Before dams were put into use,“the steamboats ruled the river and supplied much of the early building blocks of the territory.” Though creation of dams lead to water levels dropping which would create unsafe boat movement and almost if not impossible movement for upriver travel. The creation of the Laguna Dam would permanently end steamboat era yet would mark the start of truly great irrigation services to Yuma County. This end of an era and start of a new on would cause land developers to find ways of transportation which would not be hard although definitely be a task. Another negative thing that land developers had to overcome was the massive amounts of flooding that plagued Yuma. These floods were spoken about in the paragraph above but in a positive tone. These flood did indeed help with the rich soil however they were not helpful with the buildings that were in the town of Yuma. Flooding cause a lot of damage to important and not so important buildings. “Led to high costs for building head works and levees to hand the flows, or repair them after the floods subsided.” There is even a photo of people boating through what was Yuma’s main street but the flood waters were so high they had to use a boat to get around. This meant more work into buildings and keeps them flood proof …show more content…
The Yuma Project helped bring successful irrigation to Yuma and a great supply of water for its inhabitants. The project helped provide a stable economy, without it , Yuma County would have fewer crops,less development and far lesser opportunities for the people. With the project, people became more motivated when something would break “the people of Yuma rebuilt, promising to build bigger and better and a little smarter.” There was not only significance to Yuma’s people but many other groups were helped and or affected by the project itself. People of the Cocopah Indians of Northern Mexico were effected in a worse way. “The Colorado River, on which the Cocopah people fished and farmed for about 2,000 years, is often drained dry by upstream demand before reaching this part of Baja, California.” This is due to the effects of the Yuma Project. Water is used and separated before going into Mexico. Water comes to Mexico but is often gone by the time it makes it the now once needed areas. This shows that the Project was positive for people of Yuma though on the other hand, negative for some people of Mexico. Although it was negative for Mexico with time a treaty would come into play from the IID and Yuma Project California Division and guarantee Mexico “1.5 MAF of Colorado River water each year.” With this also came the right of water even low flow time, Mexico would receive the needed water