Why Is The Yuma Project Important

Josselyn Santillanez

Coursework

Ploude 6

Yuma’s Irrigation

Thanks to a project the commenced in the 1900’s Yuma has a great irrigation system that irrigates millions of acres of farmland. Having a steady flow of water has provided with many resourceful things and has also gained many fertile land. If this project had never been thought of and then commenced Yuma would not have as many fertile lands as it has now and it also wouldn't be famous for its lettuce. The colorado river is a great source of water and it's thanks to that river and to all the canals and dams that divert it to many different towns that we have a great source of water. In the next few paragraphs you will see the ups and downs of this projects you will see how it grew

The Yuma project consisted of many things like canals, dams, the money needed to begin the project, as well as the landscape were it would be started. This project was hoped to make the land more fertile so more crops could be planted and more acres of land would become irrigable. Despite the fact that the project had a great starting point there were a few set backs. For example Laguna dam that was placed into the colorado river caused water levels to go way down. This meant that steamboats wouldn't be able to use the river for travel anymore which caused the end of the steamboat era in 1909. This would also lessen the amount of water that others around Yuma depended on. But despite these few

To be able to gain good irrigation many different canals and dams had to be built things didn't only have to be built they also had to be destroyed and or rebuilt. As the laguna dam was built water levels dropped causing the end of the steamboat era in 1909.“Completed in 1909, the Laguna Dam was the first dam on the Colorado River, marking the end of the steamboat era - and the beginning of irrigated agriculture.” The number of towns around Yuma increased and decreased as the years went by and it was all because of the irrigation project. “One hundred years ago, Yuma’s farming tradition took root with the birth of a federal agency whose purpose was to harness the waters of the Colorado and the other rivers rolling across the West.” Since the project was extensive many things were in progress some of these things caused water shortages as well as resource shortages causing towns to shrink. Shortly after the Yuma project was completed the laguna dams construction began this dam was supposed to raise water levels this was so the water could be diverted by gravity flow instead of having to pump the water.“Laguna Dam continued to function as a diversion structure until Imperial Dam was completed in 1948.” Due to so many dams being placed on different rivers the rivers started to shrink. Before the dams the rivers used to be much larger than they