WASHINGTON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY (Washington County, Utah)
COTTONWOOD PIPELINE
LOCATION
TBDHISTORY
In the summer of 1933, the City of St. George decided to test the program out itself by petitioning the National Public Works Administration (PWA) for help under provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act.In order to get federal subsidization, the city had to obtain preference rights to lease all the Cottonwood water rights owned by private individuals. This took a great deal of effort and maneuvering by city leaders since local citizens owned considerable rights in the stream as a result of their labor on the original ditch and the ill-fated reservoir.
With water rights finally in hand, the city entered into a contract with the PWA in 1935 to borrow from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation $102,000 and receive a PWA grant for $30,000, all of which would be used to complete the Cottonwood pipeline.
Work on the pipeline began in 1936. In the upper reaches of the line, where the slopes were steep and rough, steel pipe was used. In the lower areas where the terrain was more even, cement pipe was used.
To complete the project it was necessary to use an additional $13,000 from current waterworks funds, bringing the total cost of the project to nearly $150,000. The pipeline, in much the same manner as the original canal, cost more in sweat and blood than it did in dollars.
At the completion of the pipeline project in midsummer of 1937, an official city celebration was held.
PHOTOS
WCHS-03818 Photo of the Cottonwood Pipeline across Turkey Farm Road from the Hernia DamWCHS-03819 Photo of the Cottonwood Pipeline across Turkey Farm Road from the Hernia Dam
WCHS-03820 Photo of the the Cottonwood Pipeline across Turkey Farm Road from the Hernia Dam
REFERENCES
http://www.sgcity.org/wp/water/history/sgart11.phpQuotations Concerning Brigham Jarvis
Mayor Albert E. Miller Remembers Brigham Jarvis, Cottonwood Canal in Pipes
from "Immortal Pioneers" by Albert E. Miller
The Cottonwood Water Story (Brigham Jarvis and the Cottonwood Canal)
by Mabel Jarvis, Daughter of Brigham Jarvis