Los Banos Rotary Club History
Folsom Tells Of Canal Project

O. H. Folsom, resident engineer in charge of construction of the Delta-Mendota Canal for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, this week gave members of both the Rotary and Lions Clubs a brief resume of the canal construction operation and its relation to the Central Valley Project as a whole.
His talk, coming on the eve of a community celebration next Monday evening which will commemorate completion of the canal and the initial opening, was a reminiscence of the construction of the canal itself, and a review of the many problems that still must be solved before the entire integrated plan is operating as a unit.

Actual construction of the canal began at Tracy in 1946, and at the same time initial construction was started on the Tracy Pumping Plant. Generally, Folsom said, construction has been faster than on most similar jobs, and the final portion has been rushed at top speed to speed water to the southern part of the valley at the earliest possible date. Last portion to be completed—and last to be started—was the compacted earth lined section of 18 miles connecting with Mendota pool. Though water is now flowing through this section Folsom said that some work still remains to be done there before its final and official acceptance by the Bureau.

Regarding the feasibility of the much discussed compacted earth lining, Folsom said the earth lining was necessitated by the peculiar type of soil traversed and the hazard of a high water table which would make a concrete lining impractical. Under similar conditions elsewhere, Folsom said, Bureau engineers have found that earth lining is superior to concrete. He said he has the utmost confidence that this section of the canal will prove satisfactory and emphasized that the Bureau will continually keep a close watch on it and take all precautions to see that no damage is incurrent by adjacent landowners.
He called attention to the series of Water Festivals that are now underway throughout the valley in celebration of the canal's completion, and expressed the hope that a large number of Los Banos folks would turn out next Monday evening for the community festival here.

He also expressed regret in that with completion of his job here he will soon leave Los Banos, and said that one of the sad parts of the job will e in the breaking up of his organization as the men are transferred to other jobs throughout the country. The breaking up process will be gradual, with possibly fifty men remaining here until the wasteways are completed and also the Columbia-Mowry construction job in the Mendota pool area. The same men will also be in charge of the initial operation and maintenance of the canal, gradually transferring the Los Banos headquarters office from a construction unit to an operations and maintenance unit, having charge of operations from the north Merced county line.

Folsom, concluded his talk with a question and answer forum, in which he explained the purpose and intent of the Westley, Newman, San Luis and Firebaugh wasteways as expensive but very essential "safety valves" whereby canal waters could be speedily dumped in case of emergency. Folsom stated the wasteways were not designed as channels for regular water and will not be used as such.

Commenting on the problems revolving around the routing of Sacramento River water from Shasta Dam to the Tracy pumping plant intake, Folsom said they are proceeding with extreme caution to make certain that saline water from the bay does not dilute the canal supply beyond the limits provided for in the Exchange Contract. Folsom stated that competent engineers are carefully studying the cross channel flow problem, and said that if the channel flow now provided does not prove feasible and satisfactory the Bureau will take whatever steps are necessary to insure a permanently satisfactory flow of water to the Delta-Mendota Canal. A closed conduit across the channel, Folsom said, would be prohibitive in cost and would entail superhuman engineering problems and would probably be resorted to only as a final resort.

Folsom said they are also experiencing minor problems from small particles of peet that have loosened from the floor of the Delta channel by the changing river currents, and are drifting into the intake. He said the condition is believed to be temporary and that no permanent difficulty will be experienced from this source. The peet particles are not harmful in irrigation.

August 3, 1951

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