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Summary: How Irrigation Changed Yuma Essay

The Yuma we have today is all because of the irrigation system and the hard work of people. Yuma Project and the irrigation had many struggles they had to overcome and go through to accomplish the Yuma they have today. The irrigation was a big help to Yuma and Arizona to have a better growth for the economy and the country. The irrigation system was the new begin to the people and Yuma Arizona. Even though they knew it was going to be tough to make this happen and they didn’t know what problems were going there way when building the irrigation system.

Question 1: Describe in details how irrigation changed Yuma/ Southern Arizona. Irrigation changed Yuma/ Southern Arizona in both a positive and negative way. A positive way that irrigation help was by the dam blocks being built and the water level down preventing safe travel down river and travel upriver. A negative way that irrigation did not help was by impacting steamer business which brought down the economy in Yuma and Southernern Arizona. With the economy passing of a hard time there was a time where it boosted the economy up by how the framers were getting water and they could make their crops.

When the economy was boosted up by the irrigation system, yuma started to grow in building house and the population of the town grow by time in the “Summary Statistics for Yuma Project Development” it shows the growth from 1912 to 1989. To make the irrigation possible “… one of the greatest events in engineering history. ” had to happen, which was a project where water was to be pumped out of the canal and transport through a tunnel that was under the river.

After this great development it meant that people of Yuma and Southern Arizona are going to start to now depends on the ater and the amount of water they get. Which so much water being depend it cause a problem to Yuma and Southern Arizona of not being able to get the same amount of water the people need to what the economy need to make the crops in the winter. Especially when there is a treaty with Mexico. The treaty of Mexico say that” mexico is entitled to 1. 5 MAF of Colorado River water each year. ” which this could be a problem has we do not meet Mexican treaty rights to the water they need will be made up by equal quantities in the upper and lower basin states.

Even after all this the irrigation system is still big part of Yuma because not only did it combined the hard work of many people it also still works as a big part of yuma and how it changed yuma and southern Arizona from 1906. Even with the problems it brought their was still positive it brought to Yuma and South Arizona. Because of the irrigation system being built Yuma as one of the best productive farmland in the country.

That’s because in the first place Yuma has“ The lands are extremely fertile and productive, and capable of producing enormous crops when provided with a sufficient supply of water for irrigation. meaning that the irrigation is the cause of having a pretty good economy and the changes in Yuma and southern Arizona. All of this was because of the irrigation system that provided water for the farm being able produces goods making the economy go up and the growth of Yuma Arizona. Question 2: What challenges did the developers of the land in Yuma Country have to overcome. The challenges that the land of Yuma had to overcome with the irrigation were so many but at the same time very beneficial.

Most of them had to do with the problems that irrigation brought or the water system. Overall the irrigation system did great help to make Yuma growth extend over the years. The “Summary Statistics for Yuma Project Development” have the development of yuma from 1912 and 1989. This development happen with the help of the irrigation system by bring people into Yuma Arizona which demand to make more house and jobs to the people. One big impact that happen in Yuma was when Yuma got flooded.

It happen in 1916 when this brought trouble to the irrigation system because the levees broke which led to the town being flooded in a instance, this has happen before but this this time is when the irrigation was place. Even so Yuma was to overcome this” And each time, the people of Yuma rebuilt, promising to build bigger and better and a little smarter. ” this shows that Yuma still trusts the irrigation system after the flooding. Yuma learned from this to be able to improve their town by making such they rebuilt it again and no mistake were made for the levees to break again.

Even so today the irrigation system is still working because “… of the foresight and hard labor of those who designed and constructed it, said Jennifer McCloskey,… ” making it reliable even so today has it was a big task that Yuma had to overcome to irrigation to happen even if they got help from the government. When coming to land of crops and the water it needed and the water that the people needed became a problem too. When irrigation came it was there give the water needed to the people in Yuma or give the water to grow crops in Yuma to improve the growth of Yuma and its economy.

To this problem there was a lot of problem with dealing with the water right’s “The most difficult legislative aspect concerned the equitable division of the Colorado waters. ” many were not getting there need of water. Yuma had to build dams and pass so they got their rights and other got theirs right too. Knowing that the Yuma we have today is all do to the fact of the hard work of people who put into the irrigation system. Question 3: Explain the various cost of irrigation. How far is it beneficial to Yuma Country.

The cost that came with irrigation was quite a lot special when problem gave in and that add an extra bill to pay. Even so irrigation did help to improve the growth of Yuma’s land and the economy. One of the big problem in Yuma where the steamboat business and how the dam would blocks travel upriver showing a negative impact on the steamer business. This can bring down Yuma as the steamer business are not going to be working with Yuma anymore. Overall this is not a benefit for Yuma as it brings down the economy.

Even so in 2014″… agriculture and related industries contributed $2. billion in output to the Yuma economy. ” this really brought Yuma economy up as it help to demand jobs and transportation, and many other demand making Yuma better. If irrigation have not started of Yuma as it is now then we would not have the demand that where made or the agricultural help at all. Then there was the help of GDP which “… $5. 4 billion, Yuma Country’s economy would rank 151st out of 192 countries, globally. ” meaning that the cost of irrigation was worth making even with damage that irrigation sometime brought too.

The help of GDP came because of how Yuma has improved the crop and irrigation water resources by “… irrigation systems with average application efficiencies in the 80-85 percent range. ” this benefit Yuma economy in every way possible. Even so over the years the irrigation water has been going down because of the use it especially in the desert, even California has gone to restrictions on the irrigation water.

By this making a problem the “… states of Arizona, Nevada and California, and municipal water suppliers agreed to a goal of putting up to 3 million acre feet of water back into Lake Mead By 2019. this a great idea as it helps to improve the irrigation system and every way possible. The irrigation has provide for Yuma Arizona a lot in 2015″… the river being used to provide water to populations in seven U. S. states… ” which shows how irrigation is so beneficial to Yuma and seven U. S. states. Even with cost of the irrigation it just shows that over the years it doesn’t matter because Yuma has earn more on what the irrigation system brought and how far it has been very beneficial to Yuma Arizona.

With all the information that is shown it shows that irrigation was the best historical part that happen to Yuma Arizona. The irrigation helped so much to the people of Yuma and Arizona with being able to give them the water they needed to have a better economy and growing their crops needed. Without the irrigation Yuma we know today would’ve probably been a lot different. This just prove that we live by the irrigation system and what it give to Yuma and what it still gives to Yuma Arizona.

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