A contract to supply 10,000 feet of corrugated metal culver pipe for use in water spreading and drought alleviation work on the Papago Indian Reservation of southern Arizona has been awarded to the
Consolidated Western Steel Division of the United States Steel Corporation in Phoenix, the Department of the Interior announced today. Consolidated Western Steel's bid of $28,485.60 for supplying the 18- and 24- inch pipe was the lowest of four received by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The others ranged from $30,781.80 to $34,917.60.
The pipe will be used in the construction of charcos (deep pit structures with a minimum of exposed surface), flood control detention reservoirs, and water spreading structures as part of the broad reservation development program initiated in 1949.
The range water development phase of this program, scheduled for completion in 1959, has rehabilitated all existing range wells on the reservation and provided an additional 15 deep wells in selected localities.
The water spreading phase, which involves the collection of water in arroyos and its diversion over adjacent flat areas, has already proved its usefulness during drought periods. In many cases the areas so treated have been the only places over broad stretches of the reservation where any green vegetation could be found.
