‘WAR DIARY. ARMY HEADQUARTERS, INDIA. […] I.E.F. “D”. Volume 14. PART II. (From 16th to 30th September 1915.)’ [‎64r] (132/276)

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This scheme is a simple one, and is to a certain extent suitable, but it seems
to me doubtful whether it would lend itself to linking up with Willcocks*
scheme hereafter as Lieutenant Stoddard suggests, since in this the irrigation
would be by lift, whereas Willcocks evidently intended a scheme of flow irriga
tion for this tract. The levels of the canals would therefore be quite different.
Moreover, a large portion of the area is already under cultivation, so it is doubt
ful whether even the reduced rate of revenue anticipated is justified.
In my opinion it would be better to defer all consideration of the irrigation
of this area until fuller information concerning Willcocks* scheme has been
obtained; then the irrigation of the Basrah area could be dealt with as a whole.
3. The third scheme put forward by Lieutenant Stoddard, viz., reclaiming
100,000 acres of the swamps lying to the west of Gurmat Ali seems to me far
more favourable and likely to prove a great deal more profitable. At first
I was not inclined to favour this scheme as Willcocks said he had for two years
carefully considered the reclamation of these marshes and had finally discarded
the idea in favour of the barrage scheme, his reason being that he feared the
effect of draining the large flood reservoir which supplied the Shatt-el-Arab
during the months of low supply. Yet we find on pages 39 and 40, he suggests
the reclamation of a part of this area, though he apparently anticipates that it
will be done by private enterprise and says no public works of any kind
are required.
I venture to think that a scheme well considered and properly laid out
would be far more likely to be successful and profitable than the crude indivi
dual efforts of the local cultivation.
I do not think that Lieutenant Stoddard’s scheme which only contemplates
the reclamation of 100,000 acres would seriously affect the supply of water
from the swamped area, which comprises 800,000 hectares or 2 million acres.
If we take the amount of water required to be a depth of \\ feet, the total
amount required would be 176,600,000 cub. metres, which is equivalent to
only 5 days of the lowest supply of the Euphrates. Moreover, as the loss from
evaporation is about half of the lowest supply we are only actually reducing
the reservoir by about 2| days’ supply.
It would I think be quite feasible to arrange this reclamation so that it
would not interfere with Willcocks’ barrage scheme if that should be undertaken
later. Lieutenant Stoddard has allowed very full rates and even so he estimates
the return on the capital outlay at 11 per cent. This is a very high figure and
would be far more profitable than the barrage scheme which, according to
Willcocks’ figures, would only pay about 4 per cent.
This project I think is well worth further investigation.
J. C. EIMINGTON, Brigadier-General, B.B.,
Indian Expeditionary Force “ D.”
Brief Report on the possibilities of development of irrigation in the Basrah
district.
The land available for cultivation in the Basrah district consists of two
separate tracts, one being the strip of low desert lying roughly parallel to the
course of ihe Shatt-el-Arab, ordinarily dry but subject to inundation by high
river floods, and the other the perennially swamped marshes through which the
Euphrates is cutting a new channel to Gurmat Ali. This report is concerned
with the possibilities of the development of both the above tracts, the desert
area being dealt with first.
This tract is practically level throughout and its irrigation presents certain
difficulties. Sir W. Willcocks has proposed a perennial irrigation scheme for an
area of 90,000 hectares or about 225,000 acres, which is described on pages 34
to 40 of his report on the “ Irrigation of Mesopotamia.”
Sir w.wiiicoct 8 " S cheme for the irrigation of the 2. The main outlines of the scheme
desert tract. gy’g ;—-
(a) A barrage in the new Euphrates Channel, a few miles above
Gurmat Ali, to retain water to a level of 2 or 2^ metres
above mean sea level.
{b) Repairs to old Euphrates right bank and construction of embank"
ment to divert Tigris spills to Gurna and reduce the area of
the reservoir behind the barrage.