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The Consolidated Canal was a relative newcomer to the valley and the earlier established canals had first rights to most of the water in the Salt River. During periods of low-water flow, acreage served by the Consolidated Canal received insufficient irrigation. In order to augment the supply, Chandler dug one of the most successful wells in the Salt River Valley.1 To get the water to the surface, he brought the first electric pump to Arizona and operated it with the power from the hyroelectric hydroelectric plant northwest of Mesa.2 The success of the venture caused him to dig several others in succeeding years.3
Despite the presence of the three dredges, most of the work of excavating the canal system was done by teams of horses pulling fresno Fresno scrapers. The Consolidated Canal construction utilized over 100 teams of horses day and night to accomplish this engineering feat in one year. This photograph of canal construction on the north side of the Salt River exemplifies the physical labor of both man and beast. (Photo Courtesy of Salt River Project)
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1The first well was located on the SW 1/4 of Sec. 22, T. 1 S, R. 5 E. The Santa Fe Railroad transported the well drilling outfit free of charge. Stevens, Robert Conway, The History of Chandler, Arizona, Social Science Buliting Bulletin No. 25, (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1954) p. 19, footnote #27.
2Stevens,Robert Conway, The History of Chandler, Arizona, Social Science Buliting Bulletin No. 25, (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1954) p. 19
3Two of these were in the NW 1/4 of Sec. 34, T. 1 S, R. 5 E. within the later townlimits town limits of Chandler. One of these may have been the well located in the park. Stevens, Robert Conway, The History of Chandler, Arizona, Social Science Buliting Bulletin No. 25, (Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 1954) p. 19, footnote #28.