1930–31 Volume 55 No 1–5 - Phi Delta Theta Scroll Archive

Engineer on Boulder Damr HI Delta Theta may well be proudof another western brother who hasrecently assumed charge of one of theworld's great works—Boulder CanyonDam. The man is Walker R. Young,Idaho, '08, and the structure is to bethe highest dam ever constructed, secondin cost only to the immense projectcompleted some years ago and knownas the Panama Canal.A few words first about BoulderDam, as it is commonly known, apart of the Boulder Canyon Project,of the Bureau of Reclamation. Itwill be situated upon the ColoradoRiver, about thirty-five miles fromthe town of Las Vegas, Nevada.The dam will be 750 feet high, comparativelynarrow, as it is situated in astep-wall canyon and will form a reservoir115 miles long. The water thusstored will be used partly to generateelectrical power by means of a powerplant situated on the downstream sideof the dam and extending upon bothbanks of the river. This plant will becapable of producing a maximum of1,330,000 horsepower. The other functionof the storage water will be forthe irrigation of the arid lands ofArizona and California, mainly therich Imperial Valley in Southern Californiawhich will be reached by theAll-American Canal. This canal willbe 200 miles long and its constructioninvolves an expenditure of $38,000,000.The entire project, including dam,power plant, canal, etc. will be$165,000,000. The foregoing is a verysketchy account and is intended solelyto illustrate the tremendous importanceof the work to be done.However, Brother Young is wellqualified for the undertaking. He was[259]By EMILE N. VIDALColorado, '22WALKER R. YOUNG, Idaho, '08born at Butler, Indiana, May 7, 1885and attended common and high schoolat Duluth, Minnesota. He graduatedfrom the University of Idaho in 1908with a B.S. degree in Mining Engineering.While in the University hewas active in musical circles, playedfootball and baseball four years, wascaptain of the latter, was president ofhis class for two years and in his senioryear was President of the UniversityStudent Body.Brother Young's most important accomplishmentshave all been in theBureau of Reclamation which hejoined in 1911. The previous yearswere spent in various engineering positionsall connected with construction