1935 was a pivotal year for the Tule & Baxter Creek Irrigation Districts concerning the Bly Tunnel. Not only had they exhausted what limited funds on the annual extension of the inlet, but the level of the lake continued to go lower. The district’s engineer, Harry S. Riddell came up with last minute plan.
In 1932, President Herbert Hoover’s administration established the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). This agency was designed to facilitate economic recovery during the Great Depression. In 1935, Riddell, submitted an application on behalf of the districts for $1,465,000.
Riddell’s plan was two-fold. The bulk of the loan would be used to reach a settlement with the bondholders for fifty cents on the dollar. The second portion was to get the irrigation system in operation. Instead of proceeding with the costly work of continual digging to extend the intake channel, he proposed a pumping plant. Riddell estimated the cost of a plant at $45,000.
The application to the RFC was denied. With no solution at hand, Riddell resigned and moved to Sacramento. In the 1940s, W. Coburn Cook resurrected the project, but that is another story.