Harry F. Blaney papers, 1920-1970

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Summary

Creators:
Blaney, Harry French, 1892-1976
Abstract:
The collection consists of reports pertaining to consumptive water use by irrigated crops and native vegetation in desert areas of Southern California, Arizona, and other parts of the Southwest; to irrigation costs in California; to irrigation in Israel; and to irrigation and water supply studies of the Pecos, Colorado, and other rivers.
Extent:
12.7 linear feet (31 boxes)
Language:
The collection is in English .
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [date if possible]. Harry F. Blaney papers (WRCA 143). Water Resources Collections and Archives. Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of reports pertaining to consumptive water use by irrigated crops and native vegetation in desert areas of Southern California, Arizona, and other parts of the Southwest; to irrigation costs in California; to irrigation in Israel; and to irrigation and water supply studies of the Pecos, Colorado, and other rivers.

This collection contains not only the extensive holdings donated by Mr. Blaney to the Los Angeles collection of the Water Resources Collections and Archives, but also items from several limited bibliographies of his writings. Published works, mimeographed reports, draft copies, and letters are also included.

Any item also cataloged in the main collection of the Water Resources Collections and Archives shows the call number in parenthesis.

Collection described in: Writings of Harry F. Blaney, Distinguished Water Conservation Engineer (1892-1976),compiled by Robert J. Cullen, under supervision of Beth R. Willard. Davis, Calif.: California Water Resources Center, University of California, 1978 (Archives report; no. 24).

Biographical / historical:

Born in Los Angeles, California, July 1892. Died in October 1976.

Educated at Los Angeles Polytechnic High School (1907-1911) and the University of California at Los Angeles (1911-1915) with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Harry French Blaney, a water conservation engineer, made significant contributions to irrigation research not only in his native California, but also throughout the world. In 1915, Mr. Blaney received a B.S. degree in civil engineering from the University of California; and upon graduation, he worked two years for the Southern California Gas Company. He began a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture in May 1917 that continued until his retirement in 1962. From that time until 1973, he was a research associate at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mr. Blaney was awarded the John Deere Medal from the American Society of Agricultural Engineers, the Superior Service Award and Silver Medal from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Royce Tipton Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is probably best known for his work in the development of the Blaney-Criddle Formula, a method for calculating water loss from plants by evapotranspiration.

In 1969, his oral history, Harry F. Blaney: Water Conservation Engineer, was published by Oral History Program, University of California, Los Angeles (G4702/J9-5).

Work History
Date Event
September 1915 - April 1917
Engineer - Southern California Gas Company, Los Angeles
May 1917 - May 1918
Agent - U.S. Department of Agriculture, Irrigation and Silt Studies, Colorado
May 1918 - December 1918
Master Gunner - Non-commission Staff Officer, U.S. Army
January 1919 - January 1962
Irrigation Engineer - U.S. Department of Agriculture, in California and other areas as follows:
1919 - In charge of Denver Irrigation Field Laboratory, evaporation and evapotranspiration studies.
1919-1927 - Studies of sedimentation in Imperial Valley and Colorado River; cost of irrigation water; evapotranspiration.
1927-1934 - Consumptive use of water by irrigated crops and native vegetation and rainfall disposal.
1934-1935 - Water conservation engineer, developing water for drought areas, New Mexico.
1935-1936 - Water utilization studies, Mojave River, and irrigation, California.
1936-1937 - In charge of consumptive-use studies, Upper Rio Grande, for National Resources Committee, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.
1937-1939 - Water utilization studies, Beaumont and San Jacinto Basins and San Fernando Valley, California.
1939-1941 - In charge, consumptive water requirements, Pecos River Joint Investigations, New Mexico and Texas.
1941 - Member of technical mission to Cuba to investigate rehabilitation of agriculture, 12 dam sites, soils, and water supply for rice irrigation.
1941-1942 - Water utilization studies, San Luis Rey Valley.
1942-1943 - In charge, irrigation surveys on quantity, quality and cost of water in southwestern states of Guayule Rubber Project, Forest Service.
1943-1951 - Project supervisor, consumptive irrigation requirement studies in Arizona, Colorado River Basin, and Pacific Southwest; drainage studies in Imperial Valley, California.
1951-1954 - State research supervisor, in charge of cooperative irrigation studies with the State Engineer of California and U.S. Soil Conservation Service.
1954-1962 - Principal irrigation engineer, U.S. Agriculture Research Service in Pacific Southwest.
1959 - Irrigation engineer consultant in Israel for U.S. Department of State, International Cooperation Administration.
January 1962 - July 1965
Research Associate - University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Irrigation and Soil Sciences
July 1965 - March 1973
Research Associate - University of California at Los Angeles, Department of Engineering and Water Resources Center
1956-1968
Consultant for the following:
1956-1958 - For the State of California and other agencies on litigation of the use of water from the Colorado River
January 1962 - For International Boundary and Water Commission, U.S. Department of State, on salinity in lower Colorado River
1963-1965 - For 20 farms, Gila River Basin, New Mexico
January-November 1968 - For State of Arizona on water use in Central Valley Project (January-February 1966) and consumptive use on farms in Colorado
Memberships in Scientific Societies:
  • American Society of Agricultural Engineers (1950-1968)
  • Past member of evapotranspiration and nomenclature committees.
  • American Society of Civil Engineers (1920-1976)
  • Fellow and life member; past vice-president, Los Angeles Section; past chairman of National Executive Committee of Irrigation and Drainage Division; past member of committee on sedimentation of reservoirs and the hydrology sub-committee; past chairman of committee on water conservation; chairman of committee on consumptive use of water; member of publication committee.
  • The Society of Sigma Xi (1951-1976)
  • United States National Committee of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (1952-1960)
  • Soil Conservation Society of America (1946-1963)
  • American Geophysical Union, National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council (1932-1976) Life member; delegate for the National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council to the Tenth General Assembly of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics, Rome, Italy, September 1954; past member of evapotranspiration, infiltration and groundwater committees; past secretary and vice-president of hydrology section.
  • Pacific Southwest Inter-Agency Technical Committee
  • Member of subcommittee on phreatophytes.
Honors and Awards:
  • Superior Service Award and Silver Medal; U.S. Department of Agriculture (1951)
  • Distinguished Service Award; Soil Conservation Society of America (California Chapter) (1961)
  • The John Deere Medal; American Society of Agricultural Engineers (1966)
  • Royce Tipton Award; American Society of Civil Engineers (1966)
  • Service Award - Member for 28 years; Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce (Agricultural Committee)
  • Honorary Member; Greek Committee of International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage
Acquisition information:
Gift of Harry F. Blaney.
Processing information:

Processed by Robert J. Cullen and Beth R. Willard, 1999.

Collection number updated December 2018. Legacy collection number was MS 92/2. This change was part of a project in 2018/2019 to update the collection numbers for collections in the Water Resources Collections and Archives.

Arrangement:

The Blaney collection is divided into three sections, although all reports are numbered and indexed as a single group. Items 1-317 consist of publications and reports by, or under the supervision of, Mr. Blaney. Material is arranged chronologically with undated or irregularly dated reports at the end of the section. Items 318-367 are reports prepared during World War II for the Emergency Rubber Project of the U.S. Forest Service. Mr. Blaney's geographic organization of these reports has been preserved. Items 368-393 are reports and publications in chronological order, with additions to the cover or title page indicating Mr. Blaney's involvement.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the University of California, Riverside Libraries, Special Collections & University Archives. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [date if possible]. Harry F. Blaney papers (WRCA 143). Water Resources Collections and Archives. Special Collections & University Archives, University of California, Riverside.

Location of this collection:
University of California, Riverside - Special Collections and University Archives
PO Box 5900
Riverside, CA 92517-5900, US
Contact:
(951) 827-3233
specialcollections@ucr.edu
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