Water-Supply and Irrigate Paper No. 184 Series { jj

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIEECTOE

THE UNDERFLOW

SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY

BY

CHARLES S. SLIGHTER AND HENRT C. WOLFF

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1906
Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 184 Series { *' J PJ*^ 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

CHARLES D. WALCOTT, DIRECTOR

THE UNDERFLOW

Water Resources Branch,

Geological Survey,

Ci*y, Okk.

SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY

CHARLES S. SLIGHTER AND HENRT C. WOLFF

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1906
CONTENTS.

Page.

Location and purpose of the investigations ...--..-.--.-..............-..... 5

Water-bearing gravels .................................................... 6

Conditions at Sterling, Colo ............................................... 8

Investigations at Ogalalla, Nebr ........................................... 9

Velocity and direction of the underflow................................ 9

Quantity of the underflow ..........-...---.-.--.-...-...-............ 12

Chemical analyses of water.....--.-.-.-.-.-.----.....-...---.......... 12

Underflow ditch at Ogalalla........................................... 15

Disadvantages of underflow canals..................................... 22

Investigations at North Platte, Nebr....................................... 23

Slope of the water plane .............................................. 23

North Platte city waterworks pumping plant........................... 25

Springs and artesian water of Birdwood Creek.......................... 26

Suggestions for the construction of small pumping plants.................... 29

Kind of wells adapted to the South Platte gravels ...................... 29

Amount of water that can be obtained ................................. 29

Distance between wells ............................................... 30

Kind of pump........................................................ 33

Method of priming pumps ............................................ 34

Pipe fittings.......................................................... 34

Source of power......................... ............................ 35

Economical distance water may be lifted............................... 35

Storage reservoirs ......................'..-.-...-...-.....-...-..---.. 35

Cost of pumping ..-..-.-.-............-..--....-...-...-.-..-.-....-. 36

Appendix................................................................ 38

Index ................................................................... 41
ILLUSTRATIONS.

Page. 

FIG. 1. Cross section of South Platte Valley at Ogalalla, Nebr............... 10

2. Map of Hollingsworth underflow ditch, Ogalalla, Nebr....... ......' 17

3. Diagram showing discharge over weirs Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in the Hollingsworth underflow ditch and the elevation of the water in the 

river between August 6 and 21, 1905 ............................. 18

4. Diagram showing discharge of Hollingsworth underflow ditch from

8 a. m. August 20 to 3 p. m. August 21, 1905...................... 19

5. Diagram showing discharge of Hollingsworth underflow ditch and the

temperature of the water and the air Aiigust 24, 1905.............. 19

6. Diagram showing discharge of Hollingsworth underflow ditch and the

temperature of the water and the air August 27 and 28, 1905....... 20

7. Profile of water plane at line of test wells near the head of the Hollingsworth underflow ditch...................................... 21

8. Diagram showing change in elevation of the ground water at North

Platte, Nebr., between 1890 and 1905 ............................ 24

9. Map of city waterworks pumping plant at North Platte, Nebr........ 26

10. Diagram showing the position of the water plane and the coarse

water-bearing gravel near the head of West Bird wood Creek ...... 28

11. Diagram of a pumping plant in the Arkansas Valley for recovering 

water from a dug well provided with seven galvanized-iron strainers or feeders................................................... 31

Suggested arrangement of wells and pump for a plant designed to 

recover 2,500 gallons of water per minute......................... 32

Diagram showing relative shape of standard and "long sweep" pipe

fittings......................................................... 35
THE UNDERFLOW OF THE SOUTH PLATTE YALLEY.

Bv C. S. SLIGHTER and H. C. WOLFF.

LOCATION AND PURPOSE OF THE INVESTIGATIONS.

Investigations were begun in the middle of July, 1905, in that part 

of the South Platte Valley extending from Sterling, Colo., to North 

Platte, Nebr. The purpose of the survey was to determine what 

resources, if any, existed in the underflow waters of the valley and 

whether it was practicable to make use of such waters, if they were 

found to exist in suitable quantities, for purposes of irrigation.

The greater part of the work was carried on at Ogalalla, Nebr. 

This point was selected for several reasons; primarily for the fact that 

an underflow canal on the south side of the river at this place has been 

in successful operation for several years and has attracted the attention of those interested in irrigating the bottom lands of the valley. 

It was thought that valuable information might be obtained from 

observations on the operation of this canal, concerning not only the 

practicability of recovering ground water by the gravity method, but 

also the extent of the deposits of water-bearing gravels and the ease 

with which they yield water under small heads. Again, while the 

conditions found existing at this point are probably not in all respects 

typical for the valley in western Nebraska, the results obtained can 

be applied to any part of the valley.

In the eastern part of Colorado and in the western part of Nebraska 

the South Platte Valley ranges from 6 to 8 miles in width. Near 

Ogalalla it narrows down to about 2 miles and holds approximately 

this width to Sutherland, Nebr., a distance of about 32 miles. Below 

Sutherland the valleys of South Platte and North Platte rivers unite 

and form a broad, low tract of land west of the city of North Platte.

From Sterling, Colo., to Ogalalla the direction of the South Platte 

Valley is about N. 80° E.; from Ogalalla to North Platte the direction is almost due east.

In western Nebraska the river has cut to a depth of 150 to 300 feet 

in the Ogalalla formation, with steep bluffs on the north side, but 

with more gentle slopes rising to the rolling uplands on the south. 

The Ogalalla formation is a deposit of sand, gravel, and calcareous

5
6 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

grit, from wThich the river sands were, for the most part, derived by 

the washing out of the fine sand, silt, and cementing material.

Lodgepole Creek, the only tributary of any size, joins the South 

Platte from the west near the Colorado-Nebraska State line. This 

stream has cut down into the Brule clay and is fed by spring water 

from the overlying Ogalalla formation. At places the surface flow is 

entirely taken out for purposes of irrigation.

The river itself occupies a sandy stretch from 1,500 to 2,500 feet in 

width. During low stages the river flows in this wide bed in numerous interlocking small streams, among which it is difficult to select 

the principal channel. Much of the bottom land near the river is low 

and swampy. These low bottoms vary greatly in width at different 

places, and at points where the width is considerable they leave but a 

small area of land suitable for irrigation. Above the bottom lands 

the valley slopes gently away from the channel, here and there in two 

or three distinct levels, but at many places in a gradual rise without 

noticeable benches, to the base of the escarpment that borders the 

uplands on either side of the river. The uplands or table-lands 

within which the river has cut its valley have the well-known level 

topography of the High Plains of western Kansas and Nebraska.

Numerous irrigation canals have been taken out of South Platte 

River at various points in Colorado and Nebraska. As a rule these 

canals carry water to the bottom lands only. At no place between 

Sterling and North Platte has it been practicable to construct a canal 

to convey water to the uplands, owing to their elevation. Where the 

irrigation systems have been properly constructed and maintained 

the results have been very satisfactory, except during the middle 

and end of the irrigating season, when the farmers complain of the 

shortage of water a complaint frequently heard in irrigation districts. 

In order to augment the low-stage supply of water several reservoirs 

have been constructed in the South Platte Valley in Colo ado.

»

WATER-BEARING GRAVELS.

Inasmuch as irrigation must of necessity be confined to the bottom 

lands of the valley, it is especially important to know to what extent 

these lands can be irrigated by means of water drawn from the 

underflow of the river. This point was kept well in mind during the 

investigations.

The gradient of the river channel along this portion of its course 

averages about 8 feet to the mile. The alluvial deposits consist of a 

coarse sand, with which are mixed gravels of various sizes up to pebbles 1 inch in diameter. The larger pebbles are not deposited in 

separate streaks, but are scattered through and mixed with the coarse 

sand of the river deposits. In this respect the sands of the South 

Platte differ materially from the sands of Arkansas River in western
WATER-BEARING GRAVELS. 7

Kansas, in which the larger pebbles are usually absent. Moreover, 

the South Platte sands are fairly free from deposits of quicksand and 

fine silt.

The presence of the large pebbles in the coarse sands of the South 

Platte deposits renders this material an excellent water-bearing 

gravel, especially well adapted for the construction of wells of large 

capacity. By the use of proper strainers the smaller particles can be 

removed from the immediate neighborhood of a well, so that the water 

can be collected through the coarser material that is left. Gravel of 

this kind was found wherever sought between Sterling and North 

Platte, and it is believed that there is no considerable area in this part 

of the valley which is not underlain with similar gravel.

In order to determine the amount of water that can be obtained 

from such gravels by means of suitably constructed wells and pumping machinery, it was planned to test wherever practicable the capacity 

of existing wells in the valley. It was found, however, that so few 

pumping plants had been constructed that it was not possible to get 

together a very large amount of data bearing on this point; but 

such tests as could be made indicate that wells of high capacity can 

be very economically constructed and that no difficulty will be 

experienced in the recovery of water in quantities suitable for 

irrigation.

The reconnaissance work indicated that there is very little difference in the water-bearing gravel between Sterling, Colo., and Ogalalla, 

Nebr. The valley varies considerably in width, but the water-bearing 

material seems to be fairly uniform.

From fig. 1 (p. 10) it will be seen that the nver gravels are not very 

deep or extensive at Ogalalla; all the test wells, with one exception, 

were driven completely through the deposit. At station 1, 200 feet 

south of the north bank of the river, good water-bearing gravel was 

found at a depth of 85 feet, where driving ceased. The average depth 

of the gravel between stations 9 and 4 was found to be about 40 feet. 

At the edges of the valley, beyond these stations, the gravels probably 

thin out very abruptly, for at the section line shown at the right of 

the figure and in the bluffs shown at the left appears the undisturbed 

formation within which the valley is cut.

Fine material was encountered in but a single instance, about 200 

feet south of the south bank of the river. This station was located in 

a portion of the old river bed, now a swamp in process of being filled 

up by decaying vegetation, blowing sand, and silt deposited by the 

river at times of flood. The upper 25 feet of sand within the river bed 

is very much cleaner and its effective size probably much greater than 

that found elsewhere in this part of the valley. At a depth of about 

25 feet there is a marked change, the sands below containing a slightly 

increased proportion of smaller grains, together with a very small
O UNDEKFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

amount of argillaceous material. The line of separation of the upper 

from the lower sands is about on a level with the lower limit of the 

river deposits on either side of the channel. The origin of the two 

classes of deposits probably lies in part in the fact that the fine material brought in by the lateral component of the underflow works its 

way downward to the deep deposits by the constant subdivision and 

mingling of the water as it flows through the capillary spaces between 

the sand grains, and in part in the tendency of the ground water, 

which flows in from both sides, to come eventually to the surface and 

wash out and carry downstream with it a considerable amount of fine 

material. The gravels in all cases where test wells were put down 

have a sharply defined lower limit, resting upon a soft formation of 

sand (usually very fine) and calcareous grit. In places, however, the 

material is so firmly cemented that it offered considerable resistance 

to the driving of the test wells. This underlying material is practically impervious, as in only a few cases was it possible to draw water 

from it, and even then only with great difficulty.

CONDITIONS AT STERLING, COLO.

At Sterling the valley of the South Platte is very wide. A pumping plant constructed for the purpose of irrigation is located on the 

Johnson ranch, on the east side of the river. The dug well used in 

connection with this plant was so poorly sheeted up that large quantities of sand entered the pump, making the test unsatisfactory. It 

will be very easy, at small expense, to so modify the well that the 

sand will be kept away from the pump, after which there will be no 

difficulty about obtaining a large supply of water.

In the vicinity of Sterling the water-bearing gravels extend to a 

depth of 40 to 80 feet below the surface, and there is unquestionably 

an ample supply of water for a large number of moderate-sized pumping plants. It is believed that the best method of recovering the 

ground water at this point is by means of wells and pumping machinery, either owned by tl;e individual farmers or operated by electricity 

from a central plant. Considerable interest is taken at the present 

time in this locality in the growing of sugar beets, and a large sugar 

factory has already been constructed. It may be practicable to distribute power from this factory during the irrigation season to a 

number of farmers who live in the neighborhood, for the purpose of 

procuring a sufficient supply of ground water for the irrigation of the 

beet and other crops suitable to this locality. It is not believed 

advisable to put in large pumping stations designed to take out a 

large amount of ground water at any one place. It seems evident 

that it is more economical to restrict the amount of ground water 

taken out at any one place to about 2,500 gallons a minute, rather
INVESTIGATIONS AT OGALALLA, NEBE. 9

than attempt to get a greater supply. A number of moderate-sized 

plants will be found to be much more economical and satisfactory 

in the long run than a few large plants.

INVESTIGATIONS AT OGALALLA, NEBR. 

VELOCITY AND DIRECTION OF THE UNDERFLOW.

At Ogalalla a series of test wells was sunk in a nearly north and 

south line across the valley and careful determinations were made of 

the extent and quality of the water-bearing material and of the 

actual rate of movement of the underflow.

The rate of movement of the ground water was determined by the 

electrical method. 0 The investigation showed that there is a true 

underflow at this point, the ground waters moving downstream with 

a velocity varying from 2.3 to 13.6 feet per twenty-four hours. The 

average velocity of eight determinations was found to be 6.4 feet per 

twenty-four hours, with an average direction of about N. 88° E. Fig. 

1 gives a cross section of the valley, looking downstream, showing the 

location of the test wells, the extent of the alluvial deposits, and the 

position of the water plane. The numbers within the circles give 

the velocity of the underflow in feet per twenty-four hours at the 

various stations for a depth corresponding to the position of the 

numbers. These velocities are also given in Table I. With the 

exception of the three highest velocities (13.6 and 12 feet per twentyfour hours, found near the surface of the river channel, and 9.2 feet 

per twenty-four hours, found at station 9) the rate was very uniform, ranging from-2.3 to 4.4 feet per day. The water-bearing 

gravels of this section may be classified with reference to velocities 

of underflow into four distinct portions the portion north of the 

river, within which the mean of the velocities was 6.8 feet per day; 

the portion south of the river, within which the mean of the two 

velocity determinations gave 3.55 feet per day; the portion within 

the river channel down to a depth of 25 feet, within which two tests 

were made giving the two highest velocities; and the portion within 

the river channel below the 25-foot line, within which the remaining 

two of the eight velocity determinations gave a mean flow of but 

2.55 feet per day. From Table I it will be seen that the two velocities found within each section are nearly equal, but differ very much 

from velocities found in other sections. The lowest velocity was 

found at station 1, 85 feet below the river bed, the deepest point at 

which a velocity test was made. The high velocities at the shallow 

depths within the river channel may be due to the fact that the sand 

of the upper 25 feet is exceedingly clean and contains practically 

no very fine material.

a Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 110, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, pp. 17-31.
10 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

QUARTER SECT/ON LINE

SECTION L/NE~

Station 16 

^.Station 2

Cj

"> Station IS 

Station 14- 

5 cat /on 3

underflow ditch

QUARTER SECTION LINE.

Station -4-,

SECTION LINE

FIG. 1. Cross section of the South Platte Valley at Ogalalla, Nebr. The numbers inclosed in circles 

give the velocity of ground water in feet per twenty-four hours; the numbers not inclosed indicate the 

total amount of dissolved solids in the water, in parts per million, at the points where the figures are 

placed.
VELOCITY AND DIRECTION OF UNDERFLOW.

TABLE I. Velocity of ground water at Ogalalla, Nebi:

11

Date.

No. of

station.

1905.

August 16..... 9

August 17. .... 10

Do.... ... 2

Avprage .

"24

Feet.

9.2

4.4

13. 6

12.0

2.8

2.6

3.7

6.4

Mean

velocDirection of

ity per' flow 

24 l(oast of

hours.

Pert.

\ 6.8

north1) .

0

1 112

\ 100

1 84

} 12 ' 8 i %

1 o 55 ! J 84

f - °° i S4

} 3.55 / 100

1 54

88

Depth.

Feet.

16

16

22

16

85

17

16

Location.

1,600 feet north of north bank of river.

550 feet north of north bank of river.

In river channel, 200 feet from north bank.

In river channel, 900 feet from north bank.

In river channel, 200 feet from north bank.

Do.

100 feet south of south bank of river.

The direction of flow for all tests made within the present river 

channel was found to be downstream. At this point the river flows 

slightly north of east. At station 10, located 550 feet north of the 

north bank of the river, the direction of flow was S. 80° E., giving a 

component flow toward the river at this point of 0.76 foot per twentyfour hours; at station 9, located 1,600 feet north of the north bank 

of the river, the direction of flow was S. 68° E., giving a component 

flow toward the river of 3.2 feet per day, and at station 4, located 1,400 

feet south of the south bank of the river, the component flow toward 

the river was at the rate of 2 feet per twenty-four hours. At station 3 the flow was away from the river, probably owing to local 

deposits of fine sand and silt, since this station was located in a portion of the old river bed. It will be seen from these results that, 

at least during low stages of the river, the ground waters contribute 

very largely to the surface flow. A line of levels run across the valley at this point gave the same indications, for it was found that 

the water plane sloped toward the river channel from both the north 

and south sides.

During the summer months of 1905 the South Platte was at no 

time perfectly dry at Ogalalla. There were several small channels 

within the river bed, some carrying as much as several hundred 

second-feet of perfectly clear water. These interlocking small channels of the river are cut down 2, 3, and even 4 or 5 feet below the 

general river bottom, and are fed for the most part by still smaller 

channels. These smaller rills when traced upstream gradually disappear, and they can be observed to originate in ground water coming to the surface from the underflow. It is claimed by the older 

residents of this vicinity that these smaller channels did not exist 

within the river in former years, but that its bed was a flat, sandy 

stretch from bank to bank. The river has a large number of islands 

throughout its course through the western part of Nebraska, on 

which are growing not only grasses and willows, but even small cottonwood trees. In time of flood these islands deflect the current, 

causing more scour in one part of the river than in another, hence
12 UNDEKFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

numerous small channels are found cut down in the river bed when 

the water lowers. Now that these islands are formed, the smaller 

living streams will continue to exist within the river itself unless 

the water plane falls much lower than it is at present.

QUANTITY OF THE UNDERFLOW.

The maximum amount of underflow waters passing through the 

gravels in the valley of the South Platte at Ogalalla can be readily 

estimated. The cross section at this point is about the smallest 

that is found between North Platte and Sterling, but the slope of 

the water plane is greater than the average throughout the valley. 

The total cross section of gravels capable of transmitting water is 

less than 330,000 square feet. The average velocity of the ground 

water in this material does not exceed 7 feet per twenty-four hours. 

From this it can be readily concluded that the total amount of 

ground water passing between the river bluffs at Ogalalla does not 

exceed 10 second-feet.

While this amount of water is not large, it nevertheless indicates 

that a considerable quantity of ground water can be safely removed 

from these underflow gravels, because the supply is renewed at frequent intervals by floods in the river and by the rainfall upon adjacent lands. Any extended use of the ground waters of the valley 

by means of pumps and wells would tend to lower the water plane, 

but this in turn would decrease materially the enormous amount of 

water that now goes to waste in the surface flow of the river and 

in the evaporation from the sands and soils in the wide river bed 

and the adjacent low bottom lands. This evaporation undoubtedly 

reaches 12 inches per month during July and August of an average 

year.

CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF WATER.

A few simple chemical tests were made of the water drawn from 

nearly all the test wells sunk in the -valley and from existing wells 

wherever it was thought that such analysis would throw light on the 

origin or movement of the ground waters.

Portable field apparatus was at hand for the determination of chlorine, 

alkalinity, and hardness by titration, respectively, with N/10 AgN03 , 

N/10 HC1, and standard soap solution. The total solids in solution 

were determined by means of the Whitney electrolytic bridge.

In fig. 1 (p. 10) the numbers not inclosed within circles represent the 

total solids in solution, expressed in parts per million, at the points 

corresponding to the position of the numbers in the drawing. The 

surface water of the river contains about 100 parts per million more 

dissolved solids than the average water taken from the river gravels 

on the two sides of the channel. The strongest waters are, however, 

found in that portion of the river bed at and below the 25-foot level,
CHEMICAL ANALYSES OF WATER. 13

where the slowest movements of the ground waters occur. The total 

solids in solution in this part of the bed average 880 parts per million 

and the chlorine content is higher than at any other place in the valley, 

the average being 36.9 parts per million. Both total solids and chlorine increase slightly with depth within the zone of surface gravels, 

but as soon as the deposit of river gravels is completely penetrated a 

sudden change takes place in the quality of the water. These deeper 

waters are much softer than those in the river sands above them. 

By referring to the analyses, Table II, and the cross section, fig. 1, it 

will be observed that the waters below the sand contain from 220 to 

250 parts per million of total solids. The one exception is a well in 

the town of Ogalalla, which draws water from the deposits just below 

the surface gravels.

The tests of water from the deposits below the river sands run very 

uniform with tests of water from wells on the uplands both north 

and south of the river. These waters are uniform!}7 very much better 

than the upper "sheet water" of the valley.

TABLE II. Analyses of South Platte Valley waters. 

NEAR STERLING, COLO.

Date.

1905.

Do........

Do........

i Alka- HardChlorine 

(parts 

per million).

Unity, ness, 

as as 

CaCOs CaCOs 

(parts (parts 

per mil- per million) .

3

lion).

182. 5 2ns

|

42.6 ; 172 386

Total 

solids 

(parts 

per million).

310

730

Temperature

(° F.).

Depth

(feet).

i

17

Location.

of Sterling.

Sterling.

River water, Sterling.

NEAR OGALALLA, NEBR.

1905.

Do. .......

July 27........

Do........

Do........

August 18 ..... 

July 27 ........

Do........

Do........

August 4 ...... 

July 31 ........

August 10 ..... 

August 1 ...... 

August 21 ..... 

August 3 ...... 

Do.. ......

August 14 ..... 

Do........

August 20 .....

July 27. .......

10.6

7.1

14,9

29.1

28

38. C,

36.9 

27.7 

12.4 

31.9

10.6

8.9

9! 2

33.4

239

194

a 387. 5 

197 5

14^

107 

175

140 

136 

156.5 

152.5 

191

169 

164

165

223

194

272

250

182 

281

403

356 

324 

205 

312

99 

104

110

366

220

390

290

360

?90

400 

600

370

900 

830

920 

750 

220 

640

250

2,30

62.2

68.5

64

65

57 

66.5

58 

66 

59 

61 

60

60

39

(?)

(?)

24

25

40

55

85 

16 

44 

17 

16

35

200

Ogalalla.

Platte River, directly north of 

Ogalalla. 

Well 1J mile north of South Platte

River.

lalla. 

Station 9.

Station 1. 

Do.

Do. 

Station 2. 

Station 3. 

Do.

Do.

south of bridge at Ogalalla.

T. 12 N., R. 39 W.

bridge.

High alkalinity due to calcareous sediment.
14 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

TABLE II. Analyses of South Platte Valley waters Continued. 

IN SAND HILLS NORTH OF PAXTON, NEBR.

Date.

' 1905.

Do

Chlorine

(parts 

per million) .

do

Alka- Hardlinity, ness

as ' as 

CaCO3 CaCOs 

(parts (parts

per mil- per million). lion).

91.5 5<S

91 <i

Do. .......

60

....do . 69 40

Total

solids 

(parts 

per million).

80

90

70

pcraturo

v ) 

Depth 

(feet). Location.

I

........ 15

193

7 miles below Big Spring.

wood Creek.

2t miles north of Bis Spring.

AT NORTH PLATTE, NEBR.

1905.

Do ........

Do........

Do........

Do........

3

11.3

46.8

74.6

4.6

8.5

75.5

139.5

162.5

178

176.5

8

282

142

186

60

100

300

820

210

280

........ 140

........ 80

........ 6

........ 40

........ 230

R. 29 W. 

Southeast corner of S W. \, sec. 12, T.

14 N., R. 30 W.

W.

NW { SW 1 sec. 4, T. 12 N., R. 30 W.

The facts brought out by these analyses show that the ground 

waters on either side of the valley are not derived from the underflow 

of the river and that the popular belief that the ground waters of the 

South Platte seep through the narrow divide into the North Platte is 

entirely erroneous. The only reason for such belief seems to be the 

fact that the North Platte, at a distance of only 7 miles, is about 60 

feet lower than the bed of the South Platte, and that it carries water 

for a longer period during the summer months.

Two samples of water from North Platte River were analyzed one 

taken at the bridge directly north of Ogalalla August 2, 1905, when 

there was considerable water flowing in the river, only a few points of 

the river bottom near the north bank being above water; the other 

taken at the bridge at North Platte September 11, 1905, when the 

river had fallen considerably, the water covering not more than onethird of the river bed. The total solids in solution in these two samples were 220 and 300 parts per million, respectively, as compared 

with 650 parts per million for the water from South Platte River. 

This difference of composition may in part be due to the fact that the 

North Platte is fed to some extent by soft water coming from the sand 

hills north of the river. From the analyses in Table II it will be seen 

that all samples of water coming from these sand hills are very soft, the 

total solids in solution ranging from only 60 to 100 parts per million. 

The softness of this water is due directly to the character of the soil of 

the catchment area, which is nearly pure quartz sand that immediately absorbs the rainfall and that contains little soluble matter to be 

taken up.
UNDERFLOW DITCH AT OGALALLA. 15

The sand-hill area in western Nebraska consists of dunes ranging 

from a few feet to several hundred feet in height, between which are 

valleys and depressions from a few acres to several sections in extent. 

This area has no run-off, and of the 17 inches of annual precipitation 

the greater part enters the sand and raises the water plane much above 

the level of North Platte River. This water under head seeps out 

from the sand hills and enters the river, giving rise in places to creeks 

of considerable size, the largest of which are Blue Creek in Deuel 

County and Bird wood Creek in Lincoln County.

UNDERFLOW DITCH AT OGALALLA.

One of the interesting developments in the South Platte Valley is 

an underflow ditch on the south side of the river at Ogalalla, owned 

by Dr. A. Hollingsworth. This canal was constructed in 1895 and 

has been in use ever since. It extends along the south bank of the 

river bed, is about 12 feet wide at the bottom and about 6,500 feet 

long, and reaches a total depth in its upper portion of 5 feet below 

the bed of the river. A map of this ditch is given in the lower part of 

fig. 2 (p. 17); in the upper part are represented in profile the bottom of 

the ditch and the river bed. The profile of the river bottom was 

made from elevations of the surface of the water in the river, determined August 13, 1905. The river at this time was nearly dry, the 

water flowing in only a few small channels, as described above. The 

line of levels run on this day, from the section line shown at the left 

of the figure to the section line 2 miles below, gave a drop of 16.7 feet 

in the river water, or a slope at this point of 8.35 feet to the mile. 

The distance from the head of the ditch to the line of test wells, as 

shown in the figure, is 800 feet; below this, the distance between 

points shown by consecutive dotted lines is 1,000 feet measured along 

the line of the ditch. For the first 1,000 feet above (west of) weir 

No. 1, the bottom of the ditch is about on a level with the bottom of 

the river. For the next 4,000 feet (west) its grade drops to 3.8 feet 

per mile; and from thence to its head it again has approximately the 

grade of the river. From its head to within about 1,000 feet of the 

bridge the ditch is cut in sand, and thence down to the point where it is 

carried up above the water plane it passes through a kind of clay 

loam, through which there must be considerable seepage before the 

water reaches the point of application. On account of an unusually 

ample rainfall during the summer of 1905 the water recovered by the 

ditch was not used for irrigation, but was permitted to run back into 

the river, so that no opportunity was offered for measuring the loss 

from the lower part of its course.

The flow of the canal is obstructed by rank vegetation growing 

within it. A large amount of seepage was observed to enter from the 

south margin of the canal.
16 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

TABLE III. Flow of water in Hollingsworth ditch.

Date

1905.

Do. .......

Do........

Do... .....

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do.. ......

Do........

Do........ 

Do........

Do.........

August 18. .... 

Do.. . .....

Do.. . .....

Do... .....

Do........

Do.. ......

Do........

Do........

Do... .....

Do........

Do... .....

Time.

12m.........

12 m.........

12 m .........

12m.........

12m.........

2.30p.m.....

12m.........

2.30 p. m ....

8.30a.m.....

3.30 p. m.....

8.30 a. m.....

9.30 a. m.....

12m.........

Flow 

over 

weir 

No. 1.

Sec.-ft.

3.77

2.83

3.06

3.03

2.67

3.39

3.12

3.36

2.97

3.06

3.12

3.06

2.68

3.02

3.20

2.96

2.67 

2.72

2.94

3.08 

2.96

2.86

2.96

2.67

3.59

3.40

3.27

3.55

3.38

3.21

3.21

3.22

3.31

Flow 

over 

weir 

No. 2.

Sec.-ft.

2.28

2.86

2.82

3.14

3.14

2.94

Flow 

over 

weir 

No. 3.

Sec.-ft.

2.22

2.11

2.16

2.12

2.03

Elevation of 

water 

in river 

(datum 

3,208.51 

feet 

above 

mean 

sea 

level.)

Feet. 

1.20

84

.89

.77

.70

.70

.67

64

.60

60

.58

.55

.53

.53

.50

.50 

.50

.50 

.48

.47

Remarks.

showers.

19, 3.30 p. m., lowering the water 

back of it 1.33 feet.

The discharge from this ditch, measured with a current meter 

August 5, 1905, was found to be 3.78 second-feet. Later three weirs 

were placed at different points in the ditch and continuous records 

were kept for several days. These measurements are given in Table 

III and are represented graphically in fig. 3 (p. 18). Weir No. 1 was put 

in at the bridge, near the mouth of the ditch (see fig. 2), August 6, 1905. 

The discharge from the ditch measured over the weir August 6 was 

found to be 3.77 second-feet, checking the measurement made the 

previous day with the current meter. Weirs Nos. 2 and 3 were put in 

place, at locations shown on fig. 2, August 7, 1905, after which the 

discharge over weir No. 1 fell from 3.77 to 2.83 second-feet at a corresponding hour of the day. This diminution of 0.9 second-foot was 

due to the backing up of the water behind the two additional weirs, 

thus decreasing the effective head which forces the water into the
UNDERFLOW DITCH AT OQALALLA. 17

Ditch to ranch*" ^-Wastegate to river

FIG. 2. Map of Hollingsworth underflow ditch, Ogalalla, Nebr. The lower portion of the diagram 

shows the location of the ditch with reference to the south bank of the river; the upper portion shows 

the elevation of the bottom of the ditch and of the running water in the river August 13,1905. The 

location of weirs placed in the canal for the purpose of measuring the flow is shown on the map; also 

the location of a line of test wells put down to determine the elevation of the water plane near the 

ditch.

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i _ , p FIG. 3. Diagram showing discharge over weirs Nos. 1, 2, and 3 in the Hollingsworth underf

§ ^ between August 6 and 21, 1905. Small circles indicate the observed values. These are co

co g vations would have shown a diurnal fluctuation in the discharge and the straight lines w

ll^o-g- CDgHCDoaarQgP^-^^H^g-o o 3 

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UNDERFLOW DITCH AT OGALALLA. 19

the ditch by dragging a log through it with a team of horses increases 

its discharge at least 50 per cent.

2.1

80

60

3.9

3.8

co 3.5

FIG. 4. Diagram showing discharge of Hollingsworth underflow ditch from 8 a. m. August 20 to 3 p. m. 

August 21, 1905, made from autographic record of a self-recording water register placed above the 

weirs. The diagram shows the decreased flow from the ditch during the midday hours.

It was further determined; from the measurements obtained; that 

the flow from the ditch fell off greatly during the middle of the day, 

but remained nearly constant from the late afternoon until the late 

morning hours of the next day. 

The flow at midday was about 

12 per cent less than the flow 

during the night. The cause 

of this fluctuation was investigated, and the conclusion was 

reached that the decrease was 

not primarily due to evaporation from the water surface 

and the gravels near the ditch, 

but mainly to the enormous 

use of water by vegetation 

growing in and along its banks. 

An automatic gage was put in 

the ditch a few feet above 

weir No. 1, from which a continuous record of the discharge 

over this weir could be computed. The results of these 

autographic records are given 

in figs. 4, 5, and 6, together 

with the change in temperature of the air and of the water in the ditch.

An estimate of the evaporation from the surface of the water in the

Disch

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 water at weir*1 

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AM. ' M. PM

PIG. 5. Diagram showing discharge of Hollingsworth 

underflow ditch and the temperature of the water 

and the air August 24, 1905. This diagram shows the 

decreased flow in the middle of the day.
20 UNDEKFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

canal can readily be made. The length of the canal is 6,500 feet and 

its average width is 12 feet, making the area of surface 78,000 square 

feet. Evaporation experiments were conducted by the writer during 

the summer of 1905 at Deerfield, Kans., 200 miles south of Ogalalla, 

the conditions being essentially the same at the two points. The 

results are given in Table IV:

TABLE IV. Evaporation in inches of water at Deerfield, Kans., from August 6 to September 3, 1905.

Uncultivated soil, 2 feet to water .........................................

For 28 i Average 

days, j for 1 day.

10.90 i 4.88 ' 

5.83 , 2.23

.80 ,

i

0.39 

.17 

.21 

.08 

.028

FIG. 6. Diagram showing discharge of Hollingsworth underflow ditch and the temperature of the 

water and the air August 27 and 28, 1905. The discharge over the weir was measured by an automatic recording water register. The curve shows the sharp drop in the discharge in the middle of 

the day and the nearly uniform discharge during the night.

The result from open water is equivalent to an average evaporation 

of 0.0325 foot per day, or a total average evaporation of 2,535. cubic 

feet of water per day from the surface of the water in the underflow 

canal. If it be assumed that this loss took place during eight hours 

of midday, it should have shown itself by a falling off in the discharge 

from the underflow canal of 0.084 second-foot. The actual observed 

loss amounted to 0.3 second-foot. Thus direct evaporation can 

account for barely 23 per cent of the observed loss. The evaporation 

from the wet banks of the canal may possibly have increased the loss 

to the equivalent of 0.1 second-foot, still leaving two-thirds of the 

amount to be accounted for by the use of water by vegetation and 

other losses,
UNDERFLOW DITCH AT OGALALLA. 21

A line of test wells (fig. 2, p. 17) at right angles to the ditch, 800 feet 

from its head, was put down for the purpose of determining the 

depression of the water plane in the neighborhood of the ditch. The 

profile of the water plane found in these wells is given in fig. 7.

The point of especial interest in connection with the Hollingsworth 

underflow ditch is the fact that it is probably the only construction 

of its kind near any of the streams of the western plains which can be 

considered a success. As previously stated, nearly all such ditches in 

other localities in the Western States have proved to be failures.

The conditions at this particular point are especially favorable. 

The fact that the size of the development is small has also contributed 

to its success. The slope of South Platte River at Ogalalla is 

unusually large, amounting to about 1.6 feet per thousand. The

« 3$ ^ *J 

Feet north of ditch

5 S33§S§R§S§o<5;5 

Feet south of ditch ~~ ~~ ~~ ~"

FIG. 7. Profile of water plane at line of test wells near the head of the Hollingsworth underflow ditch 

The position of this cross section is given on the map (fig. 2, p. 17).

minimum slope of the underflow ditch is 0.7 foot per thousand. The 

cost of construction was about S3,000, including at the standard 

rate the time of the owner and of his teams used in the construction. 

The ditch requires cleaning at frequent intervals at least once every 

two years in order to remove the vegetation and the sand which 

tends to gradually ooze up from the bottom and fill the canal. From 

a financial standpoint the underflow ditch is about on a par with a 

pumping plant of the same capacity in the same location. The cost 

of operation is not very different from the cost of operating a Corliss 

condensing engine and centrifugal pump connected to a battery of 

driven wells, and there is little difference in the first cost. A pumping plant in one respect would be very much more satisfactory, 

inasmuch as there is constant danger that the underflow ditch will 

become a total loss at any time, owing to an unusually heavy flood 

in the river breaking over the banks and filling it or washing it out.
22 UKDEEFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

DISADVANTAGES OF UNDERFLOW CANALS.

As stated above (p. 18), the percolation into the Hollingsworth 

infiltration canal, for each square foot of percolating surface, 

amounted to only 0.01 to 0.02 gallon per minute, under 1 foot head. 

Tubular wells constructed in the same gravels show a specific capacity 

of 0.25 to 0.5 gallon of water per minute for each square foot of 

strainer surface, under 1 foot head. The low specific capacity of the 

underflow canal is due not only to the obstruction of the sand, through 

which the water must pass by vegetation and slime, but mainly to the 

fact that stratified gravels do not readily transmit water across or perpendicular to the direction of the bedding. When tubular wells are 

put down vertically in bedded gravsl, the coarser streaks of gravel 

drain the water into the well strainer and the capacity of the well is 

determined largely by the coarsest layers of the gravels encountered. 

In the underflow ditch the water must reach the surface by passing 

across the various beds of gravel, and the finest layer of sand controls 

the rate at which the water can enter the canal. On this account 

wells that penetrate gravels perpendicular to the bedding are much 

preferred to horizontal wells or to underflow canals that must follow 

the direction of the bedding. For the same reasons a deep tubular 

well of small diameter will furnish much more water than a shallow 

dug well of large diameter.

An underflow ditch is also undesirable on account of the inelasticity 

in the amount of water which it will yield. The distance to which 

the water level is lowered by the underflow canal is fixed at the time 

of construction, and the daily yield can not be increased beyond a 

certain maximum; in fact, at the very time when the most water is 

needed say in the month of August the yield of the underflow 

canal will be near its minimum value. When water is recovered by 

pumping from tubular wells, the vacuum of the pumps can be increased 

for short intervals of time to correspond to the increased demand for 

water.

It should also be noted that very few infiltration or underflow 

canals are in actual use for irrigation purposes. There are many 

pumping plants in use for irrigation which have turned out to be both 

practicable and financially profitable; but the attempts to secure 

ground water by gravity have usually proved disappointing and there 

are numerous abandoned underflow canals in many parts of the West. 

An underflow ditch was constructed in 1890 in the valley of Arkansas 

River near Hartland, Kans., about 12 miles west of Deerfield, for the 

purpose of furnishing water to the Great Eastern canal. In the summer following its construction the flow from the canal amounted to a 

little over 5,000 gallons per minute. Water from the river overflowed the ditch during a flood and partially filled it with sediment; at
INVESTIGATIONS AT NOETH FLATTE, NEBK. 28

the same time the gravels in the bottom of the canal showed a tendency 

to work themselves upward by slow movement to the level of the 

ground water, cutting down materially the head under which the 

water entered the canal. The ditch proved a complete failure and a 

great disappointment to the people. A large underflow ditch constructed at great expense near Dodge, Kans., had practically the same 

history as the one at Hartland. The Denver Union Water Company 

put an underflow gallery in Cherry Creek, at a cost of $200,000, and 

succeeded in developing only 5 second-feet of water. An expensive 

infiltration canal near Sacaton, Ariz., on the Gila Indian Reservation, 

was wholly unsuccessful. A gravity infiltration canal constructed on 

Cimarron River near Englewood, Kans., consisted of 900 feet of stave 

pipe and 2,000 feet of open canal. A flood in the river filled the canal 

with sand and mud soon after its completion, and it was a total 

failure.

INVESTIGATIONS AT NORTH PLATTE, NEBR. 

SLOPE OF THE WATER PLANE.

Several miles of levels were run at North Platte to determine the 

slope of the water plane toward the bottom lands, both south and 

north of South Platte and North Platte rivers, and to determine 

whether or not the position of the water plane had changed since 

1890, when W. W. Follett plotted the elevation of water in a northsouth line of wells crossing the Platte Valley at this point. In the 

lower part of fig. 8 the wells used by Mr. Follett are represented by 

dots and those used by the field party in 1905 are represented by 

small circles. In the upper part of the figure is represented the elevation of the water in these wells.

South of the river the water plane was found at about the same elevation as determined by the line of levels run by Mr. Follett; but on 

the north side, within the sand-hill district, the water plane was about 

18 feet lower than it was in 1890. The lowering of the ground water 

on the north side of the river, where its source is the rainfall upon the 

sand area, may be due partly to the fact that within this period there 

has been an unusually large number of years when the precipitation was 

much less than the normal. . The amount of ground water removed 

from the wells is insignificant. The sand-hill country is used for cattle 

grazing, and while the number of cattle on the range is probably not 

as great at present as formerly, during dry years it is always greatly 

overgrazed. This may be the principal cause of the lower water level.

Stearns's well, shown at the north end of the line of levels, was 

drilled during the spring of 1905.
24 UNDEBFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

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PIG. 8. Diagram showing change in elevation of the ground water at North Platte, Nebr., between 

1890 and 1905. The location of the wells used by W. W. Follett in 1890 to determine the elevation of 

the water plane is shown on the map by black dots. The circles show the location of the wells used 

to determine the elevation of the water plane in 1905.
INVESTIGATIONS AT NORTH PLATTE, NEBR. 25

NORTH PLATTE CITY WATERWORKS PUMPING PLANT.

In the plant of the North Platte waterworks two 10^-inch duplex 

double-action steam pumps are connected to a gang of 28 6-inch 

wells and deliver water under direct pressure. In fig. 9 the wells are 

numbered from 1 to 28. The second number for each well represents 

its depth in feet. Wells 1 to 22 have screens made of perforated 

brass about 4 feet long; wells 23 to 28 have 12-foot Cook strainers; all 

are provided with a 4-inch suction pipe.

September 15 and 16, 1905, observations were made at this plant to 

determine, if possible, the approximate specific capacity of the gravels 

in this part of the valley. On these days the south pump (H) only 

was running, and wells 6, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22 were gated 

off, leaving only 19 wells from which water was pumped. Well 14 

was open and offered an opportunity for measuring the fluctuation of 

the water level at this point due to different rates of pumping at different hours of the day. These measurements are given in column 4 of 

Table V.

TABLE V. Observed and computed data from test of city waterworks pumping station at 

North Platte, Nebr., September 15-lfi, 1905.

1.

Time.

September 15:

12m.......................

10.10p.m..................

September 16:

9.30 a. m ...................

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Observed data.

Time for 

20 cycles 

oipump.

Seconds.

39.2 

37.2 

35.8 

32.8 

30.7 

33.2 

30.7 

31 

29.8 

45 

106 

100

91 

93 

67.3 

61.4 

43 

43

Vacuum 

gage.

Inches 

mercury.

11 

11.5 

11.4 

12.4 

13 

12.6 

12.9 

12.9 

13.1 

10.7 

9 

9

9 

9 

9 

9.5 

10 

10.4

Depth oi 

water 

below top 

oi abandoned 

well.

Feet.

5.38 

5.66 

5.84 

6.03 

6.25 

6.41 

6.54 

6.64 

6.73 

6.30 

5.10 

4.76

4.66 

4.63 

4.62 

4.86 

5.06 

5.15

Length of stroke 

of pump.

North 

cylinder.

Feet.

0.86 

.90

.88 

. .89

.90

.78 

.58 

.58

.58 

.60 

.64

.82

South 

cylinder.

Feet.

0.93 

.96

.96 

.98

.97 

.88 

.84 

.81

.82 

.82 

.85

.88

7. 8.

Computed data.

Depth of water 

below normal.

In abandoned 

well.

Feet.

1.54 

1.73

2.11 

2.24

2.43

.46 

.36

.76

In 

pumped 

wells.

Feet.

3.15 

3.55

4.35 

4.60

4.97

.90 

.70

1.55

NOTE. Specific capacity of gravels=0.31 gallon per minute. Assumed slip of pump = 10 per cent.

The readings of a vacuum gage inserted in the suction pipe just 

before it enters the pump are given in column 3 of Table V. These 

readings are very rough, since the gage fluctuated badly with the 

stroke of the pump, and the true vacuum could only be estimated. 

But from the large number of gage readings taken over a considerable
26 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

EIGHTH STREET

range, together with the readings taken on the open well, the computed values in columns 7 and 8 of the table can not be far from correct. Fom the data in columns 5, 6, and 8 the specific capacity of the 

sands was found to be about 0.3 gallon per minute, the slip of the 

pump being assumed to be 10 percent. The specific capacity of a 

well is a numerical statement of the readiness with which the well

furnishes water. It expresses 

the amount of water furnished 

per square foot of strainer surface, if the water level is lowered but 1 foot. This amount 

is large in the case of a good 

well and small in the case of 

a poor well." In the present 

case each square foot of strainer surf ace in the wells furnished 

an average of 0.3 gallon of 

water per minute under 1 foot 

head. This is a large amount 

and indicates an excellent 

grade of water-bearing material. This specific capacity 

can probably be relied on for 

wells in the South Platte Valley. The waterworks at North 

Platte are in constant operation, so that the specific capacity measured above is the 

value after long-continued 

pumping has taken place, and 

hence a minimum amount.

SPRINGS AND ARTESIAN WATER 

OF BIRDWOOD CREEK.

SEVENTH STREET

;'IG. 9. Map of the city waterworks pumping plant at 

North Platte, Nebr. The position of the wells and 

suction pipe is indicated in the diagram. The second 

number for each well indicates its depth where 

known.

Birdwood Creek, a perennial 

stream with a low-stage flow 

of about 150 second-feet and 

with a drainage area almost 

entirely within the sand hills, 

enters North Platte River about 16 miles west of North Platte, 

Nebr. The head of the stream is nearly 20 miles to the^ north. 

It has only two branches; one is a very small stream entering the 

creek near its head; the other, West Birdwood Creek, flows in an 

easterly direction a distance of nearly 14 miles and joins the main

o See Water-Sup, and Irr. Paper No. 140, U. S. Geol. Survey, 1905, p. 86.
WATER OP BIRD WOOD CREEK. 27

stream 11 miles above its mouth. The flow of West Birdwood Creek 

at the junction is nearly as great as that of the main stream itself, and 

perhaps for this reason the stream is locally spoken of as having an 

east and a west fork. Above the forks the two branches of Birdwood Creek are cut down from 100 to 200 feet into the sand-hill deposit, with no valley bottom, the steep banks in most places extending 

down to the water's edge. The stream flows in this deep cut some 

distance below the general level of the water plane. This conclusion 

is justified by the fact that for nearly its entire course there is a strong 

seepage from both banks extending many feet above the bed of the 

creek.

Birdwood Creek is fed entirely by seeps along its banks and by 

numerous springs, some of which, at the head of the west branch and 

about 7 miles below the head of the east branch, are of enormous size. 

The description of these springs by the residents of the valley indicated that there was some probability of the ground waters being 

under artesian head. This matter was accordingly investigated by 

sinking a 2-inch well in one of the large springs at the head of the 

west branch, near the center of sec. 4, T. 16 N., R. 35 W. An artesian head, increasing with depth, developed during the sinking of 

this well; at a depth of 40 feet the water rose over 20 feet above the 

bed of the creek.

The log and distance to water for two wells located near the head 

of West Birdwood Creek were furnished by the owners. One well, 

3 miles directly south of the big springs, on the ranch of Mr. F. L. 

Jones, in the SW. \ sec. 21, T. 16 N., R. 35 W., is in coarse gravel 

which begins at a depth of 275 feet. Above the gravel are several 

thin layers of hardpan, and above the hardpan is a very fine sand 

extending continuously to the surface. In this well the water plane 

is at a depth of 60 feet. The second well is on the ranch of Mr. C. W. 

Alexander, 1\ miles north and 1 mile west of the big spring, near the 

northwest corner of the SE. \ SE. \ sec. 21, T. 17 N., R. 35 W. This 

well was put down through 169 feet of very fine sand, 12 feet of hardpan, and for 12 feet into coarse gravel. From these data, and from 

elevations taken from a contour map of this region, fig. 10 was 

drawn. From this diagram it will be seen that the maximum artesian head which can be developed at this point should be about 25 

feet a pressure nearly equal to that found by sinking the test well 

in the spring. It may also be observed that the coarse gravels 

should be encountered at a depth not exceeding 160 feet.

The waters of Birdwood Creek are taken out just above its mouth 

on North Platte River and diverted into an irrigation canal, which 

serves the bottom lands of the river. The discovery of the artesian 

head of the water in Birdwood Creek makes it possible to augment 

greatly the low-stage flow of this stream and the supply of water for 

the existing irrigation canal, or a new one. It will be an inexpensive
28 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

matter to sink a number of 12-inch wells to the artesian water at 

suitable localities along the stream, and to provide these wells with

gates or valves which can be opened during low stages of flow. It 

is very probable that the present minimum flow of Birdwood Creek 

could be doubled by such means.
UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY. 29

SUGGESTIONS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF SMALL PUMPING

PLANTS.

The investigations in the South Platte Valley indicate that there 

is an ample supply of ground water for a large number of small pumping plants located in almost any part of the bottom lands. It is possible to count on an average depth of 40 to 60 feet of good waterbearing gravels. These deposits contain a sufficient amount of coarse 

material to render it unnecessary to use fine-meshed strainers in the 

wells. In a large portion of the bottom lands the distance to water 

is between 5 and 15 feet, making it easy to pump the water and place 

it on the surface of the ground economically. The cost of pumping 

will be controlled, primarily, by the cost of fuel and the distance it 

is necessary to lift the water. Whether a pumping plant will be a 

profitable investment depends, of course, very largely on the crops 

that can be grown and marketed at a fair price.

KIND OF^WELLS ADAPTED TO THE SOUTH PLATTE GRAVELS.

The most economical well to construct for the purpose of procuring 

ground water in the large quantities needed for irrigation purposes 

is one from 12 to 15 inches in diameter and extending into the waterbearing gravels a distance of 30 to 60 feet, depending on the thickness 

of the gravels at the place where the well is drilled. Strainers for 

these wells can be made of slotted galvanized iron. The perforated 

metal should be placed opposite all the coarse gravels, below a depth 

of 10 feet below the surface of the water. These strainers can be 

made by any mechanic by punching heavy galvanized iron with slots 

about one-eighth by 1 inch in size and then riveting the sheets into 

cylinders of the proper diameter. The cylinders should be rolled so 

that the burr made by punching the slots will come on the outside of 

the finished casing and so that the slots will be arranged vertically 

in the finished well. A much better strainer can be made if the metal 

is purchased in sheets already perforated. For this purpose steel 

sheets 48 by 60 inches, perforated with hit and miss slots, threesixteenths by 1 inch, and galvanized after the perforations are made, 

will be found to be ideal strainers. When rolled into cylinders these 

sheets form a casing about 15 inches in diameter. In constructing 

the well the perforated sections should be put in place, one above 

another, to a point about 10 feet below the water level, from this 

depth upward the casing should not be perforated.

AMOUNT OF AVATER THAT CAN BE OBTAINED.

Wells constructed as described in the preceding section can be 

relied on to furnish at least one-fourth gallon of water per minute for 

each square foot of strainer surface in the well when the water in the 

well is lowered 1 foot by pumping. If the water in the well is lowered
30 TJNDEEFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

10 feet by pumping, the amount of water recovered should amount 

to at least ten times as much, or 1\ gallons per minute per square 

foot of strainer. If a 15-inch well is drilled in good water-bearing 

gravel to a depth of 40 feet, the lower 30 feet of which is strainer surface, and if the pump lowers the water in the well 10 feet, the amount 

of water supplied by the well should amount to at least 300 gallons 

per minute. It is believed that this estimate is conservative. A 

careful test of the waterworks at North Platte, Nebr., showed that the 

strainers in the wells were furnishing 0.3 gallon of water per minute 

per square foot of strainer surface, when the water in the wells was 

lowered 1 foot by pumping.

For small pumping plants a single well of the depth indicated 

above would probably be sufficient for the supply; but if the good 

water-bearing gravels do not extend to the requisite depth, it would 

be necessary, of course, to increase the number of wells and connect 

several of them by suitable means to the pump.

DISTANCE BETWEEN WELLS.

If it is necessary to construct several wells in order to obtain the 

amount of water required for an irrigation plant, it becomes important to consider the best and most economical arrangement of the 

wells. Two different methods will be found available for this purpose. If the amount of water required is not greatly in excess of that 

which can be supplied by a single tubular well, it is often found practicable to construct a large dug well 6 to 10 feet in diameter to a 

depth of 5 to 10 feet below the water level, inserting in the bottom of 

the dug well several feeders of perforated galvanized iron, as described 

above. This method has the advantage of permitting the pump that 

is to recover the water to be submerged in the water of the well. A 

well of this sort is shown in fig. 11.

In order to sink a dug well the proper distance below the water 

level, it is necessary to construct a wooden, brick, or concrete crib 

that will sink as the material is removed from its interior. The crib 

of the well shown in fig. 11 is made of wood, and is larger at the lower 

than at the upper end to facilitate sinking.

Another method of recovering a large quantity of water is to sink a 

battery of wells and connect them by suction pipe to the pump. 

This method is adapted to secure a greater supply than the large dug 

well. Various arrangements of the wells can be made. Three, four, 

or more wells can be arranged in a straight line 20 or 30 feet apart, 

and connected by suction pipe to a pump placed near the center of 

the row of wells. In fig. 12 is shown an arrangement suitable for a 

battery of eight to twelve wells. These wells are arranged in pairs, 

placed close together, each pair of wells being 40 to 60 feet from the 

next pair on the same suction line. The object of placing the wells
SUGGESTIONS FOE SMALL PUMPING PLANTS. 31

Pittman bucket

NATHAN FULMER'S 

PUMPING PLANT

- Water plane

Round wooden crib 

Water level

SCALE OF 

01 2 3 4 5

Strainers

IBS gals 

capacity

DIAGRAM OF BUCKET

SCALE OF INCHES 

12 10 8 6 4 Z 0 \l

SECTION 

THROUGH STRAINERS

FIG. 11. Diagram of a pumping plant in the Arkansas Valley in which the water is recovered from a 

dug well having a wooden crib, in the bottom of which are placed seven galvanized-iron strainers 

or feeders. A chain-and-bucket pump is used on this well. Better results would undoubtedly be 

obtained by using a vertical-shaft centrifugal pump submerged in the open well.
61-8$ < * > 61-10 - +> 51 H* 61-10 >4« 61- 

DIAGRAM SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF WELLS

FIG. 12. Suggested arrangement of wells and pump for a plant designed to recover 2,500 gallons of wa

coarse the wells at the end of the line of suction pipe may be omitted. The plant consists of a cent

suction pipe leading to the pump. The suction pipe should be placed underground as near to the leve
SUGGESTIONS FOR SMALL PUMPING PLANTS. 33

close together in pairs is for the purpose of removing a large amount 

of the fins sand from the water-bearing gravel. This can be done in 

gravels like those found in the South Platte Valley by pumping vigorously from one of the pair of wells and at the same time running clear 

water into the neighboring well. By this means it should be possible 

to clear out all the fine material between the two wells. A pumping 

plant like that shown in fig. 12 should supply from 2,500 to 3,500 

gallons of water per minute, if the water-bearing gravels are of the 

kind usually found in the South Platte Valley, without lowering the 

water more than 10 feet.

KIND OF PUMP.

Probably the most satisfactory pump for use in irrigation is the 

centrifugal pump. It should be remembered, however, that there 

are a great many kinds of small centrifugal pumps on the market 

which are designed for a great variety of purposes. It does not 

pay to purchase any but the very best machinery for the pumping 

of water, as poorly designed machinery soon proves too expensive. 

The various kinds of pumps differ greatly in this respect. The centrifugal pump used by the irrigator should be of the inclosed-runner 

type, provided with self-oiling bearings of the oil-ring type. There 

are several excellent makes of centrifugal pumps on the market, 

and any of them will do good work if the size and design of the 

pump fit the conditions under which it must work. The maker of 

the pump should have full information of all the conditions under 

which it is to be installed, including the distance that the pump 

must discharge the water above its outlet, also the amount of suction or the distance the water must be lifted below the pump inlet* 

The following points are important to those about to install pumping plants:

The efficiency of the centrifugal pump under actual working conditions is higher for large pumps than for small ones. Pumps having a discharge pipe less than 3 inches in diameter will show a low 

efficiency.

A centrifugal pump will work better and be more efficient if the 

length of the suction pipe is kept as low as possible, relative to the 

length of the discharge pipe. On this account the pump should be 

placed as near the level of the water as the securing of a good foundation will permit.

If the pump is to be driven by means of a belt it should be provided with a large pulley. The pulley usually supplied with the 

pumps is so small that a great amount of slipping takes place 

between the belt and the pulley, and the efficiency of the pump is 

greatly decreased on that account. Of course, it is necessary to 

IER 184 06 3
34 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

secure the proper proportion between the sizes of driving and driven 

pulleys, but both should be larger than are usually furnished with 

pumps and engines.

The suction pipe on the pump and the discharge pipe should be 

large. A No. 4 centrifugal pump that draws water from a single 

well should have at least a 6-inch suction pipe, and the discharge 

pipe should gradually increase from 4 inches in diameter at the discharge opening of the pump to 8 inches 3 feet above the discharge 

opening and continue this size until the flume or discharge conduit 

is reached. The discharge pipe can be made of riveted galvanized 

iron, and the suction pipe can be made either of standard pipe or 

good well casing.

A centrifugal pump loses its efficiency at once if it leaks air around 

the stuffing box or if there is an air leak at any place in the suction 

pipe. Many centrifugal pumps are now provided with a water seal 

around the stuffing gland that insures the absence of leaks at this 

point.

A good centrifugal pump with inclosed impeller or runner should 

show an efficiency of about 60 per cent on a 30-foot lift. Singlestage centrifugal pumps, constructed with bronze impellers, made 

in two pieces so that the interior could be machined and smoothed, 

have shown an efficiency of about 80 per cent.

METHOD OF PRIMING PUMPS.

A large number of pumping plants are installed with foot valves 

at the bottom of the suction pipe. When these are provided a 

centrifugal pump is always ready to start after it is once primed. 

The foot valves usually interfere very materially with the flow of 

water into the pipe, and it is undoubtedly more economical to omit 

them and place a flap valve at the upper end of the discharge pipe, 

which can be lowered when it is desired to start the pump. An 

ordinary cast-iron house pump connected to the top of the casing 

of the centrifugal pump can be used to prime the pump with water 

before starting.

PIPE FITTINGS.

The suction pipe usually installed by constructors of pumping 

plants is not only too small for the best results, but the elbows and 

tees used are very poorly adapted to the purpose intended. It is a 

common practice to use steam-pipe fittings for this purpose. In 

consequence the water is required to turn at sharp angles at the 

tees and elbows and the best results can not be obtained. In order 

to avoid this difficulty "long-sweep" fittings should be purchased. 

These are standard trade goods and can be obtained from any of 

the large dealers in pipe fittings. Fig. 13 shows the difference in 

the two kinds of fittings.
SUGGESTIONS FOR SMALL PUMPING PLANTS. 35

FIG. 13. Diagram showing the relative shape 

of standard and "long-sweep" pipe fittings. 

The upper part of the diagram shows standard fittings and the lower part long-sweep 

fittings.

SOURCE OF POWER.

A favorite engine for small pumping plants is the gasoline engine. 

Where the price of gasoline is high it is very easy to make the cost 

of water prohibitive by the use of such power. Whether or not it 

pays to pump water by gasoline is a matter which depends very 

largely on the distance the water must be lifted, but also on the 

kind of crop that is to be irrigated. Gasoline, even at a high price, 

is usually a cheaper fuel than coal in an ordinary steam engine of

small horsepower. For plants requiring from 20 to 30 horsepower 

producer-gas generators can be 

installed, which will keep the cost 

of pumping down to a minimum. 

A suction gas producer, using anthracite pea coal for fuel, should 

furnish power at the rate of 1 

horsepower per hour for each 

pound and a half of coal consumed. At $8 per ton the cost of 

coal should be equivalent to 

gasoline at 4 to 6 cents per gallon.

In large plants, requiring from 50 to 100 horsepower or more, a 

condensing Corliss engine is sufficiently economical where the cost 

of coal does not exceed $3.50 to $4 per ton.

ECONOMICAL DISTANCE WATER MAY BE LIFTED.

It is very unlikely that it will pay to pump water under present 

conditions in the South Platte Valley, a total distance of more than 

30 feet, including the suction lift of the pump. If the pump lowers 

the water in the wells 10 feet and if the distance to water is 10 feet 

below the surface and the discharge pipe is brought into a reservoir 

or flume 5 feet above the surface, the total lift will be 30 feet, if 5 feet 

be added to cover loss of head due to friction in suction and discharge 

pipes. It will probably not pay to pump water to a greater height at 

any place in the valley, except for the irrigation of garden truck and 

other high-priced crops.

STORAGE RESERVOIRS.

In order to irrigate economically from pumping plants it is usually 

desirable to pump the water into a reservoir having a capacity equal 

to the amount of water the plant can furnish in six to eight hours. 

Such a reservoir is absolutely necessary for the best results with
36 UNDERFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

small pumping plants. If the supply of water exceeds 500 gallons per 

minute it is possible to dispense with the reservoir, especially if the 

supply greatly exceeds this amount. Plants furnishing over 1,000 

gallons per minute can usually be best operated without a reservoir.

COST OF PUMPING.

The cost of recovering ground water from wells is made up of four 

principal items (1) cost of fuel and supplies, (2) cost of labor, (3) 

charge for depreciation and repairs, (4) interest on the first cost of 

the plant or the capital invested. The first and third of these items 

are partially under the control of the owner of the plant. If the 

installation is carefully designed and its parts well proportioned, the 

cost of fuel can be kept at a minimum, and similarly the charge for 

depreciation and repairs will be kept low if good machinery is purchased in the first place and careful attention is given to its maintenance when in operation and when idle. The charge for depreciation 

will be as great, if not greater, when the plant is not running as when 

it is running. If the machinery is neglected and carelessly exposed 

when idle, the rate of depreciation will greatly exceed the rate when 

it is in use. The charge for depreciation and repairs should not be 

estimated at less than 10 per cent of the first cost of the plant.

Table VI gives an estimate of approximate cost for fuel and maintenance of a pumping plant having a capacity of 1,000 gallons of water 

per minute for total lifts of 10, 20, and 30 feet. In column 2 of this 

table is given the hydraulic horsepower, which is the theoretical 

power required to lift the given quantity of water the distance stated 

in column 1. The actual brake horsepower of the engine should be 

about double the amount given in column 2. The horsepower 

required by the engine is stated in column 3 in two ways first, the 

amount of power that would be required in a well-designed pumping 

plant, where care has been given to all the matters previously referred 

to, such as the use of large suction and discharge pipes and proper 

selection of pump and machinery. The best that can be expected of 

a small pumping plant is to recover 50 per cent of the power delivered 

to the belt by the engine as useful work in lifting the water. The 

losses that occur will consist of losses in the belt, amounting to from 

5 to 10 per cent, losses in the pump, amounting to about 40 per cent, 

and friction losses in the suction and discharge pipes, varying from 5 

to 20 per cent. In order to secure an economically running plant it 

is important that the engine should be large enough to do the work, 

but at the same time not too large. Great losses occur in gasoline 

engines if their capacity is largely in excess of the work required. 

The horsepower stated as a maximum in column 3 indicates the largest 

that should be used for the given lift.
COST OF PUMPING. 37

TABLE VI. Approximate cost of fuel required to pump 1,000 gallons of water per minute, for

various lifts.

L

Total 

lift.

2.

Hydraulic horsepower.

Feet.

10 i 2.8

20

30

.5.6

8.4

3. 4.

Engine brake horsepower.

Minimum.

6

11

16

Maximum.

Cost per 

hour of 

fuel, with 

gasoline 

at 16 cents 

per gallon

Cents.

7 11.2

14 22 4

21 33. 6

5. 6-

Cost per 

hour of 

fuel, with 

gasoline at 

20 cents 

per gallon.

Cent*.

Cost per 

hour for 

coal at $8 

per ton in 

suction 

gas-producer 

plant.

7.

Cost per 

hour for 

coal at $4 

per ton in 

condensing steam 

engine.

8.

Cost of depreciation 

and repairs 

on machinery, 

etc., per 

year.

Cents. Cents. Dollar?.

14 4.2 6 70

28 8.4 12 140

42 12.6 . 18 210

I

NOTE. One thousand gallons of water per minute pumped continuously for cloven hours is equivalent to 2 acre-feet of water.

In columns 4 and 5 the cost of fuel for delivering the horsepower 

stated in column 3 is expressed in cents per hour, based on the price 

of gasoline indicated in these columns. In column 6 is given the cost 

of fuel if hard coal costing $8 per ton be used in a suction producergas plant. In column 7 is given the cost of fuel per hour if soft coal at 

$4 per ton be used in a condensing Corliss engine. In column 8 is given 

a rough estimate of the cost per }7ear for depreciation and repairs on 

a well-constructed plant.

In order to determine approximately the cost of pumping water any 

distance between 20 and 30 feet, a proportional part of the cost for 10 

feet can be added to the cost for 20 feet. Thus, to get the cost of 

pumping water a distance of 25 feet, half of the numbers in the first 

line of the table can be added to those in the second line. The table 

should be used for estimating the cost of pumping water only for lifts 

lying between 20 and 30 feet. The cost for 10 feet is given for the 

purpose of making estimates, but it should not be supposed that the 

cost for this low lift would be merely half of that for the 20-foot lift, 

as friction and other losses would tend to make the cost for the low 

lift higher than that stated in the table.

Tests of a number of pumping plants in the Rio Grande Valley are 

reported in Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 141. On page 34 

of that paper will be found a table giving the fuel cost, interest, and 

labor cost estimated for each acre-foot of water recovered. Similar 

facts concerning the cost of pumping water in existing small pumping 

plants in the Arkansas River Valle}7 in western Kansas will be found 

in Water-Supply and Irrigation Paper No. 153. A table summarizing 

the results is given on page 55 of that paper, and on page 82 will be 

found a test of a producer-gas pumping plant at Rocky Ford, Colo.

At almost any point in the river valleys of the western plains 

complete pumping plants, including wells, machinery, and buildings, 

can be constructed for about $100 per horsepower required. In 

some exceptional cases the cost may run as low as $60 per horsepower.
UNDEBFLOW OF SOUTH PLATTE VALLEY.

APPENDIX.

In the following tables are given statistics of wells in the territory 

along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad in the South Platte Valley 

from North Platte to Sidney, Nebr., and from Julesburg to Sterling, 

Colo., which have been drilled for the purpose of obtaining a water 

supply for private individuals and for the railroad. This information 

was obtained through the courtesy of the engineering department of 

the Union Pacific Railroad.

TABLE VII. Statistics of wells along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad in western 

Nebraska and eastern Colorado.

Locality.

North Platte.. 

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........ 

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Do........

Iliff............

JSedgwick

No. of 

well.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

10

11

12

1

2

3

4

1

9

Diameter.

Ft. in. 

6 

6

6

6

6

6

6 

6

6

6

6

6

6

613 0

fcio 6

I <*9 6 

6

5A

Si

5*

oi

12 0

12.2

12 6

9 6

fd2 0

16 0

/fr-5

(711 0

Depth.

Feet. 

94

94 

94

84

88

92

92

92

92

92

92

48

13

] 15. 5

75 '

75

75

75

13.2 '

17 '

28.5 '

17.5

1 33

40

15.5 !

18

Average 

consumption 

per day.

Gallons.

 216, 100

34, 100

51,300

64, 500

10, 000

15,000

107,800

3,000

Normal 

depth 

to 

water.

Feet.

1 3

1 6

4.9

5.5

I

K K 5.5

o

5.5

5 5

4. G

7.6

22

12.5

27

27

8

7.3

Denth 

to 

WE' er 

wizen 

pumping.

Feet.

12

8

30

30

30

30

30

6

14

24

16

( e )

(«)

8

Strainers.

Cook.

1

Cook, from 90 to 110 feet.

« Estimated flow.

& Old well (dug); used for emergencies only. 

cTop. 

d Bottom. 

« Pumps dry.

/ Artes an well. Casing, 90 feet 6-inch: 20 feet Si-inch; 300 feet 5-inch; 190 feet uncased (diameter 

4 Inches.

Q For emergencies only.
TABLE VIII. Analyses of waters along the line of the Union Pacific Railr

[Parts per million.]

Locality.

Do........

Do. ........

Do."........

Iliff............

Do.........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do.........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do......... 

Do.........

Do.........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do.........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Source.

. do. .........

... do. .........

Well 12 by 18 feet .................................

tor tank.

ter tank.

Well 12' by 20 feet. ................... .v ...........

.....do............................................

do .... . . .

Wells at round house, present supply ............

bridge, east of station.

.....do............................................

.....do............................................

Fire wells ........................................

Date.

Feb. 27,1902

Mar. 4, 1G02

Sept. 22, 1C04

Aug. 8.1CC2

Mar. 15,1902

Sept. 20, 1904

Oct. 1,1902

Aug. 2, 1904

Feb. 2/,19G2

Feb. 23,1903

Feb. 28,lf;02

Feb. 28,1902

Sept. 21, If 01

Jan. 3. 1901

.....do.......

Aug. 27,1901 

Mar. 28,1902

Apr. 30,1903

Nov. 4,1905

Feb. 27,1902

Mar. 23,1902

Mar. 18,1902

.....do.......

Mar. 19,1902

Aug. 1, 1902

.....do.......

June 21,1904

Oxides of 

iron and 

alumina 

(FCi0 3+ 

AkO3).

2.7

1.9

4.4

4.3

1.7

6.3

3.8

3.6

1.5

1.4

2.0

3.8

3.4

1.2

5.1

6.5 

7.3

4.4

1.4

1.3

1.3

19

3.8

3.9

2.0

7.3

Silira 

(SiOj).

40

4G

51

54

30

29

27

42

26

49

49

51

56

55

65

42

50

52 

33

49

51

27

24

37

5G

51

46

56

43

Ca

(

oNOji=10. 6 Organic matter=17. 
TABLE VIII. Analyses of watery along the line of the Union Pacific Railroad in w

[Parts per million.]

Locality.

Do.. .......

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do......... 

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........

Sidney.. ...... 

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do. ........ 

Do. ........

Do. ........

Do.........

Source.

tank.

North Platte River (filtered sample), 4 miles

north of station. 

New well ......................................... 

.....do..................... ... ....................

.....do..........-.-.-....-......---.....--........

.....do.....................-....----.----.........

Well 11 by 18 feet .................................

Tank, source unknown ...........................

New well 16 by 37 feet ............................

J. M. Judd's well, 140 feet dee-j...... .............

Date.

Mar. 13,1902

.....do.......

Mar. 29,1902

Oct. 4, 1903 

Oct. 2, 1905

.....do.......

Nov. 4, 1905

Aug. 11,1902

Sept. 15, 1897

Mar. 22,1903

Mar. 25,1903 

Nov. 8, 1905

May 14,1901

July 25,1901

Aug. 8, 1901

Oxides of 

iron and 

alumina 

(Fe2 03+ 

A12 03).

3.4

4.2

10.4

8.0

8.5

.34

2.3

6.5

''6 

'> i

2.2

7.5

2.1

6.5

2.2

3.3

45

26

22

43

42

48

60

61

54

67

22

23

5.9

34

Ca

(C

6 FeO* 
INDEX.

Page. 

Alluvial deposits at Ogalalla, Nebr., extent

cf............................... 10

in the valley, character of............... 6-7

Analyses of ground water............ 12-15,39-40

of water, well and river, along Union

Pacific Railroad................ 39-40

Arkansas Valley, pumping plant in, diaagram of........................ 31

Artesian head in Bird wood Creek region... 27-28 

Beet industry near Sterling, Colo........... 8

Big Spring, Nebr., well at, statistics of...... 38

well water at, analyses of.............. 39

Birdwood Creek, Nebr., springs and artesian water of.................... 26-28

Canals, underflow, failure of, for irrigation

purposes........................ 22-23

Chappell, Nebr., well at, statistics of....... 38

well water at, analyses of.............. 39

Chemical analyses of ground water... 12-15,39-40 

Crook, Colo., well at, statistics of........... 38

well water at, analyses of.............. 39

Deerfield, Kans., evaporation experiments

at............................... 20

Deposits, alluvial, character of............. 6-7

Dunes in western Nebraska................. 15

Evaporation from Rollings worth ditch,

Ogalalla........................ 19-20

experiments on, at Deerfield, Kans..... 20

Fuel, cost of, for pumping.................. 37

Gradient of river channel................... 6

Gravels, water-bearing..................... (i-8

Ground water, amount of, obtainable by

pumping........................ 29-30

at Ogalalla, dissolved solids in....... 10,12-13

velocity of.......................... 11,12

near Sterling, recovery of............... 8

Ground-water plane at North Platte, Nebr. 23-24 

at Ogalalla, position of................. 10

Hershey, Nebr., well water at, analyses of . 39 

wells at, statistics of.................... 38

Hollingsworth ditch at Ogalalla, cost of.... 21

evaporation from....................... 19-20

flow in.................................. 16-18

map of.................................. 17

IliS, Colo., well at, statistics of............. 38

well water at. analyses of.............. 39

Irrigation; pump, kind of, for efficient work

in............................... 33

pumping, cost of....................... 36-37

economical distance water can be

lifted........................... 35

pumping plants elsewhere, tests of..... 37

pipe fittings in, best kind of........ 34

power for, best source of............ 35

storage reservoirs, when desirable..... 35

water for, recovery of, by wells......... 7

Page.

Irrigation plant, wells for, economical arrangement of................... 30-33

Irrigation works in the valley.............. 6

Julesburg, Colo., well at, statistics of....... 38

well water at, analyses of.............. 39

Location of the investigations.............. 5-6

Lodgepole, Nebr., well at, statistics of...... 38

well water at, analyses of.............. 39

Lodgepole Creek, irrigation from........... 6

North Platte, Nebr., city waterworks pumping plant, investigations at..... 25-26

ground and river waters near, analyses

of...--...-.-.--....--....---..-- 14

investigations at........................ 23-28

well and river water at, analyses of..... 3,9

wells at, statistics of.................... 38

North Platte River, water of, analyses of . 13,

14, 39,40 

Ogalalla, Nebr., ground and river waters

near, analyses of................ 13

investigations at....................... 5,9-23

underflow ditch at, investigations on... 15-20 

well and river water at, analyses of .... 39

wells at, statistics of................... 38

Ogalalla formation, character of........... ">-G

Paxton, Nebr., ground waters near, analyses of........................... 14

well at, statistics of ................... 38

well and river water at, analyses of...... 39

Pipe fittings, best kind of, for pumping

plants.......................... 34

Power for pumping plants, best source of.. 35 

Precipitation in western Nebraska......... 15

Pumping, cost of........................... 36-37

economical distance water can be lifted. 35 

fuel, cost of, for pumping.............. 37

Pumping plant at Johnson ranch, near Sterling, defects of.................. 8

in Arkansas Valley, diagram of........ 31

Pumping plants at Rocky Ford, Colo., tests

of....-...............-.-.-...--- 37

in Arkansas River Valley, tests of..... 37

in Rio Grande Valley, tests of.......... 37

pipe fittings in, best kind of............ 34

power for, best source of............... 35

suggestions for construction of small.. 29-37 

Pumps, kind of, for efficient work in irrigati^n............................. 33

priming with water, method of......... 43

Rainfall in western Nebraska.............. 15

Reservoirs, storage, when desirable........ 35

Sand and silt, occurrence of, at only one,

place............................ 7-8

Sand-hill area in western Nebraska, character of........................... 15

Sedgwick, Colo., well at, statistics of....... 38

41
42 INDEX.

Page. 

Sedgwick, Colo., well water at, analysis

of............................... 40

Sidney, Nebr., well water at, analyses

of............................... 41

 wells at, statistics of.................... 38

Silt and sand, occurrence of, at only one

place............................ 7-8

South Platte River, water of, analyses of.. 39,40 

South Platte Valley, cross section of....... 10

description of........................... 5

Specific capacity of wells in South Platte

Valley.......................... 25-26

Springs that feed Birdwood Creek, Nebr.. 27 

Sterling, Colo., conditions at.............. 8-9

ground and river waters near, analyses

of............................... 13

well water at, analyses of.............. 40

wells at, statistics of................... 33

Storage reservoirs, when desirable......... 35

Underflow at Ogalalla, quantity of........ 12

Underflow at Ogalalla, velocity and direction of.......................... 9-12

Underflow canals, disadvantages of........ 22-23

failure of, for irrigation purposes....... 22-23

Underflow ditch at Ogalalla, investigations

on.............................. 15-21

Union Pacific Railroad, well and river water

along, analyses of.............. 39-40

wells along, statistics of................ 38

Vegetation, water required by, amount of.. 19-20 

Water plane at North Platte, Nebr., slope

of............................... 23-24

at Ogalalla, Nebr., position of.......... 10

Wells along Union Pacific Railroad, statistics of........................ 38

battery of, and pumps, arrangement of. 32 

economical arrangement of, for irrigation plant...................... 30-33

in South Platte Valley, specific capacity

of............................... 25-26

kind of, adapted to South Platte gravels 29
CLASSIFICATION OF THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL

SURVEY.

[Water-Supply Paper No. 184.]

The serial publications of the United States Geological Survey consist of (1) Annual 

Reports, (2) Monographs, (3) Professional Papers, (4) Bulletins, (5) Mineral 

Resources, (6) Water-Supplyand Irrigation Papers, (7) Topographic Atlas of United 

States folios and separate sheets thereof, (8) Geologic Atlas of United States folios 

thereof. The classes numbered 2, 7, and 8 are sold at cost of publication; the others 

are distributed free. A circular giving complete lists can be had on application.

Most of the above publications can be obtained or consulted in the following ways:

1. A limited number are delivered to the Director of the Survey, from whom they 

can be obtained, free of charge (except classes 2, 7, and 8), on application.

2. A certain number are delivered to Senators and Representatives in Congress for 

distribution.

3. Other copies are deposited with the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 

D. C., from whom they can be had at practically cost.

4. Copies of all Government publications are furnished to the principal public 

libraries in the large cities thruout the United States, where they can be consulted 

by those interested.

The Professional Papers, Bulletins, and Water-Supply Papers treat of a variety oi 

subjects, and the total number issued is large. They have therefore been classified 

into the following series: A, Economic geology; B, Descriptive geology; C, Systematic geology and paleontology; D, Petrography and mineralogy; E, Chemistry and 

physics; F, Geography; G, Miscellaneous; H, Forestry; I, Irrigation; J, Water storage; K, Pumping water; L, Quality of water; M, General hydrographic investigations; N, Water power; O, Underground waters; P, Hydrographic progress reports. 

This paper is the twelfth in Series K and the sixty-fifth in Series 0, the complete lists 

of which follow (PP=Professional Paper; B=Bulletin; WS=Water-Supply Paper):

SERIES K, PUMPING WATER.

WS 1. Pumping water for irrigation, by H. M. Wilson. 1896. 57 pp., 9 pis. (Out of stock.)

WS 8. Windmills for irrigation, by E. C. Murphy. 1837. 49 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.)

WS 14. New tests of certain pumps and water lifts used in irrigation, by O. P. Hood. 1898. 91 pp.,

1 pi. (Out of stock.)

WS 20. Experiments with windmills, by T. O. Perry. 1899. 97 pp., 12 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 29. Wells and windmills in Nebraska, by E. H. Barbour. 1899. 85 pp.. 27 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 41. The windmill; its efficiency and economic use, Pt. I, by E. C. Murphy. 1901. 72 pp., 14 pis.

(Out of stock.)

WS 42. The \vindmill, Pt. II [continuation of No. 41]. 1901. 73-147 pp., 15-16 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS91. Natural features and economic development of Sandusky, Maumee, Muskingum. and Miami

drainage areas in Ohio, by B. H. Flynn and M. S. Flynn. 1904. 130 pp.

WS 136. Underground waters of Salt River Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 196 pp., 23 pis. 

WS 141. Observations on the ground waters of the Rio Grande Valley, 1904, by C. S. Slichter. 1906.

83 pp., 5 pis.

WS 153. The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas, by C. S. Slichter. 1906. 90 pp., 3 pis. 

WS 184. The underflow of the South Platte Valley, by G. S. Slichter and H. C. Wolff. 1906. 42 pp.
II SERIES LIST.

SERIES 0, UNDERGROUND WATERS.

WS 4. A reconnaissance in southeastern Washington, by I. C. Russell. 1897. 96 pp., 7 pis. (Out of

stock.) 

WS 6. Underground waters of southwestern Kansas, by Erasmus Haworth. 1S97. 65 pp., 12 pis.

(Out of stock.)

WS 7. Seepage waters of northern Utah, by Samuel Fortier. 1S97. 50 pp., 3 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 12. Underground waters of southeastern Nebraska, by N. H. Darton. 1898. 56 pp., 21 pis. (Out

of stock.)

WS 21. Wells of northern Indiana, by Frank Leverett. 1899. 82 pp., 2 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 26. Wells of southern Indiana (continuation of No. 21), by Frank Leverett. 1899. 6-1 pp. (Out

of stock.) 

WR 30. Water resources of the lower peninsula of Michigan, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 7 pis. (Out

of stock.)

WS 31. Lower Michigan mineral waters, by A. C. Lane. 1899. 97 pp., 4 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 34. Geology and water resources of a portion of southeastern South Dakota, by J. E. Todd. 1900.

34 pp., 19 pis. 

WS 53. Geology and water resources of Nez Perces County, Idaho, Pt. I. by \. (\ Russell. 1901. 86

pp.,10 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 54. Geology and water resources of Ne/. Perces County, Idaho, Pt. II, by I. C. Russell. 1901.

87-141 pp. (Out of stock.)

WS55. Geology and water resources of a portion of Yakima County, Wash., by G. O. Smith. 1901

68 pp., 7 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 57. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. I, by N. H. Darton. 1902. fil) pp.

(Out of stock.) 

WS 59. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. I, by J. B. Lippincott. 1902.

95 pp., 11 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 60. Development and application of water in southern California, Pt. II, by J. B. Lippincott.

1902. 96-140 pp. (Out of stock.) 

WS61. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, Pt. II, by N. H. Darton. 1902. 67pp.

(Out of stock.)

WS 67. The motions of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1902. 106 pp., 8 pis. (Out of stock.) 

B 199. Geology and water resources of the Snake River Plains of Idaho, by I. C. Russell. 1902. 192

pp., 25 pis.

WS 77. Wrater resources of Molokai, Hawaiian Islands, by Waldemar Lindgren. 3903. 62 pp.,4 pis. 

WS 78. Preliminary report on artesian basin in southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, by I. C.

Russell. 1903. 53pp., 2 pis. 

PP 17. Preliminary report on the geology and water resources of Nebraska west of the one hundred

and third meridian, by X. H. Darton. 1903. 69 pp., 43 pis. 

WS 90. Geology and water resources of a part of the lower James River Valley, South Dakota, by

J. E. Todd and C. M. Hall. 1904. 47 pp., 23 pis. 

WS 101. Underground waters of southern Louisiana, by G. D. Harris, with discussions of their uses for

water supplies and for rice irrigation, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 98 pp., 11 pis.

WS 102. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States. 1903, by M. L. Fuller. 1904. 522 pp. 

WS 104. Underground waters of Gila, Valley, Arizona, by W. T. Lee. 1904. 71 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 106. Water resources of the Philadelphia district, by Florence Bascom. 1904. 75 pp., 4 pis. 

WS 110. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States, 1904; M. L. Fuller, geologist in

charge. 1904. 211 pp., 5 pis. 

PP 32. Geology and underground water resources of the central Great Plains, by N. H. Darton. 1904.

433 pp., 72 pis. (Out of stock.) 

WS 111. Preliminary report on underground waters of Washington, by Henry Landes. 1904. 85 pp.,

Ipl. 

WS 112. Underflow tests in the drainage basin of Los Angeles River, by Homer Hamlin. 1904.

55 pp.. 7 pis. 

WS114. Underground waters of eastern United States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge. 1904.

285 pp., 18 pis. 

WS 118. Geology and water resources of east-central Washington, by F. C. Calkins. 1905. 96 pp.,

4 pis. 

B 252. Preliminary report on the geology sind water resources of central Oregon, by I. C. Russell.

1905. 138pp., 24 pis. 

WS 120. Bibliographic review and index of papers relating to underground waters, published by the

United States Geological Survey, 1879-1904, by M. L. Fuller. 1905. 128 pp. 

WS 122. Relation of the law to underground waters, by D. W. Johnson. 1905. 55 pp. 

WS 123. Geology and underground water conditions of the Jornada del Muerto, New Mexico, byC. R.

Keyes. 1905. 42 pp., 9 pis.

WS 136. Underground waters of the Salt River Valley, by W. T. Lee. 1905. 194 pp., 24 pis. 

B264. Record of deep-well drilling for 1904, by M. L. Fuller, E. F. Lines, and A. C. Veatch. 1906.

106 pp.
SERIES LIST. Ill

PP 44. Underground water resources of Long Island, New York, by A. C. Veatch and others. 1905.

394 pp., 34 pis. 

WS ] 37. Development of underground waters in the eastern coastal plain region of southern California,

by \V. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 140 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 138. Development of underground watersin the central coastal plain region of southern California,

by \V. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 162 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 139. Development of underground waters in the western coastal plain region of southern California,

by W. C. Mendenhall. 19D5. 105 pp., 7 pis. 

WS 140. Field measurements of the rate of movement of underground waters, by C. S. Slichter. 1905.

122 pp., 15 pis. 

WS 141. Observations on the ground waters of Rio Grande Valley, by C. S. Slichter. 1905. 83 pp.,

5 pis.

WS 142. Hydrology of San Bernardino Valley, California, by W. C. Mendenhall. 1905. 124 pp., 13 pis. 

WS 145. Contributions to the hydrology of eastern United States; M. L. Fuller, geologist in charge.

1905. 220 pp., 6 pis.

WS 148. Geology and water resources of Oklahoma, by C. N. Gould. 1905. 178 pp., 22 pis. 

WS 149. Preliminary list of deep borings in the United States, second edition, with additions, byIs. H. Darton. 1905. 175pp. 

PP 46. Geology and underground water resources of northern Louisiana and southern Arkansas, by

A. C. Veatch. 1906. 422 pp., 51 pis.

WS 153. The underflow in Arkansas Valley in western Kansas, by C. S. Slichter. 19C6. 90 pp., 3 ply. 

WS 154. The geology and water resources of the pastern portion of the Panhandle of Texas, by C. N.

Gould. 1906. 64 pp.,15 pis. 

WS 155. Fluctuations of the water level in wells, with special reference to Long Island, New York,

by A. C. Veatch. 1906. 83 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 157. Underground water in the valleys of Utah Lake and Jordan River, Utah, by G. B. Richardson.

190G. 81 pp., 9 pis. 

WS 158. Preliminary report on the geology and underground waters of the Roswell artesian area

New Mexico, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 29 pp., 9 pis. 

PP 52. Geology and underground » aters of the Arkansas Valley in eastern Colorado, by N. H. Darton.

1906. 90 pp., 28 pis. 

WS 159. Summary of underground-water resources of Mississippi, by A. F. Crider and L. C. Johnson,

1906. 86 pp., 6 pis. 

PP 53. Geology and water resources of the Bighorn basin, Wyoming, by C. A. Fisher. 1906. 72 pp.,

16 pis.

WS 160. Underground-water papers, 1906, by M. L. Fuller. 1906. 104 pp., 1 pi. 

WS 163. Bibliographic review and index of underground-water literature published in the United

States in 1905, by M. L. Fuller, F. G. Clapp, and B. L. Johnson. 1906. 130 pp. 

WS 164. Underground waters of Tennessee and Kentucky west of Tennessee River and of an adjacent

area in Illinois, by L. C. Gleun. 1906. 173 pp., 7 pis.

WS 181. Geology and water resources of Owens Valley, California, by W. T. Lee. 1906. 28 pp., 6 pis. 

WS 182. Flowing wells and municipal water supplies in the southern portion of the Southern Peninsula of Michigan, by Frank Leverett and others. 1906. 292 pp., 5 pis. 

WS 183. Flowing wells and municipal water supplies in the middle and northern portions of the

Southern Peninsula of Michigan, by Frank Leverett and others. 1906. pp., 5 pis. 

B 298. Record of deep-well drilling for 1905, by M. L. Fuller and Samuel Sanford. 1906. 299 pp. 

WS 184. The underflow of the South Plntte Valley, by C. S. Slichter and H. C. Wolff. 1906. 42 pp.

The following papers also relate to this subject: Underground waters of Arkansas Valley in eastern 

Colorado, by G. K. Gilbert, in Seventeenth Annual, Ft. II; Preliminary report on artesian waters of a 

portion of the Dakotas, by N. H. Darton, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Illinois, 

by Frank Leverett, in Seventeenth Annual, Pt. II; Water resources of Indiana and Ohio, by Frank 

Leverett, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; New developments in well boring and irrigation in eastern 

South Dakota, by N. H. Darton, in Eighteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Rock waters of Ohio, by Edward 

Orton, in Nineteenth Annual, Pt. IV; Artesian-well prospects in the Atlantic coastal plain region, by 

N. H. Darton, Bulletin No. 138.

Correspondence should be addrest to

THE DIRECTOR,

UNITED STATES (TEOLOGICAL SURVEY,

WASHINGTON, D. C. 

NOVEMBER, 1906.

o