CATTLE GUARDS

Pasturing of ditchbanks is an accepted and practical method of con-
trolling weeds and utilizing forage along irrigation ditchbanks and on adjacent
rights-of-way. However, proper control of the livestock requires fencing,
and unless cattle guards are installed the ditchriders are confronted with the
delaying chore of opening and closing gates. Several photographs and designs
of different cattle guards which have been used on irrigation projects through-
out the West are illustrated and design drawings are included.

IIIA1-1


SIDE-ARM BOOM AND DRAG

The side-arm boom has proved satisfactory for towing demossing
equipment through irrigation ditches where only one ditchbank operating road
has been provided. It also is useful for pulling harrows and other tools on
sideslopes or embankments,

This boom was designed by personnel of the Patterson Water Company,
Patterson, California,

Construction Details:

A special platform is constructed on the tractor hitch as a support for
the boom, The boom is made from 3-inch pipe to which the free-swinging
butterfly is fitted and held in the desired position.by two collar clamps, Being
able to move the butterfly back and forth on the boom permits the operator to
center the drag in ditches of different widths and also allows adjustment for
the distance from the ditch where the tractor must operate, When it is desired
to make a return trip, the hitch end of the boom is unpinned and refastened to
the opposite side of the platform, The butterfly is turned over and the anchor
cable is hooked into an eye welded to the track-bar shield on opposite side of
the tractor.

IB2-1


SEED SCARIFIER

To assure even germination of hard-coated seeds for ditchbank and
other planting, it may be necessary to treat the seeds in some manner which
will facilitate the entrance of moisture and stimulate germination. This may
be accomplished by soaking the seeds in water, treating them with dilute con-
centration of acid, or by mechanically scratching the seed coat. A simple,
inexpensive, mechanical scarifier or scratcher may be constructed by follow-
ing the accompanying design drawing.

This scarifier was constructed on the Pathfinder Irrigation District,
North Platte Project, Mitchell, Nebraska.

Construction Details:
Emery Cloth: Suggest using 2-1/2-grade 30E Silicon carbide
paper on Number 80-grit emery cloth. Fasten
paper in place with casein glue

Wire Screen: 20 mesh

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IA2-1


The forward lever is attached to a'rolling coulter which the operator
manipulates to keep the sled near the center of the ditch. A movable arm on
the hitch can be pinned in several positions to produce a more direct pull.
The vertical staff at rear of the platform serves only as a handhold for the
second rider who adds weight and also helps balance the sled.



Adjusting Holes 9" cto ¢-

2x 7" Removable pir
2 Required

Free to turn thru 360°

_ ny =
,

canal

-—30'—4

Developed by
PATTERSON WATER DISTRICT
"Patterson, Calif

‘3" Pipe Approx. 14 feet

NOTE

Length of spreaders depentant upon cana! section

2 Wire Goble 12°

Ceble attached to wood by
‘extra heavy staples

Approx. 2" Links- 4"
2 Required

“Approx. ft Link - 22 Links

join attached to wood
with heavy wire

Deranruent oF ME INTERIOR
(suneay oF ReciAwarion

ARM BOOM AND DRAG

eae

IIB2-3



The plank spreaders are necessary to keep the heavy chain at proper
width to attain full coverage of the ditch, Sufficient length of cable and chain
should be used so the entire loop lies flat upon the canal bottom and the pullis
as vertical as possible, A drag that is too short results in an upward pull and
the chain passes over the weeds without breaking or tearing them loose.

TB2-2


CHANNEL GROOVER

Periodic draining and drying of the channels is the most economical
and practical method of controlling submersed waterweeds. Where the method
can be used, the sun and wind rapidly dry the exposed weeds and within a few
days the tops are dead. Even though water must be carried in the laterals the
year round, the Imperial Irrigation District operation and maintenance forces
practice drying entire lateral systems for 3 days every 3 weeks, effectively
reducing the weed problem. Periodically, it is necessary to groove or channel
the bottom of the ditches to connect the low areas and permit rapid and com-
plete draining so all weeds will dry quickly.

The unit shown in operation above and in detail on the following page,
was designed and constructed by personnel of the Imperial Irrigation District,
Imperial, California. Several sizes of the channel groover, sometimes re-
ferred to as the ''moss plow" have been constructed but each is designed to
slice a groove about 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep.

Construction Details:
The groover is constructed of heavy metal and planking. The plow-

shares are discarded grader blades or steel plates with lugs welded on one
side for bolting into the platform. This unit weighs about 400 pounds.

IB4-1


AROMATIC SOLVENT MIXER

In applying aromatic solvent to control submersed water weeds, it is
recommended the concentrated solvent be introduced at a drop or structure so
that turbulence of the water will effect good mixing. Naturally, ideal conditions
for mixing chemical with the water do not exist at every point where introduc-
tions are to be made so other means such as compressed air, stirring the water
with paddles, and mixing of the chemical in the pumping unit have been investi-
gated, A practical preintroduction techinque of assuring dispersal of aromatic
solvent has been developed and used by personnel of the Sunnyside Valley Irri-
pation District, Sunnyside, Washington, and is referred to in that area as the

Sunvalid Solvent System,"

The mixing of solvent with water before it is introduced into the canal
eliminates the necessity for nozzles, It also assures thorough dispersion of
chemical in the first few hundred feet downstream from the introduction point
which so often is difficult to obtain when nozzles are used,

Construction Details:
The unit consists of a 4-inch centrifugal pump with intake lines to both
the reservoir of chemical and to the lateral, Violent mixing of chemical and

water is accomplished in the bell casing of the pump before fluid is discharged
back into the lateral,

IAi-1


HAND WATERWEED CUTTER FOR SMALL LATERALS

Every year small, sluggish sublaterals become infested with aquatic
growths. The weed growths together with the silt deposits which accumulate
among them rapidly increase the elevation of the water surface to a point
where corrective action is required. Often the weeds in small ditches are re-
moved by rakes or by dragging chains behind teams of horses or small trac-
tors. However, hand-operated devices are useful in very small laterals where
the infestation is not heavy or is in isolated patches.

This hand-operated ''moss cleaner'' was developed by personnel of the
Tieton Division, Yakima Project, Yakima, Washington, to cut the aquatic
plants on the bottom of the ditch. The implement is pushed by the operator
wading up the ditch. Cut weeds float downstream to be removed with a weed
hook at a screen or a structure.

Construction Details:

The implement is a diamond-shaped blade of saw steel which is at-
tached to a fork handle. Both edges of the blade are kept very sharp so the
weeds are cut rather than being pulled. The hard-wood handle is fastened to
the blade at an angle of 30 degrees. The details of the cutter are shown on
the drawing on the next page.

IIB5-1


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1B3-a

WATER-PROPELLED SCRAPER

The water-propelled scraper has been devised to cut loose sediment
and waterweeds from concrete-lined canals. Pressure of the water against
the vertical plank wall, which is cut to fit the shape of the lining, pushes the
scraper down the channel. If the water pressure is not sufficient, the scraper
is pulled by a truck. Scouring action of the water rushing between the mova-
ble scraper blade wings and the lining effectively sluices free much of the de-
bris, that is not loosened by the bulkhead, shaped to fit snugly against the
walls. The blade which serves as a runner for the scraper slices throughand
loosens the sediment on bottom of the canal, Hinged extensions on each side
of the scraper bulkhead have been added so that the unit can be used inditches
of different sizes. A wasteway is necessary to remove debris cut-loose from
the system.

Scraper was designed for use on the Contra Costa Canal, by personnel
of the Delta District, Bureau of Reclamation, Stockton, California.



CHAINING CART

Designed and constructed by operating personnel of the Payette Divi-
sion, Boise Project, Notus, Idaho, an iron-wheeled cart to which is attached
a series of cross bars, usually railroad rails, connected by chains, serves
to break loose aquatic weeds from small laterals, The wheels which roll on
a straight axle guide the cross rails down the lateral and even though the angle
of pull is not direct the heavy cart will not creep out of the ditch. Four to six
cross rails may be used depending upon density of the weed growth. With
the flatside of rail forward maximum shearing action is produced on bottom of
ditch to cut or pull loose the aquatic vegetation.

IIB1-1


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PUMP AND ENGINE FOR INTRODUCING AROMATIC SOLVENT

The equipment necessary to introduce aromatic solvent or Benoclor
into small-sized ditches need not be more expensive or elaborate than the
pictured unit which was constructed by personnel of the Tieton Division,
Yakima Project, Yakima, Washington, A gear or vane pump with capacity of
less than 5 gallons per minute when driven by a small air-cooled gasoline en-
gine is satisfactory. Gear pumps without internal return should be equipped
with an open by-pass system with the regulatory valve adjustable from 60 to
80 pounds pressure, Pumps with an open by-pass, as shown in the above
photograph, must have a return line to the reservoir drum, Oil resistant
hose (neoprene or saran) is recommended, and as petroleum oils are soluble
in aromatics, the pump should be lubricated with silicone grease,

Any nozzle which delivers the required amount of fluid may be used,
For small laterals one nozzel may be sufficient, but for larger laterals it will
be necessary to assemble a manifold with nozzles 18 to 24 inches apart. By
controlling the number of nozzles on the manifold or by changing size of nozzle
tips, the necessary quantity of fluid can be introduced over the required con-
tact period.

UA2-1


The intake line to the drum of chemical is fitted with a valve which
controls the volume of concentration entering the pump, This particular unit
has been used to apply chemical to ditches having a capacity ranging from 3 to
125 cubic feet per second, When Photograph I[Al-a was taken only 1 gallon
of chemical was being pumped each minute. The rate of application recom-
mended for controlling submersed aquatic weeds is 6 to 10 gallons of chemical
for each cubic foot per second of water over a 30-minute period.

On other projects, mixing units similar to the one described are used
which do not draw chemical from a barrel but the pumps are connected directly
to a gasoline meter on the reservoir tank, The quantity of aromatic solvent is
metered and by checking the volume against time and water flow, the chemical
concentration built up in the ditch can be determined,

SUNVALID SOLVENT SYSTEM
Schematic Arrangement

—_————_ 1. Truck Mounted Supply Tank.

2. 4" Discharge with Gate Valve,

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