In our research we calculated the amount of water needed for irrigation, conducted seismic surveys on potential aquifer sites, and studied past surveys to see if possible sources had been overlooked. What follows is the results of our investigation. From topographical maps we calculated the total irrigated area to be 921,875 square feet. There is no regular schedule for irrigation. The schedule varies to take precipitation into account and follows a general rule that there must be 1 inch of water on the ground per week.
Rain generally contributes a portion of the inch, and irrigation contributes the rest.
A full inch of irrigation is needed only during weeks when it does not rain at all. The dates during which irrigation occurs are also variable. Irrigation can occur from June to September, with the usual period running from mid-June to the beginning of September. From Amherst rainfall records we calculated how much water would be needed make up the 1 inch per week. We multiplied these monthly average levels of irrigation by the total area irrigated to find the average monthly volumes of irrigation needed.