Wichita eagle., 1889-10-02
THE WATER SUPPLY IN THE SOUTH
WEST,

considerable portion of the southwestern
part of this state for agricultural pur.
poses and its permanent occupation by
a thrifty population depends unquestion-
ably upon whether or not an adequate
and permanent supply of water can be
obtained for purposes of irrigation, for it
| is demonstrated fact that the favors of
seasons are too uncertain to depend upon
with the hope of making agricultural
operations profitable. A special COM
mittee from the United States senate has
| just completed a tour of the arid
regions Of the west including
in their travels and investigations the
portion of this state referred to. Just
what the committees report to congress
will be is not known positively, but it is
| believed it will recommend as means
of relief, system of reservoirs for the
storage of water, storm and torrential,
from the mountains and high attitudes
contiguous to and in reach of the plat
eaus to be irrigated.
Experiments with artesian wells have
already been made in certain localities
but SO far with only partial success.
Henry Stewart, civil and mining en-
gineer, the pioneer writer upon the SUBJ
ject of irrigation, says this of artesian
wells:
The idea that artesian wells may be
made a source of supply for completely
irrigating large tracts of land, if ever
held by any over-sangulne persons, must
be abandoned. For partial irrigation
they may be made available; but the
quantity of water needed for the irriga-
| ton of few acres of land only, in TO-
callties where there is no summer rain
full, as upon our western plains, is far
| beyond the capacity of any artesian well
10 supply, unless it be one of eXtraordi-
nary volume.
Judge j. W. Gregory, editor Of the
Garden City Sentinel, has given the sub
;ect Of irrigation as much study perhaps
as any one in this country, and being of
practical turn of mind rather than
theoretical the result of his researches is
worthy OF careful consideration. He has
seen all the systems so far employed
practically tested and is forced to the
either reservoir or artesian well system
is inlpracticabie for the reason that a
sufficient supply of water cannot be OBJ
tanned by either, alone, but that they
must be supplemented from some other
source TO accomplish ali that is neceS-
sary.
Ia speaking of this question as it pertains
to eastern Colorado and southwestern
Kansas, Mai. j. W. Powell, chief Of the
United States Geological survey, esti-
mates that when all possible sources of
water supply for purposes of irrigation
are utilized, (meaming by the storage
system and natural supply from living
streams), but 25 per cent. of the lands
requiring irrigation can be served with
| water. This is not encouraging to peo-
pie SO far from the mountains as are
those of Southwest Kansas to depend
upon such a source of supply. On each
side of the Arkansas river in Colorado
lies vast plain of rich land yearnlng
for irrigation. Roughly estimated, there
are not less than eight million acres of
it is susceptible of irrigation, that would
make four million acres which must ac-
cording to Senator Plumb, eventually be
satisfied, before Kansas can expect to
use any of the water coming down the
Arkansas, whether it be stored melting
snow or storm waters. Judge Gregory
adopts Major Powelfs estimates and says
further that if the Arkansas river should
furnish stream of water 1900 feet wide
and four feet deep, flowing at speed
of three feet per second for 100
days in each year Gt has not
furnished one-fifth that amount this
season. that would furnish but two prac-
tical irrigations per year to two and a
half million acres. AS a matter of fact,
the average total water supply of the
Arkansas river, for the next five years at
least, will not, if all utilized, furnish safe
and reliable irrigation for more than one
million acres of land each and every
year and there are already bitches con-
structed and projected in Colorado COW
ering land sufficient to use at least all
of the practical supply. The fact is,
eastern Colorado, adjoining Kansas, is
as much in need of a prompt and
effective solution of the problem of a
water supply as is western Kansas"
In answer to the question, then, "can
we secure q supply of water sufficient to
irrigate this vast and rich region, by
the help Of the artesian wells and
storage ponds Judge Gregory makes the
following suggestions embodying plan
heretofore adverted to in these columns
and which, i'll conjunction with the
other methods already mentioned and par
TALLY tested, may contain a solution Of
the irrigation problem, at least IN the
district that we are Immediately IN
terested in:
"Underlying the whole Arkansas val
lev is vast sheet of water of unknown
average width and depth. Every well
in the valley ana, within few miles,
upon the upiand-except i'll a few locali-
tieS-penetrateS the 'sheet water"
From Dodge City, Kan, to La Junta,
Col, the Santa Fe railroad has fifteen
large wells. They ali penetrate the
sheet water and none go through it. So
says Mr. Il. \. Stein, superintendent of
the western division of the water ser
vice. The water works we'll at Garden
City goes into the sand TO a depth of
eleven feet and soundings TO a depth of
twenty-five feet more cid not touch
bottom. The experimental boring
made here at Garden City in 1888 passed
through depth of $50 feet of water
soaked sand and gravel