The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-05-04
UTAH EXPERIMENT STATION.
An Interesting Letter From Topo-
grapher f. H. Newell.

To the Editor of The Herald:
| l send herewith the latest publication Of
the Utah Experiment Station. bulletin IS.
together with a letter from F. H New
ell, topographer of the United States geo.
logical survey, in reference to the value
of this brief publication.
The subject of irrigation and water
rights have been extensively discussed of
late and the work of this station should
be an aid in the intelligent discussion of
these topics.
The last bulletin is summarized rs fol-
lows:
surements were made of the canals and
tributaries of Ogden and Weber rivers, to
determine, if possible, whether water
could be diverted and applied to the sur
face of cultivated areas in the upper val
leyS without injury to the priority users
in the lower valleys
The preliminary Investigations. which
extended through July and Augusta pc
Rod much too brief in which to base &C
curate resultS-seemed TO demonstrate
the accuracy of the following statements:
FirstEThat the diversion of water from
a stream and its application to the soil
in the upper valleys in the early part OF
the irrigation season when water is album
dant, increases the available supply. to the
irrigators of the lower valleys in the lat
ter part of the season.
Second-In most cases a time is reached
ton of the water diverted from the
stream in the upper. valley reaches the
lower irrigators in time to benefit them
Such diversion and use damage the lrr1-
gators of the lower valleys.
Third-In some instances the outflow
from the upper valleys during July and
August was much greater than the in
flow, although a large part of the inflow
was used for irrigation purposes.
Fourth-The behavior of irrigation wa
tiers in any drainage system can be de-
" a a nf
made measurements extending over pc
Rod of years. and that much ill-feeling.
trouble and litigation would be avoided
If the state would collect the necessary
data
Following is the letter to which refer
ence has been made:
Department of the Interior,
United States Geological Survey.
Washington. D. c., April "a, 1885,
Prof. Samuel Fortier. Logan, Utah:
Dear Sir-I have lately received two
your paper with very great interest. This
is I think, one of the finest pieces of
work in the line of hydrography l have
yet seen. and has value not only to Utah.
but to all western states. The manner in
which you have worked up the subject
and prepared the data for publication, is
admirable, and should serve as a model
for investigators in other parts of the
country. L hope that your efforts and the
results will be appreciated by the people
of Utah, who, if alive to their own inter-
cSlS, SitOulQ udSleI 10 tlldDle YOU 10 Car
ry on this work to a far larger degree Of
completeness. There is no investment
which the future state can make which
will yield as large a return as the con-
tinuation of this thorough investigation
of the water resources and problems of
Seepage; and 1 do not know a man who
is as well prepared as yourself to push
this matter successfully.
Very truly yours,
F. H. NEWELL.
Photographer
AS the demand for the bulletins quickly
exhausts the supply, all Utah people, |
especially interested in the subjects of
seepage, the underflow Of rivers, water |
rights, etc, should secure a copy of this |
bulletin. The bulletins are sent free 70 |
any person in Utah that will write for |
them. The next one, now in press, treats |
of farm and orchard irrigation.
Respectfully.
J. H. PAUL.
Director.