Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1895-01-05
How to Build a Reservoir.

hrSt place water direct from Wen IS
not suitable for irrigation and if you in
tend to irrigate from a well it will be
necessary to build a reservoir for the
water. 1t has been generally thought
that a reservoir could not be made
where the soil Is sandy, but the fallacy
of this position has been demonstrated
throughout western Kansas by the sue
-cessful building of these reservoirs in all
kinds of soil even in the sand hills them
selves. The mistake has generally been
made by attempting to dig reservoir
instead of building one.
If you have piece of land slightly
rolling and suitable for irrigation, select
place for your reservoir and well on
the highest part of your land; lay out
the lines of your reservoir which should
be constructed in the form of an oblong
with the length double the width. Plow
and scrape the surface to depth suffi-
Gent to remove all sod and grass roots.
Do not use this soil for building the en-
bankments for the same reason that it
is removed from the surface of the reser-
voir, i. E.: the decaying roots and vege-
tation will leave seams and leaks.
When the lines are established and
the surface soil removed, pillow within
the lines and with a scraper draw the
soil from the inside of the reservoir to
build up the entertainments which
should not be less than feet high meas
uring from the outside and should
be very wide at the base and slop-
ing gradually toward the inside so
that the force of the water will not wash
the entertainments as it would if the in
side walls were abrupt. After the walls
are completed the surface of the reser-
voir should be plowed to a depth of 4 or
5 inches and the soil thoroughly pulver-
lied with harrow, drag, or other imple
ments. And now comes the most i'm
portant part of the work, that of prepar-
ing the bottom part of the reservoir so
that it will hold water. Water should
now be turned in until the surface of
the reservoir is covered and then the
work Of pudding should begin and
should not be suspended until the work
is completed. This pudding may be
donein various ways the only object be-
ing to work the soil into Il fine mortar
which acts as a cement. Cattle, horses
and hogs may be turned in and driven
back and forth across the reservoir until
a mortar is made, or teams hitched to
harrows, drags or invented scrapers may
be used, in this case work should be be-
gun at one side as far up the embank-
ment as possible and should be gradual
ly worked to the other side, being sure
that the work is done thoroughly so
that no part will have to be gone over a
second time. Ii the soil is very sandy
few loads OF clay scattered in the bot
tom before pudding will assist in the
process and make the work more per-
manent.
The next object is to protect the en-
bankments from the action of the waves
of water caused by wind. This is i'm
portant and may be accomplished in
several ways. Some have used sod for
protecting the walls on the inside by
laying the sodded blocks in the manner
as In sodding lawn or yard.
If stone can be had, the embankment
may be rip-raped on the inside thus
making permanent protection although
somewhat expensive.
The force of the waves and their de-
structive influence may be materially
lessened by throwing loose planks or
boards into the water. These boards
will be blown by the wind to the oppo-
site side from which the wind blows and
thus protect the banks somewhat from
the force of the waves. If sodding is
used it will be well to secure the seed of
some species of water grass and plant in
the seams SO that by the time the sod
dies out the water grass will have taken
root and viii furnish permanent pro-
lection to the walls. The outside walls
may be sodded or planted to grass.
To maintain the reservoir in good con-
dition at least two feet of water should
be kept in it at all times If it is allow
ed to go dry or freeze solid the bottom
will crack which will require it to be
plowed and repuddled.
1t is presumed that you have a good
well near the reservoir and that YOU are
supplied with windmills or other power
to work the pumps and raise the water.
The manner of tapping the reservoir
and laying off the land and arranging
the bitches for conducting the water will
be described in another article. In de-
termining the capacity of reservoirs, the
power required to raise water to GER
tain height and the amount of land
certain amount of water will irrigate the
following facts may be useful:
A gallon of fresh water weigh S.34
pounds, and contains PSI cubic inches.
theoretically water can be raised by
suction SO feet, but practically only %
to % feet.
To find the horse power required to
elevate water to given height, multiply
the number of gallons raised per minute
by So, and this by the height in feet,
and divide the product by $4,000, which
gives theoretical horse power. In ordi-
nary practice 80 to 100 per cent should
be added to provide for friction of
pumps and water in pipes.
"a, 154 gallons Of water viii cover one
acre inch deep.-Anthony Republican.
FAITH IN WESTERN KANSAS.