Kansas City daily journal., 1896-09-14
THEKANSAS WATER PROBLEM
PROGRESS OF THE STATE IRRIGA-
TION COMMISSION.
Professor Hnworth, of the state Uni
versity, Gives the Gist OF His
Forthcoming Report on the
Irrigation Survey.


Z Haworth, of the state university, as one
~ the advisory members. and work was |
beguu at once. 1t has been prosecuted as |
ever since and Professor Ha-
worth expects 10 make complete report
on the water question early in November.
To a representative of the press ne mas
given, however. the gist of the report
stripped of its mathematical and geologic
al details. ;,,.o-,;-
gated was divided into half a dozen
sections with at least two men IN ed eaca
section. These men separated ana Worheut
slowly Westward covering scS ar,n' ntf'g The in
eyitable bicycle was used very largely d
a means of transportation; and was Lout 'Iar |
10 be more satisfactory tnan the fes"
The ground was thoroughly examined IN
regard TO the strata, the amount ano uepe
of the underground now, ana the ,,,ain Tnar life
of the soil with its capacity TO sutall 49, ny.
Wells were. of course, the principal souasSS sS
OF Information, since they give fetoiu Snr
OF the iSe Water beneath the
surface Gulies, pools. springs ana eseiS
thing else that would give an AMI ihoIJayI ciaseIW
of the surface formation were closens
scrutinized and the results Will De tapu-
lated in the forthcoming report ,,.,
The water question depends almost 49,
ge.heT gshes aR'h ali former in1estgations of The
subject practically worthless. Inc nu&
ber and character of the strata. tneH m. hi
clination and the everything material must
ali he taken into consideration in determ-
lining the possibilities of irrigation.
Now. in Western Kansas. the eondl.iohs 5a
ar. comparatively simple. AboVe tne ne
posits of the earlier geoiogicai psftoddo de
with which the report has nothing 70 90
are found first the enormous ana ysiean inysieai
ous Red Beds. the enigma OF the American az
Continent The color of these beds, as
the name indicates. is so red that IN the .G
localities where they form the surIace e,re
,s-so 10 a
as if there had been a wholesale maSSdcLe
ner by Biologists are at loggerheauS
about them and their present name .syea Is d
compromise, for the SCIENTISTS catA oeAe
only as to their color. ,,.,
Above the Red Beds are the Comanehe h
rocks, then the Dakota, the benton, ts Ie
upper cretaceous period. Above them, now
ever is a wholly different formation, the
deposit of another geological era, tne Ter
tiary. 1t consists OF loose asI,th fror, "a
clay sand soil, varying in depth from ~
TO 80 feet. This forms the surface u ~.
land, and is spread over the area "Ihou'
respect to the under formations. LII. ap pf
pears to have been put on like suit OF
clothes to save the bushes and warm ,n lne
bones of naked old Nature Now. d Whlie
the surface. as every one KNOWS; a. sou r,ct.
formations below dip gently TO the noIth-
east; consequently their distance from gay
light is somewhat greater IN the nottneIh II
than in the southern part OF the . STAT
Their DEPTH roo is varied by the courses
of the streams some of them having worn
the soil entirely away. exposing the rocAs
of the cretaceouS period
These soft, cretaceous rocks form tne
floor of the country. bed OF limestone:
contrary TO popular opinion, Will not hold
water like bed Of shale. Any movement
of the land. and imperceptible earthquakes
are occurring constantly, Will fracture the
limestone. and let the wafer through ike a
broken crock: but shale will slit quickly
in and fill up a fault, soon becoming again
practically impervious to water. Hence
the water in the west flows along slowly
TO the eastward upon It's cretaceous bed
and beneath its tertiary coverlet- This Is
the water fallen in the form of rain all
over the Rocky mountain slope.
The wells in the western part OF the state
are sunk merely through the upper coat
ing and an abundance of water is found
Wherever. too, a stream has cut Its chan
nel down through the tertiary deposits al
springs are likely to be found. This is why
that in Western Kansas, the dryest spo'
on the globe not a desert, the most enor'
nous springs are situated. AT what was
in the boom times the county seat of Lo
gan county, Russell Springs. water bursts
from a. hillside in a dozen jets larger thar
a mans wrist: and natural fountain no
for from Meade yields, by actual measure
ment, three cubic feet of water each sec
ond. The springs would be larger and IA
mere numerous IL the inclination of tn
land were not so slight. Owing to the mild
ness of the declivity, the undergroun,
water flows rot faster than a foot day
thus enabling the springs now in existenc
, 20 carry I.tOfiu on any snperhuity: o year
numerous ephemeral springs.
The portion of Kansas selected by Pro
fessor Haworth for personal inspection, sc
lected as the most typical of the whole.
a space of some 1000 square miles compris
ing parts of Ford, Clark, Gray and Mead
counties, and embracing the famous artes
ian well district. Here he is conducting hi
work under three authorities. the state Il
rigation commission, the state geologici
survey. and the hydrograpnical bureau {
the United States geological survey. HI
conclusions are Interesting and some ar
highly surprising.
The artesian district is of a lozene
shape. a long ellipse, one focus of which
at Wilburn and the other at Meade. Crool
ed creek. appropriately named, for 1t
the crookedest of the crooked creeks
America forms the long axis of the clips
This little section of country is probabl
the best watered portion of Kansas. 1t
merely a depression in the land sinl
where the upper crust is worn away a
most to the water level. and the water !
self comes from the higher lands to Il
west. II Western Kansas could be caugl
and skinned, the whole country would
an artesian district.
Within this favored region an artesis
well is the cheapest of luxuries. Not
single one ever costs above $50. and all a
satisfactory if properly managed. nur
ber however. have been allowed to chol
up and the owner can now see nothing go'
in the country. All one has TO do is
into the ground and there is an artesi;
we'll. The water does not always rise abo
the surface and II any elevation OF I
water is desired. pumps are fndispensah
There are in this narrow tract three
four wells properly constructed, that vie
forty-five gallons of water per minu
from twelve to twenty that yield thir
gallons per minute, and 200 or more IN
grade on down to eight or ten galol
il is estimated that there is enough wal
coming from the ground to equal 125 We
E~t,; n,.t, iytx nf
minute. Now one well at this rate p
duces enough water in a year to COY
e6A acres of ground one foot deep. L
total supply, then. would cover l2ooo acr
in round numbers, one foot deep In a ye
OF course. many crops need more IN
that amount of moisture: but from Z
estimate the possibilities of irrigation C
be grasped.
waste the water shamefully. In so
pIaces they dam gully and fill II from
tesian wells. but their dam is so poo
constructed that a large percentage OF
water escapes. In one instance &c
we'll has been allowed to flow. without a
,Ise whatever being made of it, until nov
rniry bog has formed. of no good TO Al
thing save frogs and mosquitoes. The p
pie are still inoculated by the virus of
jrrirate a quarter section or nothing at
Two brothers near Meade have control
.ome artesian wells and have procu
iarge pumps to lift the water to hig
..you know said one. that this irri
+ion business is all failure. / tried it I
hardly came out even
How much ground did you Try 10 ]
rateo' was asked him. .
Ten acres to begin on. 90,
We'll why not try fveZ
"oh. il can't water ten acres w
u. u..,inr d. -,ucb did your brother try TO