The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-29
HERE'S WATER LORE
Government Describes South
Dakota's Aqueous Supply.

WASHINGTON. D. c., Nov. 2S-The
Importance of an adequate water sup
ply in South Dakota is more than ordi-
narily apparent when the character of
the soil is considered. In drift regions
it shows accumulations Of alkali, which
sometimes interferes with the growth
of vegetation. This, however, depends
upon the amount of moisture. When
the moisture is abundant the alkali
seems rather a fertilizer
Persons interested in the agricul-
tural development of the state will find
a perusal of the Olivet geologic folio,
which has just been issued from the
press of the United States geological
survey, much to their advantage. In
this folio and the folios in preparation
concerning the adjacent quadrangles of
Parker, Alexandria, and Mitchell, which
will be issued within month, the wa
ter resources of the district are thor
oughly considered, and important rec
concentrations concerning their conSer
vation and reinforcement are made.
The Olivet quadrangle, so named for
the town of Olivet, an aggregation of
about 156 souls, lies mostly within the
drainage basin of James river and en-
braces portions of Hutchinson, Bon
country is mostly level, or presents low,
rolling slopes, rising out of broad ex-
panses of plains. The surface is in
large part covered with a mantle Of
glacial deposits consisting of gravel,
sand, silt, and clay of varying thick
ness.
The most important natural re-
source of this quadrangle is water,
which is readily divided into surface
TOR TTnHar
the former are included lakes, springs
and streams, and under the latter the
sources which furnish shallow wells,
artesian wells and tubular wells
Most of the lakes in this region are
dry toward the end of the summer.
They receive their waters directly
from the rainfall and their endurance
consequently depends on the extent OF
the drainage basin, the depth of the
reservoirs, and the suff1ciency or lack
of precipitation. After a succession of
wet years the lake beds over the whole
district are filled with water, but on
the other hand, during a season when
the rainfall has been light they are
sometimes dry enough for tillage Per-
manent springs in this district are rare,
but few occur along James river and
it's principal tributaries. James river
is the only stream that can be depend
the year. Portions of certain creeks are
seldom entirely dry, but in the latter
part of summer the water rarely flows
continually more than a mile or two
above their mouths.
The most accessible underground
water is that which flows near the
surface of the ground, seeping through
the yellowish upper portion of the till
toward a water course Wherever there
are shallow accumulations of sand to
form conduits for 1t. Where the slope
of the surface is toward an under
ground basin the water OF the yellow
so that the general water level sinks.
1t may then be drawn upon by shallow
wells, and for a number of years may
prove to be entirely adequate for the
demand Of neighboring farms, but in
time of drought 1t is gradually ex-
hausted. Early in the period of the
settlement of the region these shallow
wells were the main dependence of the
farmers. In 1881 and a few years sub
sequent water was abundant in them,
but after series of dry years it be-
came exhausted and farmerse were
forced to go deeper for their supply.
The next lower water is derived from
the sand and gravel at the base of the
drift. These are reached by penetrat-
ing the till by borings, usually an inch
or two in diameter, to a depth of from
100 to ESQ feet and even 300 feet be-
low the surface. There are in the
quadrangle wells of this class which
have been flowing for more than twen-
ty years.
The deep wells supplied from sources
in the till are commonly known as
tubular wells. 1t seems evident that