The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-08-29
WATER SUPPLY
UNDER GROUND
Some Interesting Facts Re-
garding the Sewer and San
pete Valleys in Utah.
GEOLOGICAL SURVEY WORK
REPORT NOW READY FOR GEN.
ERAL DISTRIBUTION.

washington, D. c., Aug. 2S.-At the
border of the basin range and plateau
provinces in south-central Utah are
two valleys called. respectively, the
central Sewer and the Sanpete, that,
from an agricultural standpoint, rank
with the richest parts of the state. In
deed, so successfully grown are many
crops, especially wheat, that the val
leys are popularity known as the grana-
ry of Utah.
For the production Of these crops ir-
rigation is necessary, as dry farming
mas not been extensively practiced
mere. Canal systems are maintained
along San Pitch creek and Sewer river
which carry the drainage of the val
leys, and mountain streams are tapped
by bitches near the mouths of the can
yons, but the supply obtained from
this source is insufficient, and the store
OF underground waters held in the
rock of the valley is receiving atten-
ton.
Rocks Are Porous.
All rocks, even the most dense, are
to a certain extent porous and i'm
mense quantities of water are held in
the rock pores and interstices. Fine
teXtured, compact rocks are however
OF relatively little value as water bear
ers. The total amount of underground
water contained in the Sanpete and
Sewer valleys, if it could be comput-
ed, would be expressed in cubic miles;
but either because of it's depth or
through its inclusion in materials that
do not readily yield their content, a
large part Of the subterranean store is
not available, An estimate of the avail
able amount is also impracticable, be-
cause of the unknown extent of irreg-
ular beds of sand and gravel that form
the important reservoirs. But although
figures cannot be given, it is evident
that a considerable supply of under
ground water is there awaiting devel-
opment. The original source of this
water supply is the rain and snow that
fall on the drainage areas of the val
leys, for of the total precipitation a
part evaporates, part flows off in the
streams and a part sinks into the
ground, the relative amounts thus dis
posed of varying greatly under differ
ent conditions. OF the precipitation
that reach the streams a part reaches
the basin by way of the streams, even
tually joining Sewer lake, and an
other part goes to augment the under
ground supply through absorption by
the rocks and soils over which the
streams flow.
Springs Are Numerous.
The utilization of the underground
waters is made possible by springs and
wells. A number of large springs orig
mate in the bedrock deposits of the
valley. and at several places conditions
seem favora BILE for obtaining artesian'
flows from this source; but by far the
greater part of the available water
supply is contained in the unconsoli-
dated material by which the valleys
are underlain, and from which the wa
ter is recovered by numerous springs
and by both flowing and non-f1owing
wells.
by the United States geological sur
Sewer counties through the state en-
gineer of Utah, the federal survey has
Just issued a report on the underground
waters of the valleys. This report, by
George B. Richardson, discusses brief
Iy the geology of the region and the
source, distribution, recovery and quail
ity of the underground waters, de-
scribes in detail the principal wells at
important points, and gives in tabular
form much information concerning all
the wells and springs in the valleys.
More than $50 wells and lightweight
springs are described in the list, data
for which We're collected by c. S. Jar
Wis who was detailed to the work by
Caleb Tanner, the state engineer.
The report Is now ready for diStribu-
ton, and copies of it may be obtained
free of charge by applying to the di-
rector of the United States geological
survey at Washington, d. c.