The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1907-01-03

The story of a novel irrigation
scheme in southern Kansas appears in
this weeks issue of the Kansas City
Star. The scheme is being carried out
by the reclamation department The
Star says.
In the neighborhood of Garden City,
Kan. the United States government
| is preparing to reclaim by irrigation
| 0,O00 acres of desert land. The gov
eminent is spending 100000 in build
ing plants to pump water from the
great underground river of the .Arkan-
sas river valley, and in building canals
and conduits to convey the water to
the lands.
Before beginning the work the gov
ernment's agents made experiments
for five years to determine the volume
and nature Of the underfiow.
1t is generally known that beneath
the broad valley of the Arkansas river
which flows from the Colorado mount
aims southeast through Kansas, there
is a vast underground river. 1t is gen.
orally believed that this water comes
from the Rocky mountains in Colo
RADIO.
| The government experiments have
determined that not a drop of it comes
from the mountains of Colorado The
greater part of it comes from the
rainfall in the valley itself which seeps
down through the sand. Upon this
point the government report declared
that the Arkansas river valley proved
to be a sloping area which possessed
a vast underflow, which takes a vary
ing. but general direction of southeast
moving at a rate of approximately
eight feet in "a hours. AS to It's
depth no definite data was obtained,
and in the opinion of the survey corps.
depth is great 1t is estimated that
the water-bearing gravel is between
800 and 500 feet thick.
The government report says that the
moving underground water extends
several miles north from the river
bottom. North and south limits to
this could not be found, sub-sand-
hills flow probably existing equivalent
to that beneath the valley proper.
The underflow originates principal
w in the rainfall south of the river
on the sandhills, which serve as i'm
portant factors in the catchment area.
and in the plains and bottom lands
to the northward. On sandy bottom
lands of the valley SO per cent OF the
rainfall reaches the underf1ow as a
permanent contribution.
An additional phase in this region
lice in the fact that there has been
; no appreciate decrease or variation
in the volume of this flow in the Car
den City region for the past five years.
the entire time covered by the geolog-
ical investigations. OF course, prevl-
ous TO that no records were kept ana
No observations made of any value;
nevertheless it is not anticipated py
the government that any dlmlnutlon
will occur within a long period OF
time.
At Garden City there has been for
"a vears a Farmers ditch" II miles
III
to carry water from a dam across tHe
Arkansas river. The great trouple
with this project was that at the very
time the water was most needeu 'he
Arkansas river went dry
The government will make use OF
tbiS ditch. 1t is building a canal nve
miles long to carry water and empty
if into this ditch. The beginning VI
the government canal is south OF the
Arkansas river. The water is to De
conveyed beneath the river in "ooo-
on staye circular flume, supported on
Az foot nillars. which stand in 1O-foot
centers.
While the construction OF this hume
is TO be of wood the fact remains tha'
it will probably stay intact TOT ceh-
turtles this being insured by its Delng
continually immersed. The material
;s long-leaf southern pine. The cahai
is lined throughout with both plain
and reinforced concrete, four Inches
in thickness At its starting point the
canal is not over two feet wlde' Out
gets larger in size as additional pat
; teries of pumps are reached. AT Us
, junction with the farmers often the
conduit is trapsayodical in form ano
four feet broad at the bottom and Il
at the surface.
The government power plant TOT us
different pumping stations VIII De a.
: the village of Deerfield. There VIII
, be a main power house and 20 pump