Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1909-11-12
CONCRETE LATERALS
FOR GRANTS PASS
Df' kimbley Tells How Water Is Dis.
tributed at Riverside in
California.

al ''cle regarding the Riverside, Cal.
method OF lateral construction with
view Of recommending the same
Tor the city of Grants Pass and the
small fruit farms on the uneven
grounds adjoining
The delivery of water from the
main canal to the water user on un-
even land is the most difficult prob
ZEN OF the engineer To make the
oei'Fery in manner that viii prove
satisfactory for years to come. ana
mus avoid constant expense in MAX
Ing changes is the end to be sought
Your high line canal is all right nm
I'll you tap 1t to let the water into
laterals, and here your trouble com
mences, The danger of washouts is
great and this, of necessity, must bo
avoided, and there is only one way
and that is by pipe laterals CON
structed of either vitrified or CON
crete pipe. In these you can con
uuct water to any point as long as
YOU do not try to run it higher than
the point where you take the water
from the ditch. You may attempt to
use the open lateral but this is only
a makeshift at best and you win
soon find it necessary to adopt the
pipe system after all unless the land
under the canal is to a considerable
extent level Then, of course, there
would be no difficulty. am talk
ing about delivering water at points
in Grants Pass where the uneven
nature of the ground demands sys-
tenn of laterals fitted to the rough
surface.
1T is not my purpose to attempt
to teach water distribution, but only
to tell how this is done in Riverside,
Cal, where these problems have
been worked out during the last 25
years. The plan there Is for the
water company to deliver the water
to the user at the highest point on
his land and to do this by piping Is,
in most cases, the only practical way.
If water users combine and build the
distribution laterals they will find
the concrete system the cheapest and
best, and, for that matter, the safest.
Irrigation on side hills is easy if the
pipe laterals are used, as washouts
are avoided. At Riverside open
bitches are made in which the pipes
are laid by a machine into which are
shoyeled the sand and cement. The
mixing is done by machinery driven
by steam, and the same power moves
| the traction engine at a snail's pace,
and the pipe is made and laid at the
same time; the machine running on
the opposite side of the ditch from
that on which the dirt from the eXca-
vation is piled A large arm Of the
machine, as 1t were, reaches down
into the ditch and through this the
materials are forced into the mold
which forms the pipe. This traction
engine and its machinery has re-
duced concret pipe manufacture to
the least possible cost. The machine
is adjustable so that all sizes Of pipe
can be made | do not know the
cost of these pipe layers, but they
are not really expensive and yet can
not be called cheap, but as one Of
them will lay many miles Of pipe In
season the expense is not out Of
proportion,
For hill sides the distributing
pipes Of the water users are made
with numerous small holes in them
through which the water reaches the
land. This prevents flood and the
danger OF wash. These pipes are
made small, and, consequently, cost
only few cents a foot For or
chards there are special pipes suited
to The needs of the trees and the
land.
"Open laterals made OF concrete
are sometimes used, and while these
serve a good purpose, they are not
really necessary, as laterals dug in
the ground serve the same purpose.
In conclusion, let me say that the
concrete pipe system for Grants Pass
will be found very practical, as every
foot Of land can be irrigated by such
a system Side hills and uneven
ground can be watered by these
pipes. while the open laterals would
not give satisfaction, and quite often
could not be made to cover hall the
ground In the city proper, for
lawns and gardens, the concrete pipe
is the only practical method. In
Ithls way every spot Of land within
the city limits can be put under
water. The cost will be slight and
the work will be done IN a perman-
emit manner Open laterals require
cleaning often, but the concrete pipe