Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1910-12-29

The cost for fuel per acre foot
ranges as in Kansas from $500 to
$500 per acre foot of water pumped.
The cost of attendance of the steam
plants, however, is large and makes
the total cost per acre prohibitive for
small acreas.
There are now at least 2O,0~
pumping plants in California which
are pumping water for irrigation and
more are bling installed every year.
Many Of them are lifting water from
two to four hundred feet and the
results secured certainly justify the
expense or the practice would be dis
continued. A great variety Of plants
are represented, the water supply
generally being obtained from wells
Gasoline, fuel-oil and electricity are
used as power and the pumps are
both piston and centrifugal. large
number of these plants have been
tested and the class of installation
together with the tests are described
in an interesting manner in o. r. S.
Bullentin, Number 1S1 of the U. S.
Department Of Agriculture. AS much
of the water is pumped from compar-
atively great depths the cast per acre
is necessarily very high. The growing
of high priced products such as vine
yards, citrus fruits, etc, however 81
very remunerative and the high cost
of irrigation is justified where it
would not be with alfalfa at the pre-
vailing prices in this locality at the
present time. If the California ir-
rigators had the cheap electric power
that it is possible to secure in Idaho
the costs of pumping would be very
materially reduced. Their water sup
ply is invariably secured from wells,
the first cost of which sometimes eX-
ceeds that of the plant. With our
large stream flow | hardly think it
will be necessary to pump from wells
in Idaho for some time to come
and for that reason the Idaho plants
will be more cheaply installed and
much more economical than any of
those in the districts mentioned.
The possibilities of pumping in
Idaho are as yet realized but by few.
There are literally millions of acres
of arid land in this state that might
be made productive if water could
only be made available and we sure
" have a bountiful water supply.
Shallow water wells could be de-
veloped in or adjacent to many small
stream beds and think for a moment
of the large areas Of excellent land
that lie few feet above many OF
our present canals upon which cheap
electricity would lift the water for
approximately 81 per acre per sen
son. These. however. are all mere
incidentals. The Snake river lying
at our very door offers today the best
opportunity for pumping with more
available land within easy reach than
any other stream in the west. The
rapid development along electrical
lines viii furnish us immense amount
of cheap and Efficient power within
the next few years. BY the utilization
of this power the Snake river can be
made to irrigate over one-half a mil
, lion more acres than it is now doins
or ever can DO by direct diversion
= six thousand second feet Of unaD
, propriated water now pass Weiser II
t the Snake river during the low wate
, neriod. This amount would cover 70.
q 600 acres one foot in depth ever,
y "a hours and If it were economical,
= rsed it would irrigate at least. 900.
4 600 acres Of land. ALLOWING one sec
e cn1 foot ner 100 acres.) Think o
n the enormous possibilities that thi
presents.
f The duty of water or the amour
e of water necessary for an acre o
- land should be known within yer
: narrow limits before pumping plant