The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1911-10-26
WELL IN The DESERT
New Plants Are Centrifugal
Pumps Run by Steam.
Regions Which Had Never Been
Forced by Drought to Seek Water
and Having Found 1t They
Will Now Use irrigation.

Sinking wells into waterbearing
strata to secure domestic and irriga-
ton supplies is now being resorted
to as never before New and broad
er conceptions of the relations of sub
terranean water to irrigation have
recently prevailed. Individual irriga-
ton undertakings have been recently
established very largely upon wells
and pumps or upon flowing wells.
wherever they can be had. During the
last three years there have been per
haps ten times as many pumping out
fits set up for irrigation as had been
employed during the whole earlier ir.
rigatiOn of this state
Large irrigation companies have
sunk groups of wells and pumped
from them into their distributing
bitches and fumes. Individual irri-
gators have sunk wells and bought
pumping plants when the ditch water
tailed and have now learned the su.
periority Of home supply, to be drawn
Up just when it can be used to best
advantage, and often to be had for
much less than the rates of the ditch
companies. Large regions which had
never secured irrigation systems have
been forced by drought to seek water
and having found it below ground in
ample quantities they will not fail in
the future to use irrigation as a sup
plement to the rainfall
Many of these plants are centrifu-
gal pumps run by steam. These are
The larger plants, fifteen to forty
horsepower and in some instances
more, and the size of the pumps ranges
rom four to twelve inches. Most of
he smaller pumps are run by gaso-
Tine, although several use crude oil
and many of them are also centrifu
gal. Some of these are deep-well
pumps and they are very satisfac.
5ory in raising water from a greater
depth than 100 feet. From 100 to 300
'eet they work admirably. The cost
81 pumping differs materially with
the different kinds of power. sizes of
pumps and depth Of wells. Figuring
from what may be safe average of
the actual cost of fuel, No. pump,
centrifugal, using gasoline as power,
at 70 feet depth, will cost about three
dollars day. This should result in
500 gallons d minute, $4,000 gallons an
hour, or 100000 gallons a day of ten
hours.
Such a stream of water is calcu-
lated to irrigate about five acres day
to a depth of little more than 211A
inches. A better and safer estimate
would probably be four acres a day
20 depth of about two inches. But,
generally speaking. it is safer to say
that at cost Of three dollars an acre
land can be irrigated two or three
times at six dollars an acre annually
and 1t Is certainly worth the money
in dry seasons like the present. The
average cost of a plant is about $1,000
In many cases the cost will be only a
traction Of that given. But even the
higher figures are below the cost war
ranted by the saving of crop, as the
experience Of individuals has shown.
Over large areas Of the country wind.
mills are used as motors for irriga-
ton pumps and careful accounts of
their efficiency are available. They
unquestionably serve an excellent pur.
pose under favorable conditions up to
the limits Of their capacity.