Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1911-07-29
SUBMITS EXHAUSTIVE REPORT
Engineer Blake Renders Complete Report on
the Hammond Springs and Swan Water
Source and Supply.

| Frank G. Ticknor, Chairman, Boar
of Trustees. Mountain Home, Idaho:
Gentlemen: The following report
| are respectfully submitted on th1
Hammond and Swan sources of waite
Supply, which were examined and IN
yestigated by me at your request OF
July 5 and July 10, 1911, respectively
These examinations were brief ant
have not been accompanied by any
surveys or water measurements
The results and conclusions drawn
therefore, must be taken as subjec
to change or modification were {
longer time given for studies an(
the necessary surveys. The estimat
es, how ,ver, are undoubtedly low ant
more accurate data on the line oil
piping and storage reservoir sites vii
result in raising the figures submit
ted without question. Your Board
should be advised that these two
sources, as well as several others
were taken into careful consideration
at the time my preliminary studies
and reports on water and sewerage
systems were made last winter be.
fore the bond election was called.
It is to be regretted that we have
available so little, reliable data on tht
yield of the Hammond Springs and
no data whatever on the capacity OF
the supply at the Swan WELL Such
data is quite universally lacking
throughout the entire State of Idaho
even on the Streams that supply
some of the largest irrigation tracts
But as the money becomes available
and the necessity and value of such
data is realized all sources of water
supply in the State will gradually be
subjected to scientific and continuous
measurements of flow. No one is
therefore, in a positio II to state
what the minimum yield of the
Hammond Springs might be reduced
to, in an extremely dry year. Meth
er is anyone in a position to state at
what rate water can be pumped
through an inch or 10 inch tubing
from the water bearing stratum at
the Swan location until pumping
test has been conducted If that
data were available in full form for
the present season, conclusions could
be reasonably drawn as to its capac-
ity under other conditions. But a
flowing spring of small size is an
extremely uncertain factor to deal
with when a continuous flow must
be depended upon. While flowing
it is proof that the underground pres
sure head is sufficient to force its
volume up through the opening in
the earth's crust; but that flow is
not proof that sufficient underground
pressure head will always be there
to force it's volume above the surface
The underground water may be there
always and doubtless is, but the
pressure head might be reduced so
that the visible flow would cease, for
underground waters generally dim;n-
ish in flow at certain seasons just
as visible rivers do even when not
drawn upon for irrigation. The dim
mutton in the volume of underground
water, however, is much less than in
visible rivers for the latter lose by
evaporation and seepage and the
seepage loss goes to increase the un-
derground supply.
In my opinion, the underground
water table in the vicinity of Mount
ain Home is stable one, coming be-
tween an extensive range of mount
aims and foothills and the Snake Riv-
er Valley toward which, as a great
drainage outlet, the under
ground flow but it always finds an
outlet somewhere. It's line of flow
may be distinctly marked in places
like the banks of river. In some
places it may be checked by subter.
ranean rock or clay dams ahead re-
sulting In only small pressure
head for some distance back though
the volume may be as great. In
other places where the plane Of the
flow is comparatively
there will be places
where the pressure head Is high and
when the flow is tapped the water
will rise to near the surface If not
above it. Water must get
to this underground supply from the
surface somewhere and probably does
at intervals all along it's course
Wherever there are gravel and sand
beds between its surface and the un-
drground supply, they are Natures
great filters and surface water. after