El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-11-25
Modern Methods of Raising
Water Add Millions to
New States Resources
States
By R. BEDICHEK, DEFINING, N. NJ.

understood, the popularity Of the pump
ing system in New Mexico has sur
prlsed even its most enthusiastic adYo-
Gates. In the Roswell country. pump
ing plants have been installed in fall
ing artesian wells and the farms and
OrcnarQS carried on as successfully as
before. In the Rio Grande and Mesilla
valleys pumps have been installed to
supplement the water supply from
gravity bitches. and often to furnish
water to farms which have no rights
under the gravity system.
The Plant at Portales.
At Portaies, in the eastern portion OF
New Mexico, a gigantic central power
plant has been installed OF 500 horse
power capacity which furnishes cleo
tricity TO run motors that in turn oper-
ate the pumps on the surrounding
farms.
In many portions OF New Mexico. the
development Of arid lands by means of
the irrigation pump has been almost
phenomenal, and especially. is this true
OF the Mimbres valley in the south
western corner Of the new state. The
conditions In this locality are peculiarly
favorable TO development by this meth
Cd, and hundreds OF pumping plants
have been installed in the vicinity OF
Deming within the past is months The
Deming district furnishes a typical ex-
ample OF what may be accomplished IN
pump.
In the Mimbres Valley.
In the vicinity of Deming in the
Mimbres valley, sand and gravel strata
carrying water in ineXhaustible quaint
ties occur at depths varying from 20 to
zoo feet. This water comes from rains
and SHOWS which fall upon the vast
mountain ranges to the north, and
sink into the underflow as the river
leaves the mountains The first water
bearing stratum is encountered in the
town Of Deming at about IS feet. This
stratum becomes shallOWer east OF
Deming until, eight miles out, II rises
- e.
Of the town it sinks gradually, being
encountered at a depth Of 60 feet one
so on
IS found Is an index to the pumping
depth, for when the well drill pune
lures the stratum at $50 feet the wa
ter rises in the hole to a point five or
10 feet above the first water line. or
water-beartng stratum. There have been
so many wells sunk in this valley and
the. dip of the WITHDRAWING strata is
50 Uniform that IL is possible to pre-
dict at almost any given point the ex-
act distance which water will have to
be pumped.
Vary IN Thickness.
Each of the water bearing strata
vary in thickness from five to 80 feet,
and when the well is cased, a screen or
perforated casing is inserted in the
water bearing formation so that the
water can flow into the we'll When a
pump delivering from 500 to 1900 gall
Ions Of water per minute is set in oper-
alton much Of the sand and small
gravel is pumped out allowing the
coarser gravel to settle against the
screen, thus insuring ready ingress of
the water to the pump. This process is
termed developing a we'll" and fire.
euentlv as much as a carload OF the
finer formation is discharged onto the
surface OF the ground
Since the installation OF the first ir-
riga tion pumps in the Mimbres valley,
land within the pumping area has
steadily become more valuable With
the advent of the pump. II became GER
tain that alfalfa. vegetables and various