Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-03-14
WHAT CAUSES SEEPED LAND
Some Waste Of Water viii Occur IN
DER Best Of Management. Making
Drainage Essential.

]
United State Bureau q Agriculture
The cause Of seeped or oversaturat
ed land Is the waste from irrigation
and leakage from canals and laterals
hThe skillful irrigatOr may insist thai
/ II no more water is applied than is
needed for growing and maturing the
/ crops. and that II the canals are SO
/ constructed that no substantial
amount OF water escapes into the
earth. no land will become too wet for
T farming purposes II is true that In
many instances irrigators have been
unduly prodigal IN the use OF water.
particularly when the land is first
subdued and waiered. The art OF
economical irrigation is usually learn
Cd only when scarcity OF water com
pels its less lavish use. In any event
under methods that We may expect will
prevail some waste OF water will oc-
cur under the best Of MANAGEMENT,
making draining IN many places essen
tial 70 profitable farming For these
reasons an account OF drainage con-
ditions in different localities and the
methods OF treating them. together
with the results which have followed
various drainage operations. will be OF
interest 10 the holders OF irrigated
farm lands
Il should be observed as a general
truth that water which produces per
manent saturation rises from the bot.
tom OF the saturated portion toward
the surface. Waste from irrigation
first passes downward until a hard
stratum OF earth is reached. This
may be only few feet. in which case
the additions which accrue from the
irrigation Of few years will bring
the permanent ground water level 10
within two or three feet OF the sur
face. at which time injury 10 farm
crops will ensue. The distance TO
horizon OF hard material may be much
greater and the intervening ground
may permit free percolation. in which
case much longer time will be re-
CURED 10 Ill the soil, because OF the
larger reservoir capacity and the re-
lief Afforded by under-drainage. II is
not the downward movement OF water
alone which occasions DOGGY or wet
areas. but the lateral movement OF
ground water down a slope until
nat tract or surface depression checks
the flow and causes an accumulation
o. water, which is made known BY its
not. however. until the
lower parts OF the soil have been filled. |
such depressions or level areas re-
ceive the accumulated waste water
proceeding from adjoining lands /
which occupy a higher level. II will |
De seen that the saturated condition
81 the land which shows injury Is not
Tue 10 the water which is applied di. |
-ectly TO irrigate II, but TO the surplus
which percolates from the higher
ands, sometimes through considerable
distances, until It reaches the lower
lat or depression.
Drainage has been carried on in the
vest TO such an extent that certain
Methods are now practiced with rea.
onaole assurance OF success. Refer.
nee TO some OF these will indicate
he variety Of procedure which is now
oiio~ed. as we'll as the constructive
lmculties which attend this class n,
improvements. The development along
MS line which has taken place during
ne last five years is most encouraging
o holders Of seeped land.