The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1912-12-27
FEW RULES OF MEASUREMENT
Second Foot 10 Standard Unit for
Flowing Water In Most Of Irrigat- .
Ing States In West


heIerlng 10 the units OF water meas
urement the following is, in part, the
definitions given by Prof. w. II. DIN. |
director OF agricultural extension.
Idaho university.
THE miners inch 10 our Oldest |
unit and was first used by the placer |
miner.
This second foot or cubic foot per |
second Is the unit of volume used for |
gauging rivers and measuring the How
OF bitches and irrigating canals. II
It flows over a weir. one second OF
time, 1t Is called a second foot. or
! cubic foot per second. A cubic foot
OF water In Colorado Is 1874 statute
tminer's) inches; In California and
Montana, 40; In Arizona, Idaho,
Nevada and Utah, so statute or miners
inches.
An acre foot is the amount of wates
necessary to cover an acre of land one
foot or twelve inches deep. 1t Is the
unit used for measuring storage or
reservoir water. A second foot of wa
ter running constantly twentyfour
hours and twelve minutes delivers two
acre feet. or sufficient water to cover
an acre Of ground with water two feet
deep. Therefore one twenty-fourth OF
a second foot, flowing for one day,
would approximate an inch of rain.
"The simplest unit Of measure is
the acre foot. Time does not enter
into this, for it Is simply a unit OF
volume. Second foot IL the standard
unit for flowing water in most of the
western states and the measure OF
the flow renders time an essential
element
"A weir Is measuring device fol
determining the flow of water in a
given time for a definite distance. II
can only properly be used for struc-
lures designed to permit water to flow
over the crest with a good fall on the
downstream side. The weir Is used
In Australia, India. Italy, Canada,
Mexico and practically all irrigation
engineer, Cesare Cippoletti, in charge
of an Italian irrigation company, pre-
pared weir which was so formed
that the area Of same should increase,
by an amount proportionate to the
depth of the weir, and balance the
loss due to contraction. This weir
was trapezOidal In form, made Of cut
stone the crests and sides with iron
plates. permanent measuring devices
which will do duty for generations.
This is the form Of trapezoidal weir
which engineers know as the Cippo-
etti. 1t is preferred by state en-.
gineers, who state that when this
form IL placed with care 1t is reliable
within one per cent of error. Dams.
when so designed as to cause the wa
: tiers to flow over their crests, can be
: termed weirs' 81. -'----.--------
The method of distributing water
for irrigation and the duties of the
ofhcials who supervise this phase OF
the practice is clearly outlined by
Professor DIN In the following Ian.
guage:
Most Of the state engineers have
found 1t advantageous to divide the
state into water divisions, the bound
airy Of which shall be determined by
drainage lines. Each division has itl
division engineer, who is, by virtue OF
his position, deputy state engineer
efficient. For each of these districts
In such a manner as shall make tbs
distribution of irrigation water most
efhcient Eos each OF these districts
Is water commissioner. He has
direct charge of regulating headgates
so that the water shall be eQuitably
distributed among those having water
rights for same
Ditch owners are required to in
stall measuring devices and the state
has stream gaugings made 80 the
4, water commissioner may know tn,
: amount of water he has for his dis
trict distribution. The commissions
!. closes all gates according to decreet
rights, In times of shortage. and 1
Ii = criminal offense In practically al
states to change headgate whel
once set by the water commissioner
The commissioner Ii further charg
= ed with the duty Of reporting statisti
. cal data, regarding irrigation, in hi
district, on streams reservoirs, ditche
and crops grown. The various waite
companies Of a district have a waite
superintendent. He has persona
supervision of all the main ditche
! or laterals which lead to the irrigate
} lands of all patrons of his company
1t Is his business to look after tn
maintenance, repair and cleaning @
said canals and bitches, so that 4
g the ir-igating season they shall b
carriers Of water with least vast
IL from loss and seepage possible. T
distribute OF measure to individus
% users. he employs water measure.
commonly known as ditch riders
d Each user has measured out to hir
his amount OF water. at the headgat
y of the lateral which controls the irr