Lincoln County times. (Jerome, Idaho) 1911-1919, 1912-11-28
FEW RULES OF MEASUREMENT
Second Foot Is Standard Unit for
Flowing Water In Most Of irrigat-
Ing States In West.

definitions given by Prof w. II. Olin,
director Of agricultural extension.
Idaho university.
The miners inch is our Oldest
unit and was first used by the placer
miner
Ths second foot or cubic foot per
second is the unit of volume used for
gauging rivers and measuring the flow
of bitches and irrigating canals. II /
II flows over a weir, one second OF |
time, It Is called a second foot, or
cubic foot per second. cubic foot |
OF water in Colorado is 1874 statute
(miner'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 water
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
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 unit OF
volume. Second foot is 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 for
determining the flow of water in
given time for definite distance. 1t
can only properly be used for struc.
lures designed to permit water to flow
over the crest with good fall on the
downstream side. The weir is used
IN Australia, India. Italy. Canada,
Mexico and practically all irrigation
districts Of the United States. An
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-
letti 1t is preferred by state en-
gineers. VINO state that when this
form is placed with care it 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."
The method OF distributing water
for irrigation and the duties of the
officials who supervise this phase OF
the practice is clearly outlined by
Professor Olin In the following Ian
guage:
Most of the state engineers have
found il advantageous to divide the
state into water divisions. the bound
airy of which shall be determined by
drainage lines Each division has II:
division engineer. who is, by virtue Of
his position. a deputy state engineer
efficient. For each of these districts
in such a manner as shall make the
distribution Of irrigation water mos
efficient. Eos each of these district!
is water commissioner. He ha!
direct charge OF regulating headgate'
so that the water shall be equitabl!
rights for same.
Ditch owners are required to in
stall measuring devices and the stat
has stream gaugings made so tn
,, water commissioner may know tn
>, amount Of water he has for his dis
trict distribution. The commissions
- closes all gates according to decree
- rights. in times of shortage. and
is a criminal offense in practically a
states to change headgate whe
" once set by the water commissions
- The commissioner is further chars
-, ed with the duty of reporting statist
cal data. regarding irrigation. in hi
district. on streams. reservoirs, ditche
and crops grown The various waite
companies OF district have waite
superintendent. He has person;
SuDtIN lSlOu Ol All tllt main ullCut
= or laterals which lead to the irrigate
, lands of all patrons of his compan.
1t is his business to look after I'll
maintenance. repair and cleaning
said canals and bitches. so that
lie the ir-igSting season they shall |
carriers of water with least wast
Ut from loss and seepage possible. I
distribute or measure to individu
TO users. he employs water measure
commonly known as ditch rider!
d. Each user has measured out to hi
his amount OF water. at the headga
ny OF the lateral which controls the irl
?. cation of his land. by the ditch ride
We The ditch rider. in turn. receives h
or water from the district water cor
missioner. who turns it from Il
oy source stream"
m Use Large Pipes.
IN \, ft,ev hot g., 81,