The Oakley herald. [volume] (Oakley, Idaho) 1908-1961, 1913-02-14
FEW RULES OF MEASUREMENT
Second Foot 10 standard Unit for
Flowing Water In Most Of irrloat-
Ing States In West.

Idaho university.
The miners inch Is our Oldest
unit and was first used by the placer
miner
The second foot or cubic foot per
second Ia the unit OF volume used fol-
gauging rivers and measuring the flow
OF bitches and irrigating canals. II
II nows 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 38.4 statute
tminer'sl inches; in California and
Montana. 40: In Arisona. Idaho.
Nevada and Utah, so statute or miners
inches.
An acre foot IL the amount OF watei
necessary to cover an acre of land one
foot or twelve inches deep It 10 the
unit used for measuring storage or
reservoir water. A second foot of We
ter running constantly twenty-four
hours and twelve minutes delivers two
acre feet, or suncient water to cover
an acre of ground with water two feet
deep. Therefore. one ty-fourth VI
second foot, flowing for one day,
would approximate an inch OF rain.
THE simplest unit of measure ia
the acre foot. Time does not enter
Into this, for 1t Is simply q unit OF
volume. Second foot 10 the standard
unit for flowing water In ,oost of the
western states and the measure OF
the dow renders time an essential
element.
"A weir 10 q measuring device fol
determining the fow of water in
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 q good fall on the
downstream side. The weir 10 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 80 formed
that the area Of same should increase
BY an amount proportionate to the
depth OF the weir. and balance the
Oss 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 In the form Of trapezoidal weir
which engineers know AZ the Cippo-
ietti. 1t is preferred by state en-
gineers, who state that when this
form 10 placed with caro- It 10 reliable
within one per cent of error. Dams,
when 80 designed az to cause the wa
ters to flow over their crests can be
termed weirs."
Tho method Of distributing water
fer irrigation and the duties OF the
oftcials 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 itE
division engineer, who Is, by virtue OF
his position, \ deputy state engineer
efficient. For each of these districts
IN such manner as shall make the
distribution Of irrigation water most
ef1cient. Eos each Of these districts
Is water commissioner. He has
direct charge of regulating headgates
10 that the water shall be equitably
distributed among those having water
rights for same.
Ditch owners are required to in
STAN measuring devices and the state
has stream gaugings made so the
water commissioner may know the
amount OF water he has for his dis
trict distribution. The commissioner
closes all gates according to decreed
rights, In times OF shortage. and II
10 criminal offense in practically all
states to change a headgate when
once set by the water commissioner.
The commissioner IL further charR.
ed with the duty Of reporting statisti-
cal data, regarding irrigation. in his
district, on streams, reservoirs, bitches
and crops grown. The various water
companies OF . district have q water
superintendent. He has personal
supervision Of all the main bitches
or laterals which lead to the irrigated
lands OF all patrons Of his company.
1t Is his business to look after the
maintenance. repair and cleaning OF
said canals and bitches. so that In
the ir-igAting season they shall be
carriers of water with least waste
from loss and seepage possible. To
distribute or measure to individual
users. he employs water measures,
commonly known as ditch riders
Each user has measured out to him
his amount Of water, at the headgate
u the lateral which controls the irri.
cation of his land, by the ditch rider
The ditch rider. In turn, receives his
water from the district water com.
missioner, who turns 1t from this