The Elbert County tribune., 1913-01-10
RESERVOIR FOR DRY FARMS
For Gardening and Other Purposes II
is Well to Make Careful Study
Of Storage Places.

number OF small DAMS as well
as bigger ones, constructed under the
superintendence of engineers. have
gone out this spring. and much water
run to waste. When II comes to the
case of damming up the ordinary ar
roya or dry creek that merely was q
heavy flood when a large area has be-
come saturated beyond its holding ca
pacity, 1t must be recognized that we
are endeavoring to accomplish some
thing very difficult, il not in some
cases impossible. unless the dam can
be made to act as an overflow weir in
times of sudden flood or a point OF
diversion provided higher up. for the
food waters have and will again
need the whole space across the draw
for their flow. Having in view. how
ever, the immense Importance of a
reservoir to the dry farm for garden
ing and other purposes. it is worth
while to make a careful study of all
places where water can be stored and
to see II the natural diff iiculties can
not be overcome. Rock is, as a rule
scarce upon the plains and concrete
is expensive, and its success largely
dependent on the solidity of its base
approaches and overfows from the
dam, often necessitating long and ex-
pensive aprons which may become
undermined and fail.
In a dry country the soil is SO abb
sorbent that 1t takes large drain
age area in normal years to prevent
any flow and yet only yesterday saw
a gravelly soil become saturated on
side hill in forty-five minutes to the
point of producing turn off on land
plowed eight inches deep and the
drainage area was only $50 feet in
depth. or a little less. The ground
had been left with some back burrows
and there were from four to twelve
inches deep where trees had been
planted, soil taken for use in other
places and so forth. Some of the
holes filled and overfowed Some
absorbed the water in accordance
with the amount of the clay mixed
with the gravel. Only a few of them
absorbed all the water where the soil
had been removed and it fell on
| straight gravel with the burrows
around the lower part of the lots. the
small space, 200 feet by $50 feet, man.
aged to practically absorb all the
rain and hail. but 1t couldn't hold any
more than the inch and a half that
fell; in fact did not take quite all of
that The reasons why land will take
a cubic foot Of water under irriga-
ton and be soaked with an inch and
half of rain till a run off occurs
need not be gone into here. The
point is how are we going to inter
- fa- f,.tt
use at reasonable outlay In the
first place the dam must be made as
solid as possible, not be piled up as
straight as it will stand ready to
wash and settle so soon as stress is
put upon II and In the next place II
should be provided with a very am.
pie flow pipe leading water far
enough away from the foot of the
dam so it will not cut back during
the storm period, causing the dam to
fall.
The lower end of the flow pipe
should be led into ditch, when possi.
Bile, that will distribute the water on
higher ground rather than allow it to
run to waste down the creek The
land will take this water when it al
lows the rain to run off. as may be
1een under any irrigation ditch: but
the main point. SO far as the reser-
voir is concerned, is to lead 1t to
point where 1t will not cut back
Where a diversion of the supply can
not be accomplished above the dam
in time of flood. 1t is sometimes pos
sible to lead ditch down either side
of draw and carry off the water.
filling the reservoir from spillways or
allowing it to fill only so much as II
will from the more restricted drain
age area. The trouble with this plan
is that the bitches themselves are
vrey liable to break. SO when the draw
is OF an extended area. 1t is better
to see II series Of small bitches.
cheaply made with plow, which dis.
turbs the ground little. cannot be Civ.
en-. says half the general fall of the
ground, to lead the water clear OF
the reservoir in times OF heavy
food There are a good many ways
in which water can be circumvented
besides building an unprotected OBJ
struction across its natural flow, to
be periodically washed out.