White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1919-02-16
WATER PLENTY IN STEPT0E
VALLEY. REPORTS ENGINEER
Continued from Page Four

AZE4E II 49, Z@gA
rhIeh il would net b profitable %
DBu3 water.
IN irrigation. thls limit Is depend
esf q certain fzcfors. such As guam
Try = water, fhe yield q crops cost
q pumping. etc. Assuming thai the
zzte- contained in the upper 80 feet
q ne saturated zone only is avail
able and the porosity Of this zone Is
10 oer cent. there would De approx
lrazteIy 1900 900 acre feet Of water
held in storage within economic
pumpng distance Which could be
drawn upon 70 supply water for irri-
cation during the years Of low re-
placement
Depth Of Water Table.
The depth OF water table varies
from q few inches along portions Of
the axis OF tie valley 70 go feet or
more along the outer edges OF the
valley fill. A fairly accurate survey
Of the depth Of ground waters shows
that there are approximately $1,000
acres d land in steDooe valley where
water table stands between ten and
ffty feet below the surface
The soils of steptoe valley mas be
elsssed as gravel. sand and clay; the
g~rzYellY soils are found along tie
edge q me valley. while tie sandy
soils occupy the medal portion Of the
slopiag place. while the clay soils are
found along the axis Of the valley
largely within the evaporation area.
An anal sis Of these various soils
SHOW thai where the water table Is
ten feet or more below the surface.
the alkaline content Is small and the
soil Is suitable for farming; as a
rule. the soil in the evaporation are
Is very alkaline.
The quality OF the underground
water vas determined after various
analyses and in practically every in
stance. the underground waters we're
found good for irrigation purposes.
Test wells we're sunk in places IN The
valley and the capacity of the under
ground horizons determined from
these test wells, il was determined
that from a single we'll OF 80 feet
depth. from 500 to 1000 gallons OF
water per minute could be secured
By pumping with a draw down Of not
more than thirty feet It was found
that dug wells. as a rule, did not
reach Il sufficient depth 10 secure
sufficient water for irrigation. The
water horizons from 80 TO 100 fect
below the surface nave a higher by
drostatic head than the water hori-
zons near the surface and their ca
pacity was considerable excess OF
the water horizons nearer the sur
face.
Care must be exercised In the sink
ing Of wells and bringing them in
after completion. California Double
Stove pipe casing from 10 to 16
inches in diameter is recommended
for use in water wells as having ad-
yantages oyer other forms of casing.
The average depth of wells on the
land suitable for reclamation, will
be about 150 feet; cost Of irrigation
by poger-driyen pumps depends upon
many conditions that at present are
abnormal. but owing to the low INF.
tial cost per acre for installation as
compared with gravity projects where
the initial cost runs from $50 60 to
$4,000 per acre. the Interest on the
difference of money invested in ini-
tial cost will cover pumping cost and
the individuality OF water supply
gives .many advantages to the project
In whDh pumping is employed over
gravity systems.
AS to the agricultural possibilities
OF the valley. IL is to be noted the
growing season Is short but that I'M
der proper farming methods and ir-
rigation, the harder grains, such as
wheat. oats, barley and rye do ex-
~ceptionally we'll; the wheat yields
from 80 to SO bushels per acre with
but W irrigations; a yield OF 2s1o
pounds OF barley per acre was meas
ured; alfalfa gives from two TO three
cuttings per year with an average
yield OF four to six tons per acre;
vegetables do fairly we'll; owing to
the late frosts OF spring. fruit as a
rule, does not mature. Records col.
lected show that one crop In three
years is about the average obtained
In conclusion, 1t may be stated
that investigation shows that ther,
are approximately $4,000 acres o
good soil in Steptoe valley benearl
which the ground water table stand'
from ten to fifty feet below the sur
face which be drawn upon foi
irrigation. There is a large amour