Amarillo daily news. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 19??-current, 1921-01-11
Ultimate Disaster
If Better Water Sup
ply is Not Sucured


these wells II between twelve hundred
and fifteen hundred gallons per minute.
~ not io exceed an average II thirty
gallons per minute each. Under nor.
NAL working conditions u ~ not TO be
expected that this high an uutput woul
obtain. The normal water level In the
wells In the best water hearing scctiun
II the city stood In 1908 NJ an elevn-
;ion Of about twu hundred twenty feet
below the surface Of the ground. Due
10 heavy drawing ON the water supply.
this level has been gradually lowering
until now n u standing NJ about tw1
hundred FiNty feet. IN view ~ the fact
that the clay which supports all the
asuablc winter underlying Amarillo LAYS
/ ~ depth of from two hundred ninety
| 10 three hundred ten feet. II can lie
readily seen that continued draft on
: the supply afforded by the present dis.
triot will materially decrease II. even
| n Il does not result In complete *.
hau~tion. This potential disaster 81 a
water failure cannot De- ultimately pre-.
vented: bu, mhy be deferred by policy
~ abandoning exhausted wells aud re-.
/ placing them with new ONES In immo.
diaiely outlying uneXpluitcd districts
which have the came characteristics "a
/ the present field. However. the cuma'
/ latiye amount ~ new capital attendant
/ upon such a procedure would make the
! charge for water Ia the consumer. IN
order to keep apace with such new In.
| yestmsni. prohibiiiye. u must be- seen
, from the foregoing that the water stu
alton confronting the city of Amarilln
j. sumswha; discouraging. and. ~ con.
4 siituisd AZ present. actually threatens
its Industrial existence IN the not Ear
distant future while actively initiating
against industrial expansion At the
present tine. This third requirement
/ - the city tan adequate water supply
/ Is. evidently. not met. A solution there.
| fore for this phase 81 the matter. mus,
h. sought.
The water geology Il the plains II tn
I Panhandle N comparatively simple.
Primary imperyious clay ranging on an
average from one Hundred fifty Ia fiv'
hundred feet IL over.lain with dspo~iir
! 4 water bearing sand ~ various thick
nesses This sand h often divided int
strips hy means ~ layers q contep
poraneous clay or soft sandstone. u &
due 20 these parting strips of impervions
material that W. have what IL generally
nown az the first. second. third and
other waters The number texture and
thickness q these consequent layers ~
, sand vary greatly with the localities.
The source ~ the water in them IL from
rainfall on the plains only. This waite.
does not come from the mountains ~
either means uf grayitaiion &C hydro
static pressure. The layers u sand
thsi carry thu water are exposed Ia
practically all cap rocks There ~ lit.
lie o. no evidence 81 recent geological
folding Ca faalting. such as would in'
, nuenoe cur shallow underground water
and provide n possible and necessarily
deep-ssated. Invisible source. Further.
more. all waters IN this section that
have heen found In the deep Triassi"
Z sandstones IN unfit fof both boiler AMI
domestic u.s..
plains. and the immediate undcrlyini:
formations. are no; conducive to larg
storage reservoirs. There are 40 many
uncertainties attached To- strictly
stored source Of water that. when u caH
p" gotten otherwise. 4 IL no, desirable
This statement. - course. heing mad
- AMPLY 10 the local c0nditions
The slope - all recent form,ii"n'
ru,h - support and carry IN under
ground usahle water under the plains
hss general slope from The northweS
80 the southwest The waters In IN
sand therefore are slowly moving In thii
same direction. In snme cases this 8
occurring In well defined channels ans
In them the movement IN more rapi
and the sand naturally mors pervious
The problem ~ fnd.ny a'gr gmn;iil'