Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1923-01-19
A. II. Saxer, Professor Of Mathematics
Utah Agricultural College.

|, Practically 6O0OOOU dcre-1eet
f this water Is wasted every year,
9 we consider the actual water need
' Of the lands to which this water
being applied.
, This reasoning Is perfectly simpl
when we consider that Utah has onl.
100000 acres OF irrigated land t
which the above mentioned 100000
acre-feat Of water are being applied
1t is a we'll known fact establishes
by the Experiment Station of TIL
Utah Agricultural College. that 2 acre
feet of water are amply sufficient FOL
the actual neetls of the crops upon ar
acre of average land, provided thai
the water is properly applied.
This figures out that 2.0OO,0U
acrefeet of irrigation water should be
sufficient for our 100000 acres OF
irrigated land leaving balance OF
G,000,00O acre-feet goin-- to waste.
II this could be utilized to it's full
capacity. 1t would furnish water for
100000 acres of land, or three times
as much as we are now irrigat.ng.
can Impossible Dream" would be
the reply Of the average 1rrigator to
the fore1 ling statement, but it d.
true nevertheless. 1t Is also true that
If the average canal company were
restricted to two acre-feet of water
for each acre of land covered by It's
canal, the lands would suffer for
want of water and the crops would
wither and perish.
The average irfigator is not vast |
Ing water as far as he can help 1t. |
He simply takes the water that Is his
and under existing conditions applies
1t to the best of his ability. He gets
results and the fact that he usss
several times more water than ID
really necessary Is frequently no fault
of his. =.
The fact remains, however, that
two acre-feet of water per acre are
sufficient when properly applied. This
fact has been prorenl- time and time
again by the Experiment Station of
the Utah Agricultural College,
The Big Question. however, Is.
"Can this two feet of water he botn
ECONOMICALLY and PROPERLY
applied?"
The answer to this question m
present Is probably NO. To recon
struct the average Irrigation system
from the point Of intake to the point
of application OF the water, and the
further preparation of the land ST.
that there shall be no waste in. appli-
cation, would be so expensive thar
the cash value Of the feet Of water
saved would fall far short of cover
ing the expenses incurred.
say that at present the answerj
t" the Big Question is probably no.
INT Utah must have more irrigated
lands and it must obtain water to
lrrigate them with. We have reacbe,
The practical limit OF our water su,-
ply and the water to irrigate these
new fields must be obtained in a
Great measure by decreasing the
mount now being used on our pres
INT irrigated area.
From 30 to 40 per cent of tba
water taken from the streams Of rt.h O.
$ lost by the canal companies be- o.
ore 1t Is delivered to the land 70 y
'hich 1t is to he applied. Show the u
''erage canal company how II can III
emedy this condition and sell tbe III
'ater thus saved for enough TO nav &c
n this increased expense and it viii
o so without any outside or legal al
ressure being brought to bear. AS ~
ing rs the saving of certain amount ~
water is a losing financial pr,, 9''
osit'on. no canal company is goinr ~,
'Dreak its neck" to do this say.
E.
ohow me average irrigator how he en-,
II prepare his land and anply his or,
lsatinn water so that . feet will arc
MN the same crop that fee, to
i nerore. and he will gladly do 81, prc
ovided you show him at the SAM. wifi
ne where lie is going to come nut bur
ead on the proposition financially dow
waste OF material is not waste II, to |
generally accepted order OF things Cal
II Is possible to prevent 1t only and
a financial sacrifice. 800
ne tail'ngs and Stag piles al many one
our large mines contain hundreds the
thousands OF dlIlars of minern,
mas been wasted in the process
handling the ores. yet we are nor i
oing up our hands in horror 1T this goli
HeDa"ns wnste. The reason Is than ons'
an be prevented or recovered only ,"e
financial loss, and Is therefore ""'
present, not regarded as being l"'i
'ted, The sshoo 81 Mines Is VINO
geYer, daily Struggling with tho mo"
plem u how 20 economically trea, "'s
50 ores 90 that this waste shall ~ @'1'
q minimum, '"ls
va 80 y y via ths bigger prob. '' y,
% tsonom'eplly handling o,lr h, -