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Show THE UINTAH BASIN FARMER Leaky Headgates Cause Immense Water Loss By N. W. IRSFELD, Project "Engineer, Myton, Utah. the problems confronting us in our campaign to make the scanty supply of water that will be available this summer irrigate as much land as possible, and thus produce the maximum crop value, is bow to stop the leaks in the hundreds of headgates and turnout boxes at times when no water is being taken through them for irrigation One of $1,000 Prize for Best Ear of Com tieth of a second of water. if that amount of water passes each of the 1000 gates, that are supposed to be tightly closed, there would be fifty second feet of water leaking out into laterals where it can do aboslutely no good for it is too small to be used to irrigate and is completely wasted by seepage and This fifty second feet evaporation. of water flowing during the months of May, June, July, August and September would amount to 15,000 acre V feet of water or enough water to .V ;; irrigate 6000 acres of land. If each V-;'r1A, acre produced $25.00 worth of crops, a low estimate, these 6000 acres ? would grow $150,000.00 worth of x r,v' 4 y , $ In other words it will cost crops. .v5v. the farmers of the Basin $150,000.-0- 0 sV fife -, to water their farm stock this V . a, summer if they do it by means of the leaky headgate. A 'c Are YOU going to contribute to 4 such a wanton waste as this? Are you going to stand by withrA lif j t i: out a protest and permit your neigh$21: v ,J v sX'1' ('"A V ' bor to contribute to this sinful waste? We cannot afford to install steel gates that will wedge tight when closed but we can, with the expenditure of a little time and effort, make our timber gates water tight and thus conserve the precious water for the purpose of growing crops and k 'rrr' EH 32! thus add materially to the value of m. the crops grown in the Basin this Alts. Elsie Al. iulaski of Waverly. 111., who won the Sl.fow prize for she summer. If you have stock that must be best ear of corn in America at the National Seed Torn show held in Chicago. watered during the time that your lateral is dry why not build a small A very small pond, if proppond. BEING YOUR . erly puddled, will hold a weeks sup- 5 a cost will but water and of ply small amount of labor. Let us all unite in making the small amount of water, that will be 3 We pay the highest market price. available this summer, do the utof in the most possible good way It is up to the producing crops. individual water user to stop this waste through headgates for it is impossible for the ditch rider to C Vernal, Utah stand guard over the numerous head All he can i ? gates on his division. Phone 193. (In E. A. Mnnkcrs (MTia) do is to seal every leak he finds. E If you will do the same this waste 1 j purposes. In all the ditches of the Uintah Irrigation project and no doubt in all other canals in the Basin, the water will be distributed by the Rotation System again this season. Under this system the water is divided into beads or streams of a size most desirable for handling in the fields and these heads or streams will be rotated among the various water users, the time per acre or share being such that each will receive the same amount of water during the season. This means that only a part of the gates or turnout boxes will be in use at any one time. Now the only type of turnout box or head-gat- e that is economically possible in the Basin is one built of timber. These at best are leaky affairs but if at the time Jie gate is closed a few shovelfQis of dirt is thrown against it all leaks are effectually sealed and will remain so until the gate is disturbed. Right here is where the difficulty lies. The ditch rider or water user who closes the gate may shovel in the dirt but the water users or at least many of them desiring a small stream in their lateral for convenience sake will not permit the leak to remain sealed but by moving the gate they dislodge the dirt that was sealing the leak and permit the water to again trickle through and flow down the lateral. This practice has become quite general in some localities .and is more or less prevalent all over the Basin but I am certain that whenever it is done it is done thoughtlessly for no one who is interested in welfare of the farmers of the Basin will be stopped. would indulge in this wasteful practice if he knew the amount of water that will be wasted in this manner this summer if this practice is not discontinued. There are on this Project aloge mere than 1200 turnouts, boxes or If the headgates to farm laterals. water is divided into 200 heads, 200 only of these 1200 gates will be opNow if each en at any one time. of the other 1000 gates is permitH. Kilpttridl Prof. E. V. McCollum Educitjon. ted to leak a small stream heredol-is Nutrition VOlumotA what it will mean in terms of Not much of a lars and cents. leak is required to pass THESE CELEBRITIES s A va 'Vv i' jsyv Hjm A , i i j j one-twe- n- a? '''-- f I r c . 3t-- - IS I JL FURS, HIDES, and PELTS I i Uintah Fur Company W.WAW.VAWV.V.V.V.VAVAW.V.VAW.,.VA1 Uhl lliil ANNOUNCEMENT We ar.e the authorized agents for WE WANT WOOL Write for Price List today Charles Friend 920 Wazee St., & Co., Inc. DENVER, COLO VERNAL CLEANING & TAILORING CO. Earl J. Freeman, Mgr. PLUSH COATS, VELVETS aiul PLEATED SKIRTS .OUR SPECIALTY Parcel Post paid one way GOMINGTOU.A.G. Students who had the good fortune to studv last summer under Prof. IC. V. McCollum of Johns Hopkins at the National Summer School at the Utah Agricultural College, will be delighted to know that he is returning to conduct courses June la to July 2o in the Second National Session at Logan. Another important engagement is that of Prof. W. H. Kilpatrick of the department of education of Columbia University. He is said to be the most inspiring teacher in the world. He will fill a two weeks Prof. McCollum will engagement. conduct classes in nutrition. In the Uintah Every boy and girl The Brown Basin should read in Mouse appearing each month FARMER. THE UINTAII BASIN tu urn vta av wi Lincolns, Fordsons, Ford Parts Uintah Basin Motor Co. temporary Sales Quarters Roosevelt Imp. Co. ROOSEVELT, UTAH IlllllHilllHI IBiiTiillll -- j |