Show THE 1 mB OF 1 WATER WATER 13 NW B N tr Irsfeld c d' d Project r t Eng Engineer ineer J Um L Uintah t Project i ct The fhe ideal distributing system for irrigation water would permit the Ine farmer to have water at an any time in in any amount he might need This would reC require an unfailing source of or supply and a canal system of such I capacity that time the t e demands o of allwater allwater all allwater water users could be met i x F Conditions in Jn the Uintah basin basic are ar arc such that the time first of these requirements requirements require require- ments cannot be met Diet for Cor more than thana a part of each irrigation season I Storage facilities for impounding a I supply of ot water sufficient for tor the time entire entire en en- I en-I tire season would provide the unfailing unfailIng unfailing ing source of ot supply but the topography raphy laphy of the country lying above the irrigated lands is such that to build reservoirs of sufficient capacity to store an entire seasons supply would I be prohibitive In cost The best that can he be hoped for along this line is isto isto isto to develop such reservoir capacity as can be developed at a reasonable cost and use the water thus Impounded Impound Impound- ed to el eke e out the normal flow ow of at the I streams during early spring and i tate late summer shinier when tho the normal flow How is always far less than the time demand The Time economic impossibility of providing providing providing pro pro- viding the first requirement of or an ideal Irrigation system is quite evi evl- dent This brings us to a consideration of the second requirement a a. canal of such capacity that the time demands of or all water users could be met sl- sl si m Let us consider a tract of or land eight thousand acres in extent Taking raking the average holding 1 of each water user useras as el eighty acres there would be ho hoone one hundred water users on this tract Assuming that each would want an Irrigating stream of three second feet many would want a larger head and that all would want water at the same time three hundred second feet o 0 water would be he required and a elites of that capacity would be necessary If however these wat water r users were I satisfied with a ditch hitch of such that by being used continuously throughout the irrigating season it would deliver sufficient water for the entire eight thousand acres a ditch I of at one hundred and fourteen second sec sec- second ond feet capacity would suffice The Time sec sec-I larger ditch is two and o one e half haIr times tho tho size of the one and it is but fair lair to assume that it would cost two and one half times as much t to build The cost cost of of maintenance too would be more more moreon on the larges large l d ditch t h so so that its added cost would I be far more than the time additional beai benefits ben ben- benefits i that could possibly be derived fr from m it ft We Ye find then that hat f for r economic reasons we carrot canot h have ve an ideal gallon gation system but are compelled to use ditches of such such size th that t the the ther i will carr carry sufficient water for our lands only only If It used continuously and amid andi i that the Yew flow for far a considerable part o of the time year will be he less than the de de- mand This leaves lea us with the time problem of at distributing the water under tinder conditions imposed economIcally economically economically cally in iii such a arvay way way that at each tach acre will get its share of time the available supply One way of doing this this' would h bo ho boto hoto to determine the part of the re flow to which each acre aero is entitled and then permit stream proportional in size sizo to the tho acres contained in iii it to How flow onto each tract One seventieth of ot a s second cond foot per acre would l be etho tho maximum that being the time amount each acre would be e omitted entitled to when the duty was seventy acres to the time second foot and t the e flo would vary from front that- that down to one two hundredth of a second foot Coot per pel acre as the duty luty varied during the tho season During I the tho season of 1924 when whim there thero was not sufficient t flow in tho time streams reams to keep even the time primary water rights rightson on duty tho time flow lIow per aero acre dropped as low as ns one three hundredth of z a second foot fool Let us ns pause here here and amid consider the tho reason for having ing a variable duty Many l nr are arc puzzled as to wily wHy since silica the law permits a maximum I diversion of one second foot for s V. V enty 3 acres It is necessary to have a n I variable duty The reason Is this I the law also provides that not to exceed cx- cx three aero acre feet of water per I acre may 1 be he me diverted each tacit year yeu Suppose th that t the time duty luty was kept at atOne atone I one ne second foot for tor seventy acres acre from April first to September eth oth One second foot of water flowing flowing flowing flow flow- I ing for twenty four hours equals Is On Local Page Pago From Page One OF Oh WATER ATRIt two acre feet of water From April first to September thirtieth there are one hundred three eighty-three days clays of twenty four hours each and a second sec sec- ond foot of water flowing for that length of time would amount to three hundred sixty-six sixty acre feet foet If H all this was a applied pIled to seventy i acres there would be five and two tenths acre feet of or water for fOl each acre acre or two and two tenths acre feet in excess of the amount allowed allowed allowed allow allow- ed by law In order to avoid exceeding exceeding exceeding ex- ex this amount the duty duly is varied varied varied va- va ried in such a manner that the flow i during the entire season will not exCeed ex- ex exceed exceed ex ex- three acre feet The duty is made high early in the season when there is Jess less demand for water and little water is in the streams and is gradually lowered until it reaches seventy acres per second foot Coot during late May lay and early June when the need is greatest and when fortunately fortunate fortunate- ly the flow in the streams is greatest greatest greatest great great- est and is gradually raised again as the demand lessens and the flow in inthe inthe inthe the streams decreases We Ve will go back again to the tho problem of distributing the water by bythe bythe I the continuous flow method The most favorable con condition for this I method would be when the duty was lowest so we will consider it when the flow is one second foot for tor each seventy acres If It a farmer had seventy seventy seventy sev sev- enty acres in crop he would be entitled entitled entitled en en- titled to a continuous stream of one second foot but if he had but forty acres he lie could draw but four- four sevenths of a second foot tool or a nice garden stream Now no noone one would attempt to irrigate with so small a stream for he could not do much with it but waste water so the usual practice when the continuous flow tIow method was supposed to be in use was for the water user to go to the head gate and take as large a stream as he desired usually in excess of three second feet Let us us see what happened then He was vas entitled to four sevenths of a second foot but he lIe took toole three I second secona feet or twenty-one twenty sevenths Since there was not sufficient capacity capaci capacI- ty in the ditch to supply more than I one second foot for each seventy acres he was taking seventeen sevenths sevenths sev sey- second feet of water that was intended for land lying further down the canal This land lying ling lower I p I l down own the canal would of course be I without water as long as this water I I user kept the three second feet Other Othe- water us users rs especially those I living near the upper end of the laterals did the same ana anc what was ostensibly a contin continuous ous flow tIo- method was in reality a rotation method of I distribution but without a ra a schedule These water users were enjoying one ono of the advantages of rotation rotation rotation-a a ai i larger head of water to work worl with Rotation without a schedule has certain certain certain tain advantages at least for those who are near the upper end of oC the laterals We will follow this water user further He was entitled to four- four sevenths of a second foot but he he took three second feet or five and ancl andone I Ione one fourth times as much as he lie was entitled to have This three second feet of water was intended to furnish furn furnish ish a continuous flow for two hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred ten acres but was diverted onto but fort forty acres leaving one hundred seventy acres without water Had Hart this water user confined his use of the three acre feet to one day clay out of every five and one fourth days he lie would not have been using more than his share of the water and the owners of the remaining one hundred hundred hun hun- dr dred d seventy acres would have ha hats had the same stream for four and one fourth days with which to water their land but the practice was for forthe forthe forthe the water user to hold the water wate I until he lie was through or until th this tha I ditch rider closed his gate and gave the water to the other landowners Perhaps about the time some other user got the stream set on his land landt t this water user would woula a go back and andopen andopen andopen open up his gate again and take taIre water leaving the man who was really really real real- ly entitled to it without any water He Ie might go to the ditch flitch ride or project engineer and in the course of time have the water restored to him only to have some other water user user take it before he was through with it Attempting to distribute water in iii ina a a. canal without a schedule will proe pro pro- duce e the same sarno results as an attempt to run a number of trains on the same track without a schedule Confusion Confusion Con Con- fusion would result with loss of time loss pf property and collisions If It the farmer on the lower end of the lateral had the water half haIr way through his corrugations when the farmer above him took it away and left him dry he would nave l lost lost st all ah the time he spent with that head of i water for he would again have to togo go over the same ground In order to to get the lower end of his field gated It would also be necessary f for him to waste water by irrigating part of his ground a second time I an and doing this might damage the crop growing on It H to some extent I It would not riot be bo at all surprising if i I this farmer had a collision with i isome some of the other othel farmers who took his water In fact this did occasionally occasion occasion- ally happen under the old system I Another evil of ot the continuous I flow method was letting the water run unattended for tor long periods of i time time This resulted in f large areas of ground round and ancI caused the I waste of mu much h water 1 Few 0 farmers farmers farm farm- ers handled their water at ni night hL and a large part of the night flow 1 was wasted The necessity for Cor regulation Is la easily seen and this regulation caa best be secured b by dividing the wat watT r into a 11 number of heads and prepa- prepa ring r- r ing lag a schedule showing how th those se heads are to be rotated This schedule relied sched ule tile should show the tho total number o of acres served by each head the length of the rotation period the time per acre and the time that each water users user's turn begins The size of these heads ma may be varied to suit conditions and the period of rotation may be as long or oras oras oras as short as desired On this project the heads are from two and on I half to four second feet and the peI period period pe pe- pe- pe I of or rotation this year is seven days and six hours Last year ear it was nine days and eighteen hours but many thought that this was too long for gardens and in compliance with their wishes the time was short short- ened This has not been entirely satisfactory satisfactory satisfactory sat sat- for some soma think that two weeks is better than one week Taking the mean of these two extremes ex- ex extremes extremes ex ex- it would seem that the period used Jast last year nine days and eighteen hours was not far from being being being be be- ing the best period for the basin One Ono objection to rotation that Is frequently heard is that It requires night Irrigation The absurdity or of orthis orthis this is apparent at once to the man who thinks for tor the water cannot be stored at night but continues it tc flow now for tor twenty four flours each day and i If it is not used twenty four hours each day part of it will be wasted One of or the desirable features features features fea fea- tures of rotation is that it induces the water user to handle his head of water all the time Ume he has lIas it The schedules are so arranged that each turn begins six hours later each time thus distributing night hours and Sundays impartially among the tho several water users Perhaps the complaint most frequently frequently frequently fre fre- heard is that rotation limits the amount of water that a farmer may have which is true to this ea- ea tent it limits each water user to his share of the available water but it does not limit the amount of water that is available That is limited by bythe bythe bythe the amount flowing in the streams except for the short period of high highwater highwater water ater when it is limited by the tho ca- ca of the ditch Those who make this complaint are not in the thinking thinking think think- ing class or else they are also in that class which if it could get by bj with it would take something that belongs to someone else Anyone Anyon who will but stop anti and think the matter matter matter mat mat- ter over can easily see that the schedule merely provides pro for the equal distribution or the available able water supply and h he wao 10 takes more than his schedule allowance is taking tat tak ing someone else's water for there is no other source of supply No honest thinking man can conscientiously conscientiously conscientiously object to a schedule for thE tilts distribution of Irrigation water |