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Show SECURE WATER SUPPLY Economical Way of Building Gate or Dam in CanaL As Irrigation Is the Xn Thing That Makes Possible Ranch or Farm Too Much Cannot Be Done to Regulate Its Use. In response to the following query: "I would like to know of an economical econom-ical way of building a gate or dam In a canal so as to raise the water for Irrigation Ir-rigation purposes. I live In a valley where a drainage district has been formed and a canal Is being built. The canal where I wish to build a dam Is 2li feet wide at the top with sloping sides und about 314 feet deep, I want to know how to build a dam that will not wash out on the bottom or sides." I.ou lilakesley of lllg Horn county, W'yomlng, makes the following reply In the Farm and Home: Dig a trench across the ditch and well Into either bank, about two feet deep. Make this trench plenty wide, so that one ran w-ork In It with ease. Drive piling, or set posts, against the lower bank of the trench, about two feet deep. Hegln at the bottom of the trench, and board up the piling, as high as the water Is to be .raised. Double 'the boards, breaking Joints each time. Then 1111 the trench with heavy, coarse manure, and carry It well up to the top nnd on either end. Weight the manure down with plenty of loose dirt, turn In the water, and you will have a dam lhat will be substantial, sub-stantial, as lung as the timbers last. This dam will not wash out. but should, by any chance, a leak show In It, a load of manure will effectually stop It. and that Is tho only repair nm terlal you will ever need, until you have to put In new timbers. A cement ce-ment dam Is much better nnd cheawr In the long run. I am at a loss to understand why you want such a dam across an Irrigation Irri-gation ditch that Is 2fi feet wide, or any other width for that matter. If th" people of your community have formed an Irrigation district, the officers offi-cers of such district and canal should hnve greater control over It than to allow anyone to build a darn across It. Further than this, the canal authorities au-thorities should construct all turnouts where wafer Is taken from the canal. In a canal as large as this one all Intakes, turnouts, division boxes and other means of control should be under un-der the Immediate nnd absolute supervision super-vision of the company. Certainly no thorough Irrigation engineer would allow al-low the building of a dam across the main canal. The water should always tie taken oi drawn from the bottom of the crinal, because. If otherwise, the canal would soon (111 with sediment, until It would be valueless. All Intakes, turnouts, and boxes should be of cement, ce-ment, but where that Is not practical l'imber can be used, though It will lave to be rebuilt In a few years. One cannot emphasize too strongly the necessity for absolute control of water In the canal, by the proper au-thorltlea. au-thorltlea. It should be turned out to each user by the company and the user then ronieled to take care of It t'nder no circumstances should the In-Indivldi'al In-Indivldi'al user lie allowed to take water wa-ter from the canal, nor turn It back, at his pleasure. The ditch enterprise, ss a whole, will fall of success if this should bo iK-rmltted. In a new district the great and Important Im-portant step Is to start right, flood headgate, outlets, division boxes and properly constructed laterals are a part of the company's work, which should require of the user lhat he construct con-struct suitable ditches and waste-ways, waste-ways, to profwrly handle the water. A new district could well take ad vantage of the mistakes of older Irrigated Irri-gated communities, and not only save the expense and annoyance of poorly constructed works, but prevent the loss of many acres of land, alkali, caused by a too free use of water, or for the lack of suitable waste ditches As water is the one thing that makes possible a ranch or farm In a doert country one cannot do too much to provide for Its protier use I'pon the method of handling depends the success or failure of the farm. |
