| OCR Text |
Show SOURCES OF WATER SUPPL1 In General One Source is Usually as Free From Injurious Alkalies as the Other. In reply to the query: "Is there any difference between well water and rain or surface water for irrigating purposes?" the following reply is made by H. B. Walker of Manhattan, Kan.: There has been considerable discussion discus-sion relative to the qualities of underground under-ground water compared with surface and stream water for irrigation purposes. pur-poses. On account of the indefinite source of much of the underflow no direct di-rect comparison can be made. In general, gen-eral, however, one source of supply is usually as free from injurious alkalies alka-lies as the other. In the semi-arid belt many streams disappear in the sands and thus supply the underflow. In other places the underflow may be at great depths and thus free from the leaching alkalies. Where the underflow un-derflow has percolated througn soils containing alkali there is a tendency for these alkalies to be dissolved and thus be present in the water in solution. solu-tion. This may take place, however, even in the stream water as well as the underflow. Ordinary alkali is made up of one or more of the following salts in varying vary-ing proportions: Sodium chlorid (common salt), sodium sulphate (Glauber's, salt), magnesium sulphate (Epsom salt), calcium chlorid, and calcium sulphate, all of which are white alkalies, and sodium carbonate (sal soda) or black alkali. The pres ence of these salts in large quantities quanti-ties becomes injurious to growing vegetation and their presence is apt to be encountered in surface water as well as well water. Well water may be colder than surface water and for that reason it may not be quite so desirable de-sirable for irrigation purposes. On account of the usual methods of distribution dis-tribution this objection cannot be serious. Everything considered, it would seem that one source of supply is as good as the other for the usual irrigation methods. |
