T HE IRRIGATION AGE 



169 



THE COLLEGEPORT IRRIGATION 

 PUMPING PLANT 



R C. Wise.* 



Very much has been written and said about irrigation 

 by pumping. Yet there does not appear in public prints 

 a great deal about pumping plants of large sizes that is 

 noteworthy. Possibly this is because the very large pump- 

 ing plants are not numerous. Possibly also because after 

 a pumping plant is once completed and put in operation 

 there is not much about it to hold any further the inter- 

 est of the technical irrigationist or engineer to say noth- 

 ing of the photographer, who finds a very ordinary build- 

 ing covering the "subjects," and dark corners hiding what 

 is not actually put under ground. 



However much of truth there may be in these asser- 

 tions, it is something of a pleasure to find once in a while 

 a case which is interesting by contrast, and convincing on 

 further study. 



The view herewith (Fig. 1) of an interior taken dur- 

 ing erection makes it easy to understand an irrigation 

 pumping plant of considerable note erected for the Col- 

 legeport Canal Company, on the Colorado River, about 

 ten miles above Matagorda, Texas. 



Duty. 



The nominal capacity of this plant is 150,000 gallons 

 per minute, which means that when pumping water at this 

 rate, it would cover an area equal to about 5^ acres, 

 one inch deep, each minute. 



The average lift, depending oil the stage of the river, 

 is 23 feet. The amount actually pumped may vary, as 

 will be explained further on. 



g. 1. Pumping Plant of Collegeport Canal Company. Two 48-inch Morris Machine Works Centrifugal Pumps; Nominal Capacity, 150,000 

 Gallons Per Minute. Drwen by Erie Tandem Compound Four-Valve Engine. One Unit Running. View During Completion of Building. 

 Condensers in Background. 



"Mechanical Engineer for Henion & Hubbell, Chicago. 



