IREIGATIOISr REQUIREMENTS OF THE GREAT BASIN 
11 
low to be utilized by gravity. The potentialities of the Great Basin 
in this respect are very great, provided cheap electric power is 
available. As a result of surveys made in Nevada by the United 
States Geological Survey, a large area, in the aggregate, of the 
arable lands of that State has been found to be underlaid by ground 
water sufficiently near the surface to admit of being raised by pumps 
for agricultural purposes. Some nine years ago a creditable be- 
ginning was made by the Division of Agricultural Engineering, 
Bureau of Public Roads, in cooperation with the Utah Agricultural 
Experiment Station, landowners, and other local agencies, in de- 
termining some of the possibilities of ground water development in 
central and southern Utah by the installation of experimental wells 
and pumping plants. In this work special attention was given to 
the cost and most profitable use of pumped water. From 1914 to 
1919, 14 pumping plants were installed in different parts of the 
State and assistance was rendered to a much larger number under the 
management of individual landowners. This cooperative work is 
still in progress and promises to add greatly to the productivity of 
the State. 
The water supply of the Great Basin is further augmented by a 
large number of springs and creeks. Thus far these minor sources 
of supply have not been utilized to the best advantage, particularly 
the flow of the creeks whose sources frequently depend on melted 
snow at the higher elevations. Under natural conditions the flow 
in these creeks during low-water periods is absorbed, as a rule, by 
the coarse material of the foothills and fails to reach the arable 
lands. If such flows were conducted in pipes from the beginning 
of the porous material to the place of use, much of the water could 
be saved for useful purposes. 
Since the extensive practice of irrigation was begun in the Great 
Basin, a large quantity of water has been derived during each irri- 
gation season from seepage and return flows. As more economy 
is practiced in the conveyance and use of water, the amount of return 
water will diminish, but thus far it has greatly increased the avail- 
able supply. 
Table 1. — Discharge of typical streams in the Great Basin 
River 
Station 
Years 
record 
« me 
Square 
miles 
24 
4,500 
25 
218 
10 
1,090 
9 
550 
4 
43 
7 
5,010 
9 
2,370 
49 
405 
49 
1,507 
49 
323 
49 
524 
49 
211 
8 
317 
2 
500 
Discharge for year 
Maximum Minimum 
Mean 
Utah: 
Bear 
Logan 
Weber 
Ogclen 
American Fork 
Nevada: 
Humboldt 
Truckee 
California: 
West Walker,. 
Susan 
Carson East Fork... 
Owens 
Mojave 
Oregon: 
Silver Creek 
Donner und Blitzen. 
Preston 
Logan 
Devils Gate 
Ogden 
American Fork. 
Palisade. 
Reno 
Coleville.. 
Susanville. 
Round Valley. 
At Forks 
Silver Lake. 
Diamond.. 
Acre-feet 
Acre-feet 
1, 648, 320 
401, 000 
370, 750 
67, 000 
758, 000 
180, 000 
479, 400 
65, 300 
61, 690 
7,330 
538, 000 | 
1, 430, 000 ' 
1, 079, 000 
1, 117, 000 
868, 500 
516, 000 
407, 700 
48,000 
134, 000 
86, 000 
305, 000 
110,000 
80,000 
91, 300 
181, 500 
14,200 
10,000 
83,000 
Acre-feet 
1, 006, 620 
245, 800 
420, 000 
228, 600 
34, 470 
304, 000 
S00, 000 
313, 800 
330, 800 
309, 000 
278, 100 
98,200 
32,000 
102, 000 
