Nov. 12, 1917 
Effect of Pumping from a Shallow Well 
357 
possible to keep the water table more than 2 feet lower at a distance of 
160 feet from the drain than on surrounding untiled areas. This con¬ 
dition was obtained with the tile at a depth of less than 6 feet. On 
both the Dore tract 1 and the Toft-Hansen tract 2 , about 6 miles from the 
Kearney Park experiment, the tile drainage systems had a noticeable 
effect on the ground-water table a mile away, although the tile were 
less than 5 feet deep on the Dore tract and only 3 feet deep on the Toft- 
Hansen tract. All of these drainage systems discharge into sumps from 
which the water is raised by means of pumps. 
The fact that tile drains have proved more efficient than pumping 
from a well in lowering the ground-water table is due, no doubt, to the 
much larger area reached by the tile. No part of the 160 acres in the 
Kearney Vineyard Experimental Drain is more than 160 feet from a 
tile line, the Dore tract of 40 acres contains nearly 4,500 feet of tile, 
and there are 5,600 feet of tile on the 20-acre Toft-Hansen tract. Thus, 
with such a system any lateral movement of water is more readily 
intercepted, and any vertical pressure is relieved at more points than is 
possible where tile is not used, even though the water table is main¬ 
tained at a greater depth in the well than is done by the tile lines. It 
would appear, therefore, from the results of these experiments that, 
although it has been proved feasible to reclaim water-logged land by 
means of tile drains, it would not be practicable to locate wells and 
pumping plants similar to the one described in this paper close enough 
together to lower the water table over any considerable area or develop 
enough water for practical farm irrigation without storage. 
It is doubtful if the results of this experiment would have been mate¬ 
rially different had it been located on the more poorly drained areas. 
Much the largest part of such areas about Fresno consists of soils mapped 
as belonging to the Fresno series. These soils contain hardpan layers 
nearer the surface, and the lateral movement of water is not so rapid as 
through soils of the Madera series such as are found on the experiment 
station tract. 
In order to obtain the information given here, it was necessary to 
equip and operate a pumping plant for two years. The pump equip¬ 
ment, including sump, pump, motor, housing, power transmission, and 
discharge line, cost approximately $625. The power for the period cov¬ 
ered by the experiment cost about $200, making a total of $825. There 
were some expenses incurred in installing test wells and making special 
investigations which would not be necessary under field conditions, and 
these have not been included in the total mentioned. 
Fortier, Samuel, and Cone, V. M. drainage op irrigated lands in the san joaquin valley, 
California. U. S. Dept. Agr. Office Exp. Stas. Bui. 217, 58 p., 8 fig, 2 pi. (maps). 1909. 
2 MacEIE, W. W. RECLAMATION OP WHITE-ASH LANDS AFFECTED WITH ALKALI AT FRESNO, CALIFORNIA. 
U. S. Dept. Agr. Bur. Soils Bui. 42, 47 p„ 2 fig. 1907. 
