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<br />-lZ- <br /> <br />Develop'Dent Problems <br /> <br />With the increasing use of clays for sealing purposes. in the <br />District area, several development problems are encountered. <br />Control of clay quality probably is the most serious one at the present <br />time. Materials have been sold as bentonite that actually are mostly <br />rock with only a small percentage of clay content. Even the materials <br />of favorable clay content, in m~ instances have varied widely from <br />one truck load to the next. The mdsture content in some clay materials <br />has run as high as 50 percent. A deliberate deception is not implied, <br />- <br />never-the-Iess the problems do exist and do emphasize the need for <br />(1) a flexible set of clay specifications to fit various installation condi- <br />tions, and (perhaps of most critical importance now) (Z) adequate <br />mining operations, sufficient to insure satisfactory uniformity of pro. <br />duction of ~ desired type of clay. <br />It is for the reasons outlined above, that in the planning of <br />Colorado state University clay project activities, increasing emphasis <br />is being placed on filling requests for the following services: <br />(1) assistance to ABC County committees, in setting up sepcifications that <br />fit the locally-available clays to the local canal and pond conditions, and <br />(z) assistance to clay producers in setting up pit operation procedures <br />necessary to produce an acceptable and uniform clay material for canal <br />and pond sealing purposes. <br />It will be realized, however, that while the quality and uniformity <br />of clay material is extremely important, more than this alone is required <br />to produce good sealing results in canals and reservoirs. Installation <br />experience and know-how is also of primary importance. . The mining of <br />the clay and the installation could be and are being handled separately in <br />some areas, but in our opinion, the solution with the best potential for <br /> <br />/ <br /> <br />1032 <br />