WSP04429 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

. . Pro.; ect Lands . Some three-fourths of the appro"~mately 22,000 acres now irrigated is bottom land along the Hichita River. This is deep alluvial soil of good fertility and mostly of favorable physical properties. About 40 percent of the bottom land is of soils with freely'perlneable moderatoly sandy subsoils (Ynhola serios); 27 percent is of soils with permeablo clay lo~n to loam subsoils (Port and Norwood oeries). Both of these, comprisinG a total of 67 percent of the bottom land, are of excollent to good quality for irriga- tion. Some 32 percent is of soils with slowly permeable clay subsoils (Miller series). Under-drainage of these is slow, salts tend to accumulatc whcrever the irrJ.gation management is mediocre, and for irrigation with the waters here available they rate only fair. About 1 percent is loose deep sand. The 5,000 acres or less of upland now irrigated is almost confined to benches (old river tcrraces) that bordor the river bottom. Although largely of claypan soils (Calumct serics) poorly suit cd for irrigation with waters as saline in this district, these benches include some 9,000 acres, occurring in scattered areas, of soils with subsoils of permcable sandy clay loam (Hichita series) to slo~lly permoable clay (Harrold series). These are suited for irrie;ation and the irrigated upland is concontratcd on them. Claypan soils (Foard, Tillman, and Calumet series) comprise 70 percent of the upland within the district boundarios, 46 percent of the total district are:a, more than half of tho area undcr ca.nal, prebably at least one-third of the area classed as irrigable for taxing purposes, a.nd perhaps 10 percent of the aroa now irrigatcd. Their subsoils and sub- strata are vol",;' slowly permeable to :lJnpcrvious; thero is a.lmost no under- drainage; salts tend to accumulate under any but tho very bost irrigation management. They ure poor soils for ir"igation; most of thc acreage of these claypan soils that has boen irrigated at some time or othcr is now out of irrigation. Tablo 6. - Classes of soil in the Hichita Valley irrigation project 1/ -- Suitability for irrigation Land Type Good to Unsuited to excollent Fair poor Total Acros Acres ~ Acres Bottomland 23,391 14,010 2,294 39,695 : : Upland (includes terraces): 10,2il1 I 10,545 52.966 7 3.7 58 Total 33,638 24,555 55,260 :113,/,53 11 C ompilod from do. ta in "Specio.l Soil Survey of v1ichi to. Valley, Texas, Irriga tion Proj cct Area", Toxas P.gricul tural EY.poriment Sto.tion Special Publication, 1924. Tho acreages givon aro those lIi thin tho boundaries of the irrigation district as organizod in the early 19201s. 16