Reclamation of alkali land at Fresno, California

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United States Department of Agriculture,

BUREAU OF SOILS— CIRCULAR No. 11.
MILTON WHITNEY, Chief of Bureau.

RECLAMATION OF ALKALI LAND AT FRESNO, CALIFORNIA.

At the time of settlement of the country south of Fresno there was little
indication of the presence of alkali in the soil and no one then sus-
pected that serious damage would result from irrigation. When, after a
few years, alkali commenced to show in the vineyards and orchards
the attention of thoughtful men was directed toward remedying the
evil, but up to the time of undertaking the experiment reported in this
circular nothing effective had been accomplished.

In 1900 a party from the Bureau of Soils spent a season in studying
the soil conditions around Fresno, and in a report, embodied in the
report on field operations of the Division of Soils for 1900, recom-
mended drainage, with frequent cultivation and copious irrigation
during reclamation, as the solution of the alkali problem.

Notwithstanding the recommendations in this report and the repeated
statements in subsequent reports on alkaline areas in different parts of
the country that drainage is a practicable and the only safe and sure
means of permanently reclaiming alkali lands, no steps had been
taken by persons most deeply interested to check or remove the evil.
The Bureau of Soils, after careful consideration, decided that the most
convincing way of bringing the truth of its recommendations and the
value of drainage in reclamation work before the people was to demon-
strate it by the actual reclamation of some of the alkali land. For this
purpose the Bureau selected a 20-acre tract of land belonging to S. M.
Toft and N. H. Hansen, situated on Fig and Central avenues about 2-i
miles south of Fresno and entered into cooperation with these gentle-
men to demonstrate to the people of the irrigated region that alkali
lands can be easily and economically reclaimed.

The history of this land, as given by the owners, is as follows: The
northern part of the tract -was settled upon by Mr. Toft in 1876 and at
that time showed no sign of alkali. In 1889 Mr. Toft bought an addi-
tional 20 acres at $350 an acre, an average value for land in that
vicinity at that time. The southern part of the tract was first settled
upon in 1862 by Mr. Hansen and at that time was partially alkaline.
It has never produced good crops. In 1890 alkali commenced to show
on the northern part, and in 1898 and 1899 it was practically abandoned.

The tract lies in a level district where it was impossible to obtain a
gravity outlet for the drainage water, except by digging a drain 2 miles
long, so in order to raise the drainage water to the surface of the ground
a chain pump operated by a water wheel was installed on Central Canal.
where it crosses Fig avenue. A drainage system of this kind is admit-
tedly not so desirable as one in which a gravity outlet can be maintained.

Three-inch, 4-inch, and 6-inch tile were laid over the tract at an
average depth of a little over 3 feet and 150 feet apart. The original
intention was to use nothing smaller than 4-inch tile, but the makers
were unable to supply enough tile of this size, so the deficiency was
made up by using 3-inch tile. It was found impossible to lay the tile
during the summer season, owing to the nearness of the water table to
the surface and the resulting condition of the subsoil, which was too
soft to permit the digging of a deep ditch. The work of ditching was
commenced in December, 1902, and was completed in February, 1903.
The cost of ditching, tiling, and all incidentals except the cost of pump
and water wheel amounted to $16.50 per acre. The contract for tin- tile
delivered in Fresno was for 3-inch tile, $24 per thousand, for 4-inch tile,
$32 per thousand, and for 6-inch tile, $72 per thousand.

At the time of the installation of the drains 18 acres of the land con-
tained too much alkali to produce a crop. Scattered over a part of the
tract were small patches of alfalfa and an occasional fruit tree — remnants
of former cultivation. About the 1st of March, 1903, irrigation was
commenced. The land was divided into 30 checks, the size of each
check depending upon the slope of the land. The largest checks, those
on the level land, are about 2 acres in extent, while on the steeper
slopes they are less than half an acre. The object was to divide the
land in such a way that it could all be kept under water to a depth <>f
4 inches, and the reclamation was to be accomplished by maintaining
the water at this depth until enough alkali had been washed out of the
soil through the drains to enable a crop to be grown.

During the progress of flooding many difficulties were met. among
them that of keeping the tiles from partially tilling with sand and silt.
Precaution was taken in laying the tile to put them in so the joints
would be close, hay was thrown over the tile in the ditch before cover-
ing with earth, and a ridge of earth was thrown up to prevent the water
from standing directly over the drains. In spite of these precautions
the soil, which is very light, was so easily moved by water that it
seemed to enter the joints almost as readily as did the water. This
resulted in some of the drains becoming clogged, and it was nee<
to relay a portion of the tile. After the land had been once thoroughly
soaked and had settled, no difficulty was experienced from tilling of the
drains and it is hoped that there will be no further trouble from this
source. Most of the trouble was with the 3-inch tile, which is admit-

tedly too small for use in soils of the light and silty character of the
Toft-Hanson field. It is thought that there will be more or less silting
up of the tiles whenever they are used in the sandy and white ash soils
of the Fresno district, and it is recommended that every possible pre-
caution be taken in putting them in. Much of the trouble may be
obviated by using no tile smaller than 4 inches, or preferably 6 inches
in diameter, and by giving the laterals such fall that the velocity of the
water will be great enough to wash out the sand as rapidly as it enters
the joints. The tile on the Toft-Hansen tract have a fall of 1 in 1,000
and the velocity of the water flowing through them is not sufficient
to remove the sand. With a 'fall of 1 in 500 the velocity is great
enough to remove practically all of the soil as fast as it enters.

To prevent entirely the clogging of the tile with sand, and to insure
the removal of roots should any chance to enter, it is thought advis-
able to place in all tile a quarter inch galvanized strand- wire rope.
Then two or three times a year, or oftener if necessary, a wire brush
should be dragged through the tile in order to cut out all roots and stir
up the sand and silt. Wire rope of this kind can be bought for about
1 cent a foot. Six-inch and 8-inch drains have been in operation for
twelve years in the Sunnyside vineyard and have been kept in perfect
order in this way. From the experience gained the Bureau can unhesi-
tatingly recommend tile for drainage purposes, provided proper precau-
tions are taken in its installation.

On July 15, 1903, after four and a half months of irrigation, an
examination was made of the tract to determine what percentage of
the land was sufficiently sweetened to grow a crop. This examination
indicates that all of the land, with the exception of small spots amount-
ing in the aggregate to less than 2 acres, is now ready for a crop. Most
: of it is sufficiently freed from alkali to warrant the sowing of alfalfa,
but as midsummer is not the best time of year for seeding that crop,
sorghum and Egyptian clover are being put in instead. These crops
will mature by fall if the supply of irrigation water does not fail, and in
the winter the land will be seeded to alfalfa. The small spots which
are not yet ready for alfalfa are rapidly approaching that condition and
will be ready for a crop during the coming winter. Thus it will be seen
th;it practically all the land in this 20-acre tract has been returned to a
state of profitable cultivation in a period of four and a half months after
irrigation was commenced, and the statement seems justified that any
alkali land in the Fresno district can be brought into profitable cultiva-
tion in less than one year's time, the two requisites for this being under-
drainage and a copious supply of water for irrigation. While the
Bureau considers the land of the Toft-Hansen field practically reclaimed
at the present time, the demonstration will be continued until a satis-
factory stand of alfalfa is secured.

GENERAL RECLAMATION IN THE FRESNO DISTRICT.

Having demonstrated that alkali land can in a remarkably short time
be brought back into a state of fertility by underdrainage and flooding,
it remains to indicate the most economical plan of extending the work
to cover the larger districts affected by alkali or seepage water, or in
danger of becoming thus affected.

That the rise of alkali is caused by a rise in the level of standing
water in the soil is admitted by all, so that the solution of the alkali
problem depends upon the solution of the drainage problem. It must
not be supposed, however, that drainage alone will reclaim the alkali
lands, for complete reclamation demands heavy irrigation or washing of
the soil. In the case of the 20-acre tract now being reclaimed, it is
seen that four and a half months' constant irrigation was necessary
before a crop could be grown.

Anything, however, which lowers the water table will assist in the
reclamation of the alkali lands and will allow of heavier flooding to
effect this reclamation. Thus it is evident that if the bottoms of all
irrigating canals were cemented and the loss of water by seepage pre-
vented there would be a prompt falling in the level of standing water
and heavier irrigation would be possible, thus enabling large afelis of
alkali land to be reclaimed by washing the alkali into the subsoil.
This alone, without drainage, would not be a permanent removal of the
alkali, for if the water table should by any means be raised again the
alkali would promptly reappear at the surface. It is likely that the
water table would be raised eventually, for upon the cementing of the
canals and the consequent drop in the water level vines, trees, and
plants with their root systems adjusted to the present water level would
suffer and irrigation would be necessary in fields that now are never
watered from the surface. It is also likely that all the water saved from
.seepage through the canal bottoms would eventually be applied to the
land from the surface. Probably a larger proportion of this water
would be lost by evaporation than now, but it is extremely doubtful if
the conditions would be bettered. Again, if the farmers understood
the proper amount of water to use and used only that amount, keeping
the soil in the most perfect condition as regards moisture, much water
might be saved and the water table lowered to such an extent that
drainage would be unnecessary and satisfactory crops could be pro-
duced. But it is difficult to get the fawners to use just the right
amount of water in practice, as they have a tendency alwaj^s to apply
it in excess. To drain the excess away before damage to the land
results is the problem before the people.

Another scheme for reclamation is presented by Mr. J. B. Lippincott
in his report, issued by the U. S. Geological Survey, on "Water Storage
in Kings River." Mr. Lippincott proposes to establish electric power

)lants in the mountain canyons of Kings River, to transmit this power to
the plains and to distribute it to the farmer for use in running pumping
plants. With cheap power of this kind pumping plants could be used
on the Fresno plains at points not reached by canals, or, even during
fa season of short supply, on lands under existing canals. Pumping
would tend to lower the water table, and as probably 50 per cent of
the water applied to the land would be lost by evaporation and trans-
piration by vegetation, there would result a permanent lowering of the
level of underground- water. For the lowering to amount to much
rather extensive pumping would be -necessary, and to accomplish this
a cheap power must be had. This lowering of the water table would
have the same effect as drainage and would permit the reclamation of
alkali land.

During the winter months the level of standing water falls, the aver-
age depth being from 6 to 10 feet and in some places even more. This
level is manifestly lower than could be obtained by any drainage scheme
and if maintained would obviate the necessity for artificial drainage.
A great deal could be done towards alkali land reclamation in the
winter months by pumping from wells and keeping the land flooded.
In this way the alkali which is at the surface would be washed into and
distributed through the subsoil. This process, of course, would not get
rid of the alkali, for it still remains in the subsoil and heavy flooding
every few years would be necessary to keep it down.

These are some of the practical suggestions offered for the reclama-
tion of alkali land, but none of them is as feasible and as economical
as the method proposed and demonstrated by the Bureau of Soils, and
none of them guarantees a permanent reclamation. The only way to
permanently rid the Fresno district of alkali and seepage water is by
underdrainage.

It was necessary in the reclamation of the Toft-Hansen tract to. effect
drainage by pumping, but fortunately in the area at large there is no
necessity for pumping, since, with the exception of very small areas, all
land tributary to the district under consideration can be drained by
gravity. While the cost of pumping water has been very much reduced
in recent years and pumping plants are being used in irrigation and
drainage, the experience gained by the Bureau's field parties and the
facts brought out by a study of pumping plants for drainage at home
and abroad are strongly opposed to the use of such plants when it is
possible, without too great outlay, to carry off the water by gravity.
The conditions around Fresno are exceptionally favorable for a gravity
system.

Having determined that a gravity system is feasible, the next step is
to (hid out how such a system can best be operated, whether through
the use of open or closed drains. Open drains of the proper depth for

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main, primary, and seconclaiy drains in the Fresno district would have
to be dug largely below the level of standing water in what is frequently
a quicksand. Such drains, if they are to stand, would have to be boxed
in at the bottom and sides and made very wide at the top. The plan
has been proposed of placing these drains along the county roads run-
ning east and west. There is not always room in these roads to permit
a 20- foot ditch being dug without encroaching on private property ;
hence over more than half the distance a right of way would have to lie
purchased. The building of bridges and the necessity for annual clean-
ing are items of expense to be included in the cost of open drains. A
comparison of the original cost of open and of tile drains is given below.
The estimates of open drains are based upon prices of similar work
in other parts of the country and are, if anything, rather low. The cost
of tile draining should vary little from the estimate given.

Cost of open drains per mile.

Ditch 4 feet wide on botton, average depth 7 feet, slope 1 to 1 $2,257.00

Two road bridges at $75 each_- ]."><). (Ml

Four farm bridges at $50 each __ 200.00

Right of way, li acres at $150 per acre (half the area occupied by ditch) _ IS" .50

Total cost per mile 1 2,"!>l .:•(>

The cost of the tile drain per mile will vary from $1,000 for 6-inch, to
$4,000 for 24-inch tile. The average cost per mile will be about $2,440,
a figure below the estimated cost of open ditches. AVhen it is seen that
no estimate can be made for boxing the open ditches and when the
greater convenience of the tile is considered, it is obvious that the tile
are far cheaper and far more desirable.

A detailed study of the conditions existing in the district south of
Fresno at present most urgently in need of drainage has developed the
following plan, as the one most economical and practical: Parallel
lines of tile should be run through the district, following the maximum
slope of the ground in a general east and west direction, and at an
average distance of one-half mile apart. These lines begin with 6-inch
tile, and in the longest lines end with 24-inch tile, all laid at an aver-
age depth of 7 feet. The exact location of the lines, whether along the
roads or in the fields, will depend largely upon the surface conditions of
the soil. No attempt should be made to lay down perfectly straight
lines, for slight deviations from an east to west direction will frequently
be of great advantage. The tile are laid on a board bed to prevent
sinking in the soft subsoil, and at intervals of 500 feet redwood silt boxes
are placed with the bottom lj feet below the bottom of the tile for the
collection of sediment and debris. Each line of tile is supplied with a
one-quarter inch galvanized strand-wire rope so that a cleaning brush
can be drawn through two or three times a year to remove roots and
stir up sediment.

The water from these parallel drains will be collected in an open
ditch running in a southwesterly direction just west -of West Park.
This drainage ditch will have a fall of l£ to 3 feet per mile throughout
its course, dropping where necessary to keep the bottom below the
opening of the tile, and will deliver water at the surface of the ground
for irrigation south of the Southern Pacific Railroad, between Ormus
Station and McMullin.

Such a system could be built for a total cost not to exceed $10 an
aere, based upon a district 25,000 acres in extent.

A system of this sort will lower the water table to 5 feet and will not
allow it to rise above this level for more than a few days at any one
time. With water at 5 feet below the surface the spread of alkali
will cease and those lands only slightly damaged will be at once easily
reclaimed. Those tracts where alkali is now greatly accumulated it is
defined best to drain with additional lateral tile laid at from 4 to 4£
feet below the surface and 150 feet to 300 feet apart. Laid at a
depth of 4 feet and 200 feet apart, such drainage will cost about $16
per acre.

Land so tiled, even if badly alkaline, can be returned to profitable
cultivation in six months if heavily irrigated, and within one year can
be used for the production of any crop suited to the climate.

An bearing on the cost of tile drainage it may be mentioned that
through the efforts of the Bureau of Soils several deposits of good clay
have been located within convenient distances of Fresno and that tile-
making tests have been carried out. Excellent tile have been made
i-from these clays, and it is hoped that when their manufacture has fur-
ther developed prices much more in keeping with the cost of production
can be obtained on tile, especially when ordered in large quantities.
Fuel is cheaper than in the tile-making districts of the east, and the
cost of labor is about the same, so there is no reason why tile should
not be manufactured and sold at Fresno at very little if any advance,
for instance, over the prices asked in Illinois. The foregoing estimates
are, however, based upon prices 15 per cent above Illinois prices. We
have received assurances from responsible clay workers that if the prices
([noted by local firms are riot consistent with the value of the article, a
tile Factory will be built and tile sold at a fair profit.

The drainage system outlined above can reasonably be expected to
llou 30 cubic feet of water per second throughout the irrigating season,
wliieh, at the present value of water around Fresno, would be worth
$15,000. This water will be brought to the surface of the ground in a
district southwest of Fresno which only needs water to render it fertile.
There is a great deal of alkali land which could be reclaimed with this
water and made to produce valuable crops. The drainage water from
the Toft-Hansen tract has been repeatedly analyzed to determine its

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value for irrigation purposes. The following analyses show the com-
position of the water during three weeks when it was most concentrated'
Chemical analyses of drainage ivater from the Toft-Hansen reclamation tract.

Constituent.

May 9,
Sample
No. 9.

May 16,
Sample
No. 10.

May 23.
Sample
No. 11.

Ions:
Calcium (Ca) - -- -- -

Per cent.
3.57

Per cent.
3 58

Per cent.
5 36

Magnesium (Mg) - -.

3.64

3 76

1 "S

Sodium (Na) - - ..

20.49

19.72

15 47

Potassium (K) - ..

1.58

1 44

1 76

Sulphuric acid (So.i)

2i06

1 88

3 06

Chlorine (Cl)

9.62

9.69

10 73

Bicarbonic acid (HCO's)

51.82

54.79

59 34

Carbonic acid (CO-j)

7.22

5 14

Conventional combinations :
Calcium sulphate (CaSO-i)

2 88

2 63

i :;<;

Calcium chloride (CaCh>) -

7.56

2.63

11.17

Magnesium bicarbonate Mg (HCO;()2

21.94

22.68

25. ai

Potassium chloride (KC1)

3.03

2.76

8. SI

Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO-0

46 17

49 49

52 00

Sodium chloride (NaCl) ..- ..-

5.57

5.59

8.21

Sodium carbonate (Na->COa) ___ . _. ._

12.86

9.09

Total solids in 100 000 parts water

145.4

159.2

i:;n i;

Of the salts shown to be in the drainage water about three-fourth!
may be regarded as harmful. The remaining 25 per cent are princi-
pally salts of lime and magnesium, which would precipitate out by
evaporation as the water concentrates upon a field. Sodium carbonate
or black alkali, although the predominating salt found in the surface ol
the soil, is not present in any quantity in the drainage water. Sodium
carbonate has never been found in the drainage water as it comes from
the tile, but after the water stands and aerates this salt forms by the
decomposition of the sodium bicarbonate, so that though we have
removed large quantities of black alkali from the soil it has never
appeared as such in the drainage water. The explanation of this is
that the sodium carbonate or black alkali seldom exists as such except
in the first few inches of surface soil, and as soon as it is washed into
the soil it absorbs carbonic acid gas, with which the soil air is always
more strongly charged than is the atmospheric air, and forms the much
less harmful sodium bicarbonate.

Numerous examples can be given where waters of greater concentra-
tion than this drainage water are successfully used for irrigation, both
in the United States and in other countries, and it can be definitely
stated that water of this character can be used for irrigation upon any
soil where adequate underdrainage is maintained. If such water were
used upon poorly drained soil the inevitable result would be an accum- 1
ulation of alkali at the surface. The drainage water from the entire!

alkaline area will not be as concentrated, as that shown in the table
above ; on the contrary it will be much better for irrigation purposes.
These analyses are typical of what might be. the maximum quantity of
harmful salts, and moreover represent a condition which can exist but a
few months at the most, when the drains are first installed.

The reclamation work on the Toft-Hansen tract has progressed so far
that the most skeptical must be convinced that drainage and irrigation
will reclaim alkali lands. A district of nearly 26,000 acres is now suf-
fering more or less from alkali and seepage water, and it rests with the
owners of this land to form a drainage district under the act passed by
the last legislature of California, approved March 20, 1903. The forma-
tion of this district will allow the construction of a drainage system
which will result in the reclamation of all lands now alkaline and the
prevention of further damage from this source.

The system recommended, after over three years' study of the condi-
tions, consists of tile drains varying in size from 4 inches to 24 inches.
The main drain will be an open ditch collecting the water from the
parallel tile drains one-half mile apart. This main will deliver the
water at the surface of the ground in the district west of Fresno where
it can be used for irrigation. The main tile will be laid in approxi-
mately straight lines, increasing in size up to 24 inches in diameter.
On the fields badly charged by alkali further drainage by 4-inch,
5-inch, and 6-inch tile laterals may be necessary, but such fields are
comparatively few. The cost of this system, calculated on a basis of
20,000 to 26,000 acres, should not exceed $10 per acre. The work of
the Bureau of Soils legitimately ends with the demonstration now being
completed on the Toft-Hansen tract. • The formation of the district and
the building of drains and the reclamation of land will rest entirely with
the voters and the owners of the land.

THOMAS H. MEANS,
W. H. HEILEMAN.

Approved :

JAMES WILSON,

Secretary of Agriculture.

WASHINGTON, D. C., September 1, 1903.

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