The Cross Section, Volume 17, Number 6, June 1971 Page: 1
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r ew rrw _w -_ ewrwr .nenw .wwxee.r rw w_ w- 4- w wr w rw _ >"A Monthly Publication of the High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1
Volume 17--No. 6 "THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR WATER"
fr
ALBERT W. SECHRIST
Sechri'st Appointed To
Groundwater Committee
The American Society of Agricul-
tural Engineers has recently sent con-
gratulations to Albert Sechrist on his
appointment to the Groundwater
Committee of the ASAE. Mr. Se-
christ, who is a graduate engineer for
the High Plains Underground Water
Conservation District No. 1, has been
a member of ASAE for the past seven
year. He has been appointed to a
three-year term beginning July 1,
1971. Currently there are eleven
members from across the United
States on this Groundwater Commit-
tee. C. E. Nuzman is the present
chairman and D. C. Signor is the vice-
chairman.
Besides promoting technical ses-
sions on groundwater studies and arti-
ficial recharge, the Committee objec-
tives include providing a source for
publications, along with serving as a
clearing house for the exchange of
ideas, standardization of terminology,AN OPEN LETTER TO THE RESIDENTS OF HIGH PLAINS:
As a Field Representative for the High Plains Water District, one of
my duties is to see that wells are properly covered. During the past month
or so it seems to me that I have noticed more open wells than I have in
the past. Having two small children of my own, open wells are a problem
which I take quite seriously.
Open holes (usually abandoned wells) are potential killers which many
landowners or lessees are not even aware of. Others who are aware of open
holes on their property appear to disregard the situation as a possible hazard.
Many of the open and uncovered wells that I have seen lately were close
to well traveled roads or were fairly close to places where people were
living. There have been several recent occasions when I have noticed that
there were children playing in close proximity to an open or uncovered well.
With summer here, the children have more time to explore around such
wells.
Most of these open holes are ten, eighteen, or thirty-six inches in diam-
eter. Many have had weeds grow up around them and are hidden from
view until a person is right upon one (hopefully not in one). Quite a few
of these wells are improperly covered and this also creates the possibility of
an accident. I have seen thin sheets of tin merely laid over a hole, and the
tin would not be able to support the weight of a child, let alone a man. I
have also seen old tires thrown over wells, rusted out buckets placed over
them, and rotten pieces of wood merely placed over a well.
I am sure that no one would want to be responsible for the tragedy
of a child, or adult for that matter, falling into an abandoned well. Even if
the indivdual could be recovered safely from one of these wells, it would
have invited many hours of agony on the family's part. It is extremely im-
portant to find time to close any abandoned well that may exist on your
property. What I am trying to say is that before we all read in the head-
lines about a child falling into an open abandoned well we should get them
closed, and now. In other words, lock the barn door before the horse gets
out and not after. REMEMBER! The time to close abandoned wells is
yesterday.
Sincerely,
Dan Seale
Field Representative,
High Plains Water District
EDITOR'S NOTE:
In addition to the possibility of a tragedy occuring, which Mr. Seale pointed
out, it should be also illustrated that open and improperly covered wells are an
extremely good conduit for potential pollution of the underground aquifier.
Everyone appears to be quite ecology minded these days and very concerned
with water quality. The quality of water in the Ogallala Formation would
generally be considered excellent. To maintain this condition of excellentEditorial By
Rayner Appears
In "Ground Water"
"Holes in our environment" was
the title for the guest editorial which
Frank A. Rayner, manager of the
High Plains Underground Water Con-
servation District No. 1, recently had
published in Ground Water. The
May-June, 1971 issue is the issue of
Ground Water in which the editorial
appeared.
Ground Water is the journal of the
technical division of the National Wa-
ter Well Association. Jay Lehr is the
editor of Ground Water, and he invites
a guest editorial from a recognized
authority in the field of ground water
each issue. Mr. Rayner points out
that America is a nation of "causes"
and that one of the most recent and
widely accepted "causes" is that of
the environmental cause.
He then goes on to point out the
relationship of water well drillers and
the National Water Well Association
to this new cause and the fact that
they must take this new cause serious-
ly. He finalizes his editorial by stat-
ing "the material and fluids encount-
ered in a bore hole, the quality of well
construction and pollution control ad-
equacy of the well completion, are all
the 'business' of the well driller, how-
ever, wells penetrate the earth's crust,
forming conduits through a- part of our
environment, and the environment is
now considered to be held by the in-
dividual only in public trust."
California Consultants
Visit Lubbock DistrictJune, 1971
listings of active groundwater projects,
and the preparation and maintenance
of bibliographies of materials which
have been prepared in the field
of groundwater.
AVOID SPRINKLING
PUBLIC ROADS
In numerous areas of the High
Plains the most efficient, and in some
cases the only, way to irrigate is with
the use of sprinklers and sprinkler
systems. There are numerous types
of sprinklers to fit individual require-
ments and needs. Among others there
are: handmove, tow lines, giant sprink-
lers (boom), side or wheel roll, side-
move with and without trailer line,
center pivot self-propelled, straight
continued on page 2 . .. SPRINKLERSquality don't permit it to be damagd by leaving a well uncovered which might
then lead to a degradation of the underground water. There are both state
laws and district rules which specifically provide for the elimination of open
wells. The state law states that it "shall be unlawful for the owner or operator
of any well or system, as much as ten feet deep, and not less than ten inches
or more than six feet in diameter to fail to keep it entirely covered at all times
except when said well or cistern is in actual use by the owner or operator there-
of." State law also provides that "any person violating the provisions of this act
(Article 1721 V.C.S.) shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor and
be fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five hundred dollars."
Rule 6 of the Rules and Regulations of the High Plains Underground Water
Conservation District No. 1 provides that every owner or operator of land upon
which there is an open or uncovered well is required to close it or cap it perm-
anently with a covering capable of sustaining weight of not less than four hun-
dred pounds, except when it is in actual use. When the District discovers an
open or uncovered well or an improperly covered well it can serve written
notice upon the owner or operator that the well is in violation of the District's
rules and request that the owener or operator close or cap the well in accordance
with the rules. Where this is not done within ten days after the written notice
the District may go upon the land or have someone close or cap the well in
accordance with the rules and all expenditures of such closing shall constitute
a lein upon the land where the well is located (the lein shall not exceed the
sum of one hundred dollars for any single closing).Participants in the Tech-District
aquifer-modeling research project held
a planning and review meeting June
2-3, 1971 in the District's Lubbock of-
fice. The meeting was held to discuss
the present status of the research and
to discuss plans for conducting the re-
search in the coming months.
The Tech-District aquifer-model re-
search project is sponsored by a joint
research grant from the Office of Wa-
ter Resources Research (OWRR), U.
S. Department of Interior. It is anti-
cipated that the model when complet-
ed will be a useful tool to both research
and management of the groundwater
of the Ogallala aquifer.
Mr. Ernest M. Weber and Mr. J.
Russell Mount were invited to attend
the planning meeting as consultants.
--continued on page 2 . .. CONSULTANTSVolume 17-No. 6 "THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR WATER" 6
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High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (Tex.). The Cross Section, Volume 17, Number 6, June 1971, periodical, June 1971; Lubbock, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1532955/m1/1/?q=%22~1%22~1: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.