The Cross Section, Volume 26, Number 9, September 1980 Page: 1
This periodical is part of the collection entitled: Texas State Publications and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
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_1111111111illillj S E III111Published monthly by High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1, 2930 Avenue Q, Lu
Volume 26-No. 9 Publication number USPS 564-920, Second Class Postage paid at Lubbo
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WATER WHIZZ KIDS: Levelland students in Mary Beth Barton's Junior High earth
science classes compete for first prize in a water conservation T-shirt contest after
studying with the district's water text this spring.MA 1
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ck, Texas September, 1980
Moisture sensors monitor
WHERE CROP WATER GOES
In Bailey County where just three
years ago virtually nobody used soil
moisture monitors, Texas Agricultural
Extension Service County Agent Spen-
cer Tanksley estimates today about a
third of the county's irrigators use
them. It happened this way.
Tanksley, who has been the agent in
Bailey County for about eight years
now, got interested in tensiometers
back in 1976 when he says he tried his
first field demonstration project. With
the help of Leon New, TAES area irri-
gation specialist, he installed a totally
automated electric irrigation system forTEENS DEVELOP WATER AWARENESS
WATER FOLLIES: "a soak opera"
cycle and the importance of conserv-
ing our natural resources. It empha-
sizes the need for conservation and the
problems of cleaning up water pollu-
tion. Beautifully photographed, it is
suitable for junior high or high school
science students: MP 55 108 in Lub-
bock, and MP 02 4302 in Amarillo.
continued on page 3 ... FILMSJohn Young using two sets of soil mois-
ture monitors to control waterings.
Sensors set at the 15 and 18 inch soil
depth were each wired to start or stop
the wells' electric motors and the cen-
ter pivot sprinkler after soil moisture
was decreased or increased to a pre-
determined level of 40 centibars. That
year's demonstration returned John
Young 8,250 pounds of corn per acre,
enough to convince him to repeat the
tensiometer demonstration program for
several more years.
By 1977 Tanksley had convinced
Calvin Meissner to install a tensiometer
at the 24 inch depth in half his row
watered corn and water every other
row whenever the instrument read at
50 centibars. Calvin watered the rests
of his corn every other row on a ten
to fourteen day schedule. Calvin's corn
yields were 11,006 lbs. per acre from
the tensiometer monitored field and
only 10,280 lbs. for the rest of the field;
a 725 pound difference. That con-
vinced him. The first thing he had
observed was that the tensiometer told
him to water way before it looked like
he needed to.
"The top looked wet," says Calvin,
"but the tensiometers said the root
zone was dry, and if I had waited till
the top dried out I would have put the
corn in stress." He discovered that his
10 to 14 day irrigation schedule did not
necessarily get water to the crop when
it needed it.
In 1979 Calvin installed his tensio-
meters in the middle third of his row
where he says it gets driest the soonest.
This time his corn yield from the same
demonstration methods was 12,000 lbs.
continued on page 4... WATER SENSORSNow every school district in the High
Plains Water District service area has
requested classroom sets of the dis-
trict's water textbook, An Introduction
to Water and Water Conservation with
Emphasis on the High Plains of Texas.
Science coordina-
tors and teachers
contacted in all 50
area school districts
say they are already
1 using or have plans
- 4 to use the text as a
curriculum supple-
ment with their
seventh, eighth or
ninth grade earth
science and life
science students during the 1980-81
school year. Amarillo ISD science co-
ordinator Jim Reynolds reports that
every seventh grade teacher used the
textbook in their science class last
school year, and that this year water
and water conservation have been
incorporated into the scope and
sequencing of their seventh grade earth
science course. He requested addi-
tional copies this semester to replace
lost or worn out books and to supply
enough classroom sets for Amarillo's
present seventh grade enrollment of
1,900 plus science students.
In all, over five thousand texts have
been distributed to teachers in 15
counties since January, 1980. Texas
requires every child to study earth
science in his seventh, eighth or ninth
school year. Introducing the water text
at either of these grade levels ensures
each and every child an opportunity to
learn more about water than just the
bare facts. They can learn to recognize
the unique characteristics of this area'swater resource, to relate the hydrologic
cycle to their own environment, and to
realize the special importance of the
Ogallala Aquifer to the whole nation.
These youngsters are a captive audi-
ence of eager learners ready to build
water saving habits. We hope the use
of these text books will capitalize on
that readiness.
In addition to the text books, the
water district developed a teacher's
guide of quick and ready quizzes,
puzzles and activities for teachers to
supplement their classroom study. Ap-
proximately one teacher's guide for
each set of 30 classroom texts is pro-
vided. Also included in the guide is
an order form to obtain a set of color
maps from the district, a page of sug-
gestions for local water topic speakers,
and a list of water conservation/educa-
tion films available to the teachers
through their regional Educational Ser-
vice Centers.
Three different films were selected
for use by the teachers as an additional
audio-visual aid in teaching their stu-
dents about water and water conserva-
tion. These films and their Educational
Service Center loan numbers are:
Water Follies, a 16mm seven minute
cartoon in full animated color. It
speaks in the universal language of
music and visual humor, and takes a
laughable look at a day in the life of
a water waster. The film compares
good and bad water use habits and
how easy it can be to save water. This
film is suitable for all ages: MP 55 110
in Lubbock, and MP 20 0731 in
Amarillo.
Ground Water: America's Buried
Treasure is a 20 minute 16mm color
film which describes the hydrologic-'r :. , A,
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A DANDY TOOL: apenuer ranksiey is encouraging irrigators like Calvin Meissner to
gain first hand experience with tensiometers.
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High Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. 1 (Tex.). The Cross Section, Volume 26, Number 9, September 1980, periodical, September 1980; Lubbock, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1533066/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.