Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

Thanks for the help!

On 19 Aug 2003 12:09:21 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

Thanks for the help!

I can't be bothered with non metric units, but think the problem as
simulating a rainfall of X 'inches of water', by way of dosing Y
'cubic feet' of irrigation water to the area in question. Once you've
solved that for Y, divide the cubic feet (Y) by the time in seconds
you want the irrigation to last, and you should have the necessary
flow rate.

On 19 Aug 2003 12:09:21 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

Thanks for the help!

I can't be bothered with non metric units, but think the problem as
simulating a rainfall of X 'inches of water', by way of dosing Y
'cubic feet' of irrigation water to the area in question. Once you've
solved that for Y, divide the cubic feet (Y) by the time in seconds
you want the irrigation to last, and you should have the necessary
flow rate.

On 19 Aug 2003 12:09:21 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

Thanks for the help!

I can't be bothered with non metric units, but think the problem as
simulating a rainfall of X 'inches of water', by way of dosing Y
'cubic feet' of irrigation water to the area in question. Once you've
solved that for Y, divide the cubic feet (Y) by the time in seconds
you want the irrigation to last, and you should have the necessary
flow rate.

"Scott" wrote in message
om...
Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

It doesn't convert. Inches of water is a depth reading and 1 dimensional
measure and a flow rate is a 3 dimensional measure.

Gordon

"Gordon Couger" wrote in message . ..
"Scott" wrote in message
om...
Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

It doesn't convert. Inches of water is a depth reading and 1 dimensional
measure and a flow rate is a 3 dimensional measure.

Gordon

I realize that. That is the problem...

I own 100 shares in my irrigation company and that corresponds to
100 "inches" of water. The ditch feeding my property holds "400 inches"
and I get the water 1/4 of the time. All of the farmers around me
talk in "inches" of water...

What I would like to know is how to convert the "inches of water"
into a flowrate. I am pretty sure that an inch of water refers
to an acre-inch, but I'm not sure what the measure of time is
(day, month, season, etc.)

Does anybody else flood irrigate with "inches of water" and know
how to convert this to a flow rate?

Thanks for the help!

p.s. I am located in Southeast Idaho if that helps

On 20 Aug 2003 13:12:59 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

"Gordon Couger" wrote in message . ..
"Scott" wrote in message
om...
Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

It doesn't convert. Inches of water is a depth reading and 1 dimensional
measure and a flow rate is a 3 dimensional measure.

Gordon

I realize that. That is the problem...

I own 100 shares in my irrigation company and that corresponds to
100 "inches" of water. The ditch feeding my property holds "400 inches"
and I get the water 1/4 of the time. All of the farmers around me
talk in "inches" of water...

What I would like to know is how to convert the "inches of water"
into a flowrate.

Perhaps what is meant is 'miner's inch'? Obsolete though it seems,
it is at least a flow unit.


I am pretty sure that an inch of water refers
to an acre-inch, but I'm not sure what the measure of time is
(day, month, season, etc.)

Does anybody else flood irrigate with "inches of water" and know
how to convert this to a flow rate?

Thanks for the help!

p.s. I am located in Southeast Idaho if that helps

"Torsten Brinch" wrote in message
...
On 20 Aug 2003 13:12:59 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

"Gordon Couger" wrote in message
. ..
"Scott" wrote in message
om...
Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

It doesn't convert. Inches of water is a depth reading and 1
dimensional
measure and a flow rate is a 3 dimensional measure.

Gordon

I realize that. That is the problem...

I own 100 shares in my irrigation company and that corresponds to
100 "inches" of water. The ditch feeding my property holds "400 inches"
and I get the water 1/4 of the time. All of the farmers around me
talk in "inches" of water...

What I would like to know is how to convert the "inches of water"
into a flowrate.

Perhaps what is meant is 'miner's inch'? Obsolete though it seems,
it is at least a flow unit.


I am pretty sure that an inch of water refers
to an acre-inch, but I'm not sure what the measure of time is
(day, month, season, etc.)

Does anybody else flood irrigate with "inches of water" and know
how to convert this to a flow rate?

Thanks for the help!

p.s. I am located in Southeast Idaho if that helps



I am familiar with Idaho in general and spent some time around Rupert when
the area was being transformed from wind blown brushland into lush truck
gardens and orchards in the late 50's and 60's. The BLM aided in the
clearing, leveling and drilling of large wells.

I thought that at one time inches of water referred to the measurement in
height of the water metered through the ditch weir. This would have been a
predetermined volume and regulated by the opening of a gate (pulling our the
boards). A bigger ditch (canal) would have a bigger weir with different
calculations.

Call your local water board or find an old ditch walker in the local pub and
ask him.

James Curts

"James Curts" wrote in message
news:kUV0b.160949$Oz4.43538@rwcrnsc54...

"Torsten Brinch" wrote in message
...
On 20 Aug 2003 13:12:59 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

"Gordon Couger" wrote in message
. ..
"Scott" wrote in message
om...
Can anybody familiar with flood irrigation tell me how to convert
"inches of water" to a flow rate? (e.g. cubic feet / second)

All of the water canals deal with "inches of water" and I'm
not exactly sure what this means. If I had to guess, I would
say acre inches per month.

It doesn't convert. Inches of water is a depth reading and 1
dimensional
measure and a flow rate is a 3 dimensional measure.

Gordon

I realize that. That is the problem...

I own 100 shares in my irrigation company and that corresponds to
100 "inches" of water. The ditch feeding my property holds "400
inches"
and I get the water 1/4 of the time. All of the farmers around me
talk in "inches" of water...

What I would like to know is how to convert the "inches of water"
into a flowrate.

Perhaps what is meant is 'miner's inch'? Obsolete though it seems,
it is at least a flow unit.


I am pretty sure that an inch of water refers
to an acre-inch, but I'm not sure what the measure of time is
(day, month, season, etc.)

Does anybody else flood irrigate with "inches of water" and know
how to convert this to a flow rate?

Thanks for the help!

p.s. I am located in Southeast Idaho if that helps



I am familiar with Idaho in general and spent some time around Rupert when
the area was being transformed from wind blown brushland into lush truck
gardens and orchards in the late 50's and 60's. The BLM aided in the
clearing, leveling and drilling of large wells.

I thought that at one time inches of water referred to the measurement in
height of the water metered through the ditch weir. This would have been a
predetermined volume and regulated by the opening of a gate (pulling our
the
boards). A bigger ditch (canal) would have a bigger weir with different
calculations.

Call your local water board or find an old ditch walker in the local pub
and
ask him.

James,

It could also mean acre inches although they are usualy referred to in acre
feet. In the case of an acre inch the amount of water it would take to cover
one acre an inch wiht no infiltration.

Wiht out knowing the rest of the measurement we don't know the measure.

I may rent land by the acre, vara, animal unit, cash for the field, cash for
the crop as it stands, cash for the land and only see it every 10 years of
so or I may make a crop lease where we share expenses of production and
sales. In one area they are pretty well standard in west Texas I have never
seen two rental agreement alike.

You have to give more information. That would be like saying I rent the farm
to someone for 30%. And what it doesn't list is I maintain the below ground
wells and putting the bleow ground the irrigation and he maintains it and
insures it. He handles little stuff on the maintenance and I help with big
stuff. I may or may not participate in cattle run on the pasture with
varying shares depending on who puts up how much of the money and who does
most of the work.

Inches have meaning to you not to us.


Gordon

On 20 Aug 2003 13:12:59 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

I own 100 shares in my irrigation company and that corresponds to
100 "inches" of water. The ditch feeding my property holds "400 inches"
and I get the water 1/4 of the time. All of the farmers around me
talk in "inches" of water...

What I would like to know is how to convert the "inches of water"
into a flowrate. I am pretty sure that an inch of water refers
to an acre-inch, but I'm not sure what the measure of time is
(day, month, season, etc.)

Does anybody else flood irrigate with "inches of water" and know
how to convert this to a flow rate?

Thanks for the help!

p.s. I am located in Southeast Idaho if that helps

Well, you say the ditch feeding your land is said to hold "400
inches", and you get your share by getting the water one fourth of
the time (your 100 inches). That certainly indicates that the '400
inches' is referring to a flow.

As I said previously, there is a flow unit called 'miner's inch',
and on check on Google, I found the expression 'miner's inches of
water' to be actually still used in USA. Perhaps in your area,
the 'miner's' bit has just been left out from that expression, in
colloquial language use? And, indeed in Idaho, Google says people may
use 'miner's inches' as a flow unit for irrigation rights.

Assuming that what you have is 100 miner's inches of water,
next step would be to convert that into a preferable unit of flow.
Anywhere else in the known universe that would be a metric unit,
but this is America.

Now, one should think a look up in a table of conversion factors
between US stupid nonmetric flow units should be enough to make the
conversion --- but again no, this is America, and the definition
of a miner's inch is of course not at all the same across the
country.

However, for Idaho, I found a publication from Idaho Department of
Water Resources saying:

"Cubic Foot Per Second (cfs). A rate of flow approximately equal to
four hundred forty-eight and eight-tenths (448.8) gallons per minute
and also equals fifty (50) Idaho miner's inches"

"Torsten Brinch" wrote in message
...
On 20 Aug 2003 13:12:59 -0700, (Scott) wrote:


However, for Idaho, I found a publication from Idaho Department of
Water Resources saying:

"Cubic Foot Per Second (cfs). A rate of flow approximately equal to
four hundred forty-eight and eight-tenths (448.8) gallons per minute
and also equals fifty (50) Idaho miner's inches"

looks like a miners inch is a pretty handy unit, 50 to the cubic foot per
second

Jim Webster

www.nalms.org/glossary/lkword_m.htm
Miner's inch

The rate of discharge through an orifice one inch square under a
specific head. An old term used in the western United States, now
seldom used except where irrigation or mining water rights are so
specified.

Equivalent to:

0.025 cfs in Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, Oregon

0.020 cfs in Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North and South
Dakota, Utah

0.026 cfs in Colorado

0.028 cfs in British Columbia

Torsten Brinch wrote in message . ..
On 20 Aug 2003 13:12:59 -0700, (Scott) wrote:

I own 100 shares in my irrigation company and that corresponds to
100 "inches" of water. The ditch feeding my property holds "400 inches"
and I get the water 1/4 of the time. All of the farmers around me
talk in "inches" of water...

What I would like to know is how to convert the "inches of water"
into a flowrate. I am pretty sure that an inch of water refers
to an acre-inch, but I'm not sure what the measure of time is
(day, month, season, etc.)

Does anybody else flood irrigate with "inches of water" and know
how to convert this to a flow rate?

Thanks for the help!

p.s. I am located in Southeast Idaho if that helps

Well, you say the ditch feeding your land is said to hold "400
inches", and you get your share by getting the water one fourth of
the time (your 100 inches). That certainly indicates that the '400
inches' is referring to a flow.

As I said previously, there is a flow unit called 'miner's inch',
and on check on Google, I found the expression 'miner's inches of
water' to be actually still used in USA. Perhaps in your area,
the 'miner's' bit has just been left out from that expression, in
colloquial language use? And, indeed in Idaho, Google says people may
use 'miner's inches' as a flow unit for irrigation rights.

Assuming that what you have is 100 miner's inches of water,
next step would be to convert that into a preferable unit of flow.
Anywhere else in the known universe that would be a metric unit,
but this is America.

Now, one should think a look up in a table of conversion factors
between US stupid nonmetric flow units should be enough to make the
conversion --- but again no, this is America, and the definition
of a miner's inch is of course not at all the same across the
country.

However, for Idaho, I found a publication from Idaho Department of
Water Resources saying:

"Cubic Foot Per Second (cfs). A rate of flow approximately equal to
four hundred forty-eight and eight-tenths (448.8) gallons per minute
and also equals fifty (50) Idaho miner's inches"


It looks like the miner's inch is what I am looking for.

Thanks for the help!

-Scott