The term “seepage water” is used by the irrigators of the West to designate the water which reaches the lowest grounds or the stream channels, swelling the latter by imperceptible degrees and keeping up the flow long after the rains have ceased and the snow has melted. The word “seepage” is applied particularly to the water which begins to appear in spots below irrigation canals and cultivated fields, usually some months or even years after irrigation has been introduced, and which tends to convert the lowlands into marshes and gives rise to springs, which in turn may be employed in watering other fields.
The importance of a thorough knowledge of the behavior of seepage water is obvious when consideration is given to the close relationship which exists between the available water supply and the material prosperity of the arid region where irrigation is practiced. This is particularly true of Utah, where every readily available source of supply has long since been utilized and where the rapidly increasing agricultural population necessitates the complete utilization of all fresh waters.
