Ground water for irrigation in the Viking Basin, west-central Minnesota

The Viking Basin consists of six glacial outwash areas in Douglas, Ottertail, and Todd Counties, west-central Minnesota. Total area is 340 square miles (880 square kilometres). Soils are sandy and excessively well-drained. Crops grown on the outwash would benefit from supplemental irrigation. Irrigation supplies can be obtained from wells in the surface outwash aquifer in significant parts of the large outwash areas near Carlos and Parkers Prairie and the small outwash area near Clotho. Irrigation supplies are unlikely in the outwash areas near Alexandria, Urbank, and Rose City. Major use of ground water for irrigation may lower ground-water levels sufficiently to affect lake and marsh levels and streamflow out of the irrigation areas. Water from the outwash is of excellent chemical quality for irrigation.