The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-05-04
ENGINEERS DIS
cUss FEASIBILITY OF PRO-
POSED UNDERTAKING
Is Believed That Development Will Be
Delayed by Legislation Over the
Water Rights.

The feasibility of undertaking a rec
Yakima river, Washington, was the
matter to which the board of consult
ing engineers that recently me in North
Yakima, devoted most of their atten-
ton, says W. w. German, the Wash
irgton correspondent of the Seattle
Times.
Soon after the passage of the recla-
nation act the citizens and owners Of
land in that portion Of the Yakima CAL
ley known as the Cowiche Basin pc.
tiontioned the secretary of the interior
tc investigate the practicability of ir
rigating their lands from the Tieton
rived. A preliminary investigation was
made in the spring of 1903 by the res
ident engineer, who reported that un-
less a storage reservoir was found on
the Tieton ricer these lands could not
be irrigated, as practically the entire
flow of water had be appropriated. In
this report the necessity of settling all
the conflicting water rights before any
irrigation project, either public or pri-
vate could be constructed, was point
ed out. Any project involving the ad-
ditional use of water from the Yakima
or Nacnes rivers should have to depend
upon the storage of water. 1t was i'm
portant therefore, that the water rights
of the several appropriations of the
water should be definitely determined
but unfortunately few court DEGREES
defining existing water right have been
issued.
No Suffering.
Up to the present time there has been
no actual suffering from lack of wa
ter, but litigation between the various
appropriations from the rivers, has
been threatened, and different ditch
companies realize that they are on the
verge Of a legal warfare, the result Of
which cannot be foretold. The situa-
ton is particularly unfortunate, as
very large area of new land could be
readily irrigated from extensions Of che
several existing canals. There are also
large bodies of land that could be cas-
lily irrigated from new bitches. Addi-
tional water for irrigating all of these
lands could be obtained by storage, if
the present conflicting rights to the use
OF the water were limited and defined.
AS the beds of these rivers would
have to be used for conveying stored
water, and there would be no means
Of separating the stored water from
the natural flow of the stream, it is
thought that the adjudication of the ex-
listing rights is necessary before any
large irrigation project can be devel-
ored. Realizing this, the reclamation
service began, in the spring of 1904, a
series of exhaustive measurements of
the flow of these two streams, and the
canals taking water from them. AS a
result of this work the quantity of hhe
water discharged by the Yakima river
and it's principal tributaries at all con-
trolling points and by the principal ca
| nails during the irrigation season of
1904 is now definitely known. Included
in this work were a number of caluab1e
seepage tests of the Sunnyside and
Kennewick canals.
Use of the River Water
In consequence of these measure
ments all those who are now taking
| water out of the Yakima river are at
| tempting to get contract signed de-
| fning their existing rights to the use
Of the water from these rivers. Their
| action is in anticipation of the con-
struction of a project in the Yakima
valley by the government to develop
| the storage at the l1eadwaters of the
Yakima valley to the maximum eco
nomic capacity
| There must necessarily be an adjust
men of existing water rights and a
statement of the lands to which they
are appurtenant, so that the prior right
may be definitely determined when
| ever an emergency may arise for as
serting it. These agreements are prop
erly preliminary to the organization of
a water users association for the pur-
pose of defining individual water rights
subject to acceptance by the reclama-
ton service. For the proper settlement
Of all conflicts, int agreements as to
| water rights so made should become
| fixed by a decree of the courts. This
can be obtained when the water users
association has organized.
The Yakima valley is divided into
| three sections, separated by ranges of
mountains. Each section has a sepa-
rate county organization and the bus
| iness interests of the several sections
are more or less opposed to one an
other.
| No Additional Water.