The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-10-28
1.vmaker Hears Plans for Ex-
tension of Sunnyside Canal
to Kennewick Lands
WANTS FULL INFORMATION
Y...l Business Men Put Forth Effort
10 Secure Survey of Lands
This Side Of Yakima River

II 8 Senator Miles Poindexter spent
saturday afternoon and Sunday In
Ysnnewick visiting friends and talk
;rc over matters of legislative interest
- the people of this part of the state.
The senator just dropped in unan-
rounced while on his way to Spokane
from the fair at White Salmon where
he was speaker.
A number Of Kennewick business
,uen took advantage of the senator's
rnexuected visit to acquaint him with
,hs p]ans for extending the Sunnyside
canal to irrigate about 10000 acres
= land tributary to Kennewick on this
side Of the Yakima river. The sena-
a. showed marked interest in the pro-
nosition and asked that he and the
other members of Washington's dele
cation in congress be furnished with
det,iled information and data con-
cerning the proposed project.
Rides in Country
The matter was explained to the
senator at an impromptu meeting In
the Commercial club rooms Saturday
evening and the following morning
bs WAS taken for an automobile ride
through the valley and over the High
lands that be might see the character
Of the lands to be irrigated. He ex-
pressed himself as very favorably i'm
pressed with what he saw and prom
ised to use his best efforts to secure
q survey for the proposed extension.
The plan as outlined to Senator
Poindextsr by Chairman j. ]. Rudkin,
Of the irrigation committee of the
Commercial club, calls for an extern
sion Of the Sunnyside canal from a
point between Prosser and Benton
City where it will be syphoned across
the Yakima river. Such an extension
would irrigate by gravity practically
all Of the unimproved lands between
Kiona and Hover at an elevation about
$50 feet above the highest lift on the
Highlands.
To Enlarge Canal
This would necessitate the enlarge
ment and concreting of about so miles
Of the present Sunnyside canal, part
Of the cost Of which should be borne
BY the territory now irrigated from
the canal as it would materially de-
crease the annual maintenance
expense and do much toward solving
the drainage problem which is great
y aggravated by seepage from the
canal.
1t was impressed upon the senator
that this is not a new project but in
reality part Of the original Yakima
project as outlined by the government.
The original plans, however, called
icr the irrigation of about 100000
acres in the Columbia valley on both
sides of the Yakima from canal to
be taken from the Yakima near Pros
ser. This was known in the original
plan as the Benton unit, one of the
f1ve units of the Yakima project.
Some of the superior features
claimed for this project are it is not
Isolated, but is surrounded on all
ndes by improved and productive ter
rltory; the lands are among the most
fertile in the Northwest; every part
OF the project is tributary to excellent
transportation facilities; practically
al OF the lands are either government
lands which have been withdrawn
rom entry or owned by the Northern
facific railroad company which is will
ing to give title to bona fide settlers
at a nominal price; preliminary inves-
''saSons indicate that the per-acre
Soss OF irrigation will be low; and q
considerable percentage of the acre.
age could have been irrigated from
"a me water appropriations which ths
northern Pacific Irrigation company
ssennquished to the government with
Ine understanding that these lands
we're to be included in the Yakima
project.
Survey Recommended
inis extension had the endorsement
I. 4 NJ. Swigart, former supervisor ol
'as Yakima project and the last recla'