The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1915-04-01
Big SYSTEM
COMPLETED
CONTRACTORS FINISH DITCH WORK
East Fork Irrigation District, with Main
Canal and LateralS Widened, will
Serve Big Area

Mount Hood enhances the value of
the land within large area around its
hoary peak, not only on account of the
scenery afforded the eye of wonder low
ing man, but because of its never fail
ing source of water supply. On every
side of the great snow mountain men
have harnessed the streams that have
their beginning in its snow and gla-
ciers, and they are made to turn the
wheels Of manufactures and water fer
tile fields.
On the north side of Mount Hood the
largest irrigation project is found in
the Hood River valley-the large sys-
TEN of the East Fork Irrigation dis
triet, furnishing water to $4,000 acres
of valuable orchard land. A plumber of
tracts Of this land are held at prices in
excess of $1,000 an acre, and the value
TO great extent is made by availability
of plenty of water.
Without the adequate irrigation sys-
TEN, says c. Dethman. who owns an
East Side orchard under the big ditch,
IL would not consider the land half as
valuable" "
Five years ago, when for the most
part the orchards were young and clean
cultivation was practiced, many grow
ers were of the opinion that water was
not needed for orchards. As the trees
grow older and the roots penetrate the
earth, when the need or leguminous
cover crops to replace nitrogen in the
soil is found, it has been found that
water is a necessity for successful orch
arding. The irrigation system now
controlled by the East Fork Irrigation
district, was begun in 1897 by G. X.
Bone. lie completed the construction
of the system in 1901. In 1907 MIR.
Bone sold the irrigation sytsem to a CO.
operative organization of East Side
ranchers, known as the East Fork Irri-
cation Co.
The company, furnishing water to its
stockholders, operated the big ditch
until 1918, when the land owners in the
1900 acre area voted TO form an irri-
cation district. During the year 1918
the property of the cooperative organ
ization was leased by the District,
Last year, however, it was bought out
right.
A bond issue of sl75, 900 was voted.
All of the bonds have been sold. On
account of financial stringency, due to
the European war, these bonds were
offered at very poor time, and finding
that it would be impossible to dipose of
them to bond brokers, the larger por-
tion of the issue was sold to local peo-
pile, many of the owners of large tracts
of East Side land taking blocks of the
securities.
When the ditch was taken over last
year it was decided to increase its ca
pacity and to facilitate the service by
the installation of pipe lines. Fourteen
miles of pipe line were laid last year,
and at the present time great portion
of the orchard district is under pres
sure. Coming from the headquarters of
the East Fork of Hood river, the water
is pure, and it is used for domestic pur-
poses by many families.
Andrus & Bode, Portland contractors,
who last fall were awarded the contract
for widening the main channel of the
system, which is seven miles long, have
completed their task. The big canal
has a capacity of 1000 miners inches.
The aggregate length of the three main
laterals of the system is 40 miles. The
total length of the minor laterals and
distributing fumes is over 1000 miles.
In addition to the increase in capaci-
ty of the main canal. the largest of the
main laterals has been widened. The
first of the year the contract for this
work was awarded to Mr.. Bone, the
original builder of the ditch. MIR. Bone
andEhis subcontractors will finish their
work this week.
The main canal of the irrigation sys-
TEN is l6 feet in width. The largest of
the three main laterals is eight feet in
width. 1t winds around Booth hill, the
big barrier between the Upper and
Lower Hood River valleys, with fall
of foot to every thousand feet. On
account of the topography of the coun-
try, at certain points on the big ditch
where it winds around curve, it ap-
pears to the eye of one inspecting the
system that there is very perceptible
grade instead of a fall, and visitors
often will not believe that grade ex-
lists until they are shown so by means
of level. In the summer, when the
ditch is full of water. it seems that
the stream is flowing swiftly up hill.
The entire big irrigation system is
dry now, but before there is need for
the water, the bitches will be flowing
bank full, and this summer its mois-
ture will cause to thrive flower and
vegetable gardens and waving fields
of clover, alfalfa and grain in all parts
of the $4,000 acres lying within the
II l. a Al