The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-01-20
MORE WATER AT
REDUCED RATE,
HANFORD'S PLEA
Yrn.Riyer Waterusers Say They
Cannot Continue Under the
Present Irrigation Charges
CASE HEARD BY COMMISSION
n.f.rdant Companies Introduce Fig
,-ss to Show That Present Rate
is Unremunerative

For three days this week the state
public Service commission, holding
..ssions in the Commercial club rooms
n this city, heard testimony in a case,
-. fnal outcome of which may have
v;tal bearing upon every privately
owned irrigation system in the state.
Tho case which came before the COM
,,;ee;on was that of the waterusers
under the old Hanford Irrigation &
Power company's project against the
Rlack Rock Irrigation & Power COM
,.nv and the Consumers Ditch COM
pany.
The objects sought by the COM
nl.inants in bringing the action is to
SECURE relief from an annual irriga-
t;on maintenance charge Of 81 per
are and to have the water allowance
Increased from 80 inches to 48 inches
. year.
The old Hanford Irrigation & Power
company sold the lands upon which
The complainants now live and con-
tracted to furnish 32 inches Of water
Il an annual maintenance charge Of
3t.5Qto $500 per acre until May, 1913
after which time the water was to be
furnished at such a charge as the COM
psny considered reasonable. The hold
hss Of the Hanford company were
purchased at receivers sale by H. j.
7. Lyons, of Denver, Colorado and Ia
tsr three companies were organized
and the original holdings Of the Han
ford company sold to them.
The Black Rock Irrigation & Power
company took over the pumping plant,
the transmission lines, power plant,
power site and rights at Priest Rap
ids. To the Consumers Ditch COM
pany was transferred the canal and
irrigation distribution system. The
Agathon Land company became the
owners of all of the Hanford COM
pany's land both below and above the
canal together with the bills receiv-
able and the delinquent maintenance
charges.
Last year the annual maintenance
charge was raised to 81 per acre and
IN defense of this charge the defend
ant companies claim they have a right
% ask that the cost of maintenance
nd operation of the system be borne
oy the lands now holding water rights
being about 3,7OO acres. Reports of
engineers introduced at the hearing
giving reproduction costs, operating
expenses, ETC., show that if the COM
pany should charge an annual rate
sufficient to cover annual operation
and maintenance, depreciation, taxes,
etc., the charge would be about SIS per
year. In case the commission should
order an increase in the contract al
iowance from 80 to 48 inches a year
the companies on the same basis
would be entitled to make a charge OF
about $50 per acre per year.
The waterusers claim that to sue.
cessfully grow their crops 4S inches
OF water instead of 32 are necessary
and that any annual charge in exces:
>of "a is prohibitive. They further
claim that when they purchased theil
lands they had the right to believ,
'nat the entire project would be de
Veioped and that the annual cost o.
operation and maintenance would b'
distributed over the entire acreag'
instead Of the comparatively small
acreage now under cultivation. Tn
original holdings of the Hanford com
paAy included 10000 acres, some be
Continued on page eight