The Oroville weekly gazette. [volume] (Oroville, Wash.) 1905-19??, 1922-04-28
AID OF THE LATE J. J. HILL MADE
POSSIBLE SALE OF BONDS AND
BUILDING OF THE SYSTEM IN
THIS VALLEY.

(By Earnest Riste, Secretary o. V.
". 4. District.)
1his irrigation district is an exam
pie OF the growth of an idea. Inc first
conception was small area OF a lew
hundred acres, and the idea almost
stopped growing when it reached
i,oUU acres, but so fertile was the soil,
and SO favorable the climate, that even
an idea could not be stunted, and the
ma XiInum development was reached in
zen thousand acres.
A lew farmers conceived the plan
of working together in putting in
pumping plant to irrigate some three
dundred acres of bench land. This had
oeen done elsewhere in this section,
and good orchards were growing. 1t
had been done, however, by individuals
and this plan was neighDorhood
plan. AS usual when a good plan starts
others become interested. and very
;oon nearly all the farmers and town.
people of OrOville became deeply in
crested This was in the summer of
1911.
BY October of 1911, the idea of
.arge irrigation project to include all
the irrigable land on both sides of the
Okanogan river had taken definite
form, and it was agreed that an old
unused statute of the state should be
invoked, and a state irrigation district
organized.
At that time irrigation districts in
he state had not been successful in
heir operations. One or two had been
tried out without result California had
,een able to carry on successfully un-
Ter their irrigation code, and it was
The conclusion of the committee hav-
ing the irrigation project in hand that
he law could be made to work out in
practical and successful manner.
Two districts were formed; one on
The east side and one on the west
side of the Okanogan river and named
respectively the East and the West
okanogan Valley Irrigation districts
Organization was completed early in
1912.
First survey costs were borne by
local subscriptions and the interest
and assistance of the immigration de
partment of the Great Northern r. r.
company was secured. and their en-
sineers examined and reported favor
ably in 1913
The project had the approval of En-
;ineer Wiley of Boise, Idaho; Marvin
hnc OF % h, -
Washington and d. C. Henry, consult
ing engineer of the U. s. Reclamation
service
Through the assistance given by the
officials of the G. N. r. r. company
he project was financed in 1915, the
result of the active interest Of the late
J. J. Hill. A Guthrie & Co., were the
contractors, and D. C. Henry the con-
sulting engineer. John c. Stevens of
Portland was engineer in charge. The
project was completed early in 1916,
at total cost of 100000; twenty
year bonds at 6 per cent being issued
Since its construction, some i'm
provements have been made. the total
outstanding bonds at this time being
s643. 900 the additional bonds being 40
year bonds.
The project is gravity system. de-
livering water to each forty acres. The
above cost includes the construction of
laterals to each forty acres, and the
District delivers water through and
maintains these laterals. An abundant
supply of water. with no question as
to rights, insures for all time an ade-
luate supply.
The bonds of the district are all held
in trust by the Northwestern Trust
company of st. Paul, MINI. Payments
extend to 1860 but it is the intention
Of the management to take advantage
Of any opportunity at any time to re-
fund the Indebtedness. IL it is found
TO the advantage of the land owners.
The project supplied over three acre
feet per acre in 1921 and no project in
the Northwest offers better opportun-
tiles for rapid development than does
the West Okanogan Valley Irrigation
district.