The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1926-10-14
TO CONSIDER
DRAIN DITCH
Land Owners Asked to
Meet Saturday at the
Commercial Club


called by the directors of Columbia
Irrigation District at the Com
mercial club rooms on Saturday
afternoon, October 10th at 2 p.
m. The meeting has been called
to discuss seepage and drainage
problems, particularly on the Fin
ley drain of Dist. No. 6.
w. c. Muldrow, manager of the
irrigation district presents the
problem to be discussed and set
tied at this meeting as follows:
1t has been proposed for some
time that it would be to the inter
est of the irrigation district to
take up this problem as a general
district matter and carry out the
necessary work to bring about the
reclamation of the lands still dam
aged by seepage in the valley. It
is to bring out all possible light
on this subject and to get the thot
of the land owners Of the district,
that the directors have called this
In order to place the matter be-
fore the people, the following
statement of facts has been pre-
pared:
Drainage district No. 6 was first
organized many years ago, and a
warrant issue was authorized for
building bitches along the present
lines and on certain grades. The
work done at that time did not
carry the ditch bottom entirely
down to the grades adopted, but
a large part of the land affected
was reclaimed. For some years no
levies were made by the district,
but work was done on a voluntary
basis. Four years ago survey
showed that there were still sew
eral spots between the outlet at
Columbia river and the S. p. & S.
that were Is inches to two feet
high and the culvert under that
railroad was 1S inches too high.
Each year some of this has been
cut down and last spring a 36-in.
culvert was placed under the rail-
road at proper grade. This held
the water above the railroad this
season about 18 inches lower than
heretofore, and its influence ex-
tended even to the ponds on the
two branch drains, tho these were
not entirely lowered to present es-
tablished grades.
That is the present situation.
The drainage district has, as fast
as it was able, finished its pres
ent system to the lines and grades
authorized by its landowners. That
system has not, and evidently will
not, reclaim all the land it was
designed to serve. There are still
$50 acres of land too wet to farm,
in the two main bodies aroound
the S. p. & S. crossing and around
the old Kennewick pond, in touch
with the present bitches. There
are also number of smaller scat
tered areas like that on the main
road a mile west of the S. p. e. S.
culvert, in addition to the group
of wet spots in the parallel valley
below the irrigation canal.
Considering the main damaged
area, which touches the present
drain bitches, in addition to the
$50 acres now classed as wet land
and so relieved of most of its ir-
rigation assessments, there is at
least so or go acres more that is
damaged more or less by the high
water-table and is unable to raise
full crops. Eighty acres of this
area has passed to the irrigation
district or the county, and pays
no assessments at all. It is prob
able that about 80 acres more will
do so in another year or SO. The
drainage district is now losing
$1117 a year that it should get
if these lands in this main body
were all cleaned up so that they
could be restored to full assess
ment and could be made to pay. In
a year or two, if nothingIs done,
this will probably increase to $500
a year or more. These lands are
practically all good lands, most
of them have been in cultivation
and are easily put back. Those
who know them we'll feel tha.
they would be.
Benton county is factor in the
problem, as the county is losin:
in taxes just as the irrigation dis
trict is losing in assessments.
about $500 a year on this main
Continued on page 81