Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1935-10-17
BY James O'Sullivan, Secretary OF
Columbia Basin Commission

BY James OSullivan, Secretary OF
Columbia Basin Commission
For thousands of years, the Col
umbia River, with vast potential
ties for the development of power
irrigation and navigation, has
Crashed and Numbered its way use
lessly to the Pacific ocean. The
sheer power, swiftness and magni
tude Of the stream and it's loca
ton in "a deep rock walled gorge
have heretofore defied all plans
and efforts to subject it to practi-
cal use. Today, after years of en-
cheering research and experience
the United States, despite the UNI
precedented engineering problems
involved, is constructing at Bonnie
vile an Grand Coulee tow great
sell liquidating dams that will har
H. this mighty river for the bene
tit not only of the Northwest but
OF every section of the United
Stats. While Italy is pushing its
G .dest of Ethiopia to secure new
cunities for it's people, the
Omitted States is peacefully sub
DUNG one of it's last frontiers.
sing in Lake Columbia, Brit
'umbia, this glacier fed "Riv
the West" flows north and
,outh for a distance of 465
miles before meeting the Clark $
Fork and entering the state of
Washington and Oregon and thru
the Cascade range for 324 miles to
the sea.
With an annual run off at it's
mouth ten times as great as that
of the Colorado river, and with a
drop of 1850 feet from it's source
to the sea, the Columbia constitute
the greatest power stream in the
civilized world. In the sectiony be-
tween British Columbia and the
sea, where the drop in the river is
1900 feet, the Columbia alone.
without Harvesting it's numerous
tributaries, is capable of general
ing one third of the electric power
produced in the United States for
all purposes in 1880. It's food wat
ers are supcient to irrigate many
times the 100000 acres of poten
TALLY rich but semi arid farm land
bordering the Giver. It's cheap and
abundant power Is capable of MAX
ing economic the prore -eine q
site, iron, potash, aluminium clays
and other minerals located in the
Northwest. It's abundant waters,
when leveled out by a series of
damss will furnish highway for
economic river transportation in
to the interior of an empire.
During the past Is years, State,
Federal and private engineers, at
a cost of several million dollars,
have wrestled with the problem
of mastering the mighty river
Finally in 1881, after the consid
Grafton of many plans, the U. S.
army engineers recommended a
comprehensive plan of develop
ment of the Columbia for storage,
navigation, flod control, power ana
irrigation. This plan consists of 10
dams, including Rock Island, all
ready instructed by private rapil
tai, Bonneville and Grand Coulee.
1t provides for depth of nine
feet for navigation and includes
the ultimate brighton of $4,000
600 acres of land by pumping with
the power generated at several of
these dams. THE comprehensive
plan recommends the construction
when authorized. of high dam on
the Columbia at the head of the
Grand Cou1ee and the large scale
pumping OF $4,000 second feet of
water, to an average height of 800
feet, into the Grand Cou1ee for the
Irrigation of 100000 acres Of
land The Grand Coulee, which is
2 miles wide, 1000 feet deep and
so miles long, and forms an open
channel to the lands to be irrigat-
ed was cut out by the Columbia
when the river was blocked by a
glacier. The floor of this coulee is
now 600 feet above the level Of
the river.
Today, U. S. Army Engineers
are building the splendid Bonnie
willie dam for navigation and power
purposes on the lower river about
40 miles upstream from Poland.
Having conquered the Colorado at
Boulder dam, the U. S. Bureau of
Reclamation has under construc-
tion the foundations of the Grand
Coulee dam. This colossal struc
ture, when completed, will be 1900
feet long on the crest, 500 feet
high above the lowest bedrock and
$50 feet thick at the base. Con
tanning 100000 cubic yards OF
concrete or three times the mason
airy in Boulder dam Or the pyrs
mid of Cheops, it viii be twice as
high as Niagara and will have
more water flowing over it's spill
way during floods than goes ove1
that famous cataract,
During the past year the engir
GERS and contractors, assisted b,
$500 men and giant equipment
have accomplished wonders at th'
Grand Coulee. They have carried
on extensive engineering, excava
100000 cubic yards OF owe
burden, and constructed railways
highways, camps bridges and co
ferdams. For the transportation :"
excavated material, they construa
ed the largest belt conveyor system
ever built, with capacity Of
10000 cubic yards per day. The,
erected a cellular sheet steel coffe
dam 1900 feet long, SO feet wild
and Ito feet high above bedrock
which is the largest of it's typ