138 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



NORTHWESTERN NOTES. 



Spokane, Wash., Feb. 28. Official announcement 

 is made in the annual report by F. W. Xewell, chief 

 of the reclamation service, that the United States gov- 

 ernment purposes to irrigate 10,000 acres of land in 

 Okanogan county, northwest of Spokane. He adds that 

 the irrigable lands have an elevation between 850 and 

 1,350 feet above sea level and lie in a series of benches 

 sloping toward Okanogan river. The soil is mainly 

 sand, light loam and volcanic ash. Irrigated lands in 

 this vicinity, when planted to alfalfa, yield a profit on 

 a valuation of $100 the acre, and lands in fruit or nuts, 

 for which the soil is especially adapted, often yield 

 profits on a much higher valuation. Without irrigation 

 the lands are practically worthless. 



if necessary an additional 100,000 acre-feet can be ob- 

 tained by utilizing the smaller lakes. Five big reservoirs 

 are contemplated Lake Clealum, Lake Kaches, Lake 

 Keechelus, Bumping Lake and McAllister Meadows. 

 Satisfactory foundation has been found for dams at the 

 outlet of all these reservoirs except McAllister Meadows, 

 but even this site will ultimately be utilized in connec- 

 tion with the Tieton sub-project. 



The Yakima project as a whole will add 300,000 

 acres to the irrigated area of Yakima valley, and with 

 improved economy in the use of water, and with the 

 possibility of some additional storage in the Clealum 

 Basin, it is believed that 400,000 will ultimately be 

 brought under irrigation. 



The secretary of the interior allotted $1,250,000 for 

 the construction of the Tieton sub-project. In March, 



Typical Mountain Road Leading to CIcarwater County, Idaho. 



The government proposes to convert Salmon Lake 

 into a storage reservoir, and build a second reservoir im- 

 mediately south of the town of Conconnully, the two 

 combined capable of storing ample water to irrigate all 

 the lands embraced in the. project. Twenty miles of 

 main canal, and forty miles of smaller canals will be 

 required to distribute the water from these reservoirs. 



The Yakima project is by far the most important, 

 as well as the most extensive project yet undertaken in 

 Washington. It involves five sub-projects, the Tieton, 

 Sunnyside, Kittitas, Wepato and Benton, the first two 

 now in course of construction, the Wepato still under 

 investigation, and the Kittitas and Benton temporarily 

 set aside because of the high cost of construction. 



Surveys made by the reclamation service show that 

 practically 800,000 acre-feet of water can be economi- 

 cally stored on the headwaters of the Yakima river, and 



1906, the Tieton Water Users' Association was formed 

 and four months later 33,000 acres had been subscribed. 

 Much of the land, however, is non-irrigable, and only 

 24,000 acres can be brought under water. 



The Sunnyside project contemplates the irrigation 

 of about 40,000 acres of land included in the old project, 

 which the government has purchased, and an additional 

 45,000 acres through its extension. The total allot- 

 ment for the project is $1,100,000. 



Drainage will be an important factor in connection 

 with the Sunnyside project, and some study has been 

 made of the situation. In the vicinity of Sunnyside 

 drainage is an absolute necessity. The community there 

 found it necessary for the protection of lands to organize 

 drainage districts under "the state laws, and more than 

 $30,000 has been expended for the development of drain- 

 age systems. 



