Proposed Tunnel to Save Kent Valley Farms
A Seattle engineer proposes a tunnel project to drain the White River valley to protect agricultural lands from seasonal flooding.
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The proposition of O. F. Wegener, a Seattle engineer, to relieve the farms of the White River valley from all danger of river overflows by straightening the river and tunneling the hill lying between the valley and the Sound is attracting much attention. The engineer claims there is a fall of about fifty feet from the valley to the Sound shore, and estimates the work can be done for $250,000. It is believed that with both ditches and a tunnel, farmers in the area could be protected against the melting snows of the Cascades and ensure enormous crops.
“It is the general feeling here that the greater part of the expense of the work should be borne by the county.”
The struggle to control the White River's path through the Kent and Auburn valleys has been a century-long saga of engineering, leading to modern flood control measures that remain vital to protecting regional food supplies today.
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