Irrigation Bond Election Halted by Corporate Standoff
Horse Heaven growers demand transparency as power company refuses to disclose critical water rights data for the $15 million project.
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The election regarding the issuance of $15,000,000 in bonds for the Horse Heaven irrigation district, originally scheduled for Tuesday, has been indefinitely deferred by the directors. This action, taken at a meeting in Prosser, stems from the Klickitat Irrigation and Power company's refusal to provide necessary data—such as water rights and field notes—required by potential bond buyers. Farmers owning 800,000 acres in the project area suspect the company is attempting to leverage the deal. The situation has intensified as the government has given the company until September 1 to prove its ability to carry out the project, or risk losing its right-of-way across government lands, including the Yakima Indian Reservation.
“Farmers whose land with an area of 800,000 acres would be watered by the prospective canal, expressed the view that promoters of the power company are trying to take advantage of them.”
The struggle for control over water rights in the arid Horse Heaven Hills echoes modern tensions over water access and infrastructure funding in the Yakima Valley. Much like the 1916 standoff, local growers today remain vigilant regarding how private utility interests and government mandates intersect with their agricultural livelihoods.
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