White Bluffs Water Crisis Averted
A burnt-out water pump motor that threatened local orchards was repaired in record time by a Pasco electrical firm.
The work of rewinding the 100 horsepower motor for the White Bluffs Water company plant, which burned out two weeks ago today, was finished Thursday night and the plant started up again Friday morning. S. Robert Israel and Vincent Small of the Empire Electric company of Pasco have been working day and night since June 2nd, and from all appearances have done a splendid job in record time. Mr. Israel says that the motor today is just as good as a new one. Because of the unusually cool spring and the large amount of rainfall, very little damage was done except to a few Winesap apple trees that got a little dry. Because the new varnish on the coils has not had time to dry, only 24 pounds of pressure is being put in the pipe lines for a few days, whereas 32 pounds of pressure is used when the plant is running at capacity.
“S. Robert Israel says that the motor today is just as good as a new one.”
In an arid region like the Hanford area, water infrastructure is the literal lifeblood of the economy. This story captures the precarious nature of early irrigation technology, which remains a central tension in Eastern Washington's agricultural development today.
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