The Battle for the River Ditch
Speculative land owners attempt to dismantle the Priest Rapids Irrigation District, threatening a vital community tool for cheap power and water rights.
M. B. Haynes, representing the Northern Pacific railroad, and Mrs. Maggie Sapp appeared before the board of directors of the Priest Rapids Irrigation district on Tuesday evening to file a petition for dissolving the district. The board has adjourned for three weeks to verify the signatures, which were reportedly obtained under questionable pretenses. The district, organized in 1920 to secure gravity irrigation for local lands, has become a strategic asset in protecting Hanford water rights and lobbying for lower power rates. While some locals suggest that private wells might reduce the need for a canal system, proponents warn that dissolving the district now would surrender a powerful collective weapon for community economic benefit.
“Priest Rapids development will not mean a great deal to this valley unless it results in a cheaper power rate. And the irrigation district is a powerful weapon in the hands of the farmers to bring about that cheaper rate.”
The tension between corporate land speculation and local resource control remains a defining feature of the Columbia Basin. The battle over water rights and electricity costs continues to shape local politics in the former Hanford area, echoing the 1924 struggle to retain the Irrigation District as a lever against major utilities.
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