The Rising Groundwater Threat
A federal drainage expert warns that Kennewick's porous soil is becoming waterlogged by irrigation, creating a public health crisis.
The story, cleaned up
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At the request of the mayor and some of the council, C. G. Elliot, drainage expert of the agricultural department of the United States, gave advice to the city fathers at the meeting Monday night. Mr. Elliot noted that Kennewick is built on a river gravel deposit that is very porous. While early irrigation could drain through this soil, increased irrigation and urban waste have created a dangerous underflow that remains near the surface. Mr. Elliot warned: 'At the height of the irrigation season this underflow has reached a stage that it cannot run out as fast as it runs in, consequently there must, by reason of the accumulation of filth and other matter, be great danger from polluting the water in the wells.' His solution is an intercepting drain built along the course of the old Schanno ditch at a depth of 10 feet, using a cedar box channel. He estimated the cost at $10,000 and urged the city to build this drain before installing a separate, cheaper sewer system.
“At the height of the irrigation season this underflow has reached a stage that it cannot run out as fast as it runs in, consequently there must... be great danger from polluting the water in the wells.”
Kennewick's early growth was defined by rapid, often poorly planned irrigation infrastructure. The tension between agricultural water usage and urban public health remains a recurring theme in Eastern Washington, where modern aquifer management and aging drainage infrastructure continue to pose complex challenges for the city.
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