The Blueprint for a Desert Oasis
Federal engineers release a comprehensive plan to tame the Yakima River, setting the stage for decades of regional irrigation development.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The report of the government engineers on the work in the Yakima valley up to April 22, 1905, has been given to the public. After stating that the natural flow of the Yakima river has all been appropriated, the report says that with storage, three projects are feasible: the Kittitas project, the Tieton project, and the massive extension of the Sunnyside canal. The engineers recommend immediate surveys for water storage on Lakes Cle Elum, Kachess, Keechelus, Bumping Lake, and McAllister Meadows. Furthermore, they advise securing agreements with the Northern Pacific Railway regarding land disposal to ensure government projects can proceed effectively.
“After stating that the natural flow of the Yakima river has all been appropriated, the report says that with storage the three projects following are feasible.”
This 1905 report laid the groundwork for the Bureau of Reclamation projects that literally created the agricultural economy of modern Kennewick. The tensions mentioned regarding water rights and corporate land control echo current regional debates over water allocation and climate-stressed sustainability.
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