The Struggle for Yakima Irrigation Rights
Kennewick editors push back against accusations of land-grabbing, demanding only the water rights promised to the lower valley.
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.
Senator Poindexter promised his support to the people of Kennewick for the enterprise of putting water on 200,000 acres of lower valley land. An editorial in the Yakima Republic suggested Kennewick was ignoring the political nature of the promise. In response, the Courier-Reporter clarifies that Kennewick is not seeking the irrigation of 200,000 acres, but is putting forth an effort to secure a survey for 40,000 acres, as recommended by former engineer Mr. Swigart. We have learned the futility of attempting to bag rhinoceros with bean shooters by observing the failed Yakima High Line project. All Kennewick asks is that the government make good on its promises made at the time the Yakima project was created, giving the lower valley a return for the water rights relinquishments that fueled the upper valley’s development.
“We have been taught the futility of attempting to bag rhinoceros with bean shooters.”
Water rights and the allocation of the Yakima River remain one of the most contentious and essential civic arguments in Eastern Washington, balancing the needs of agriculture against regional infrastructure promises.
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