The Great Pend Oreille Water Grab
A massive water rights filing for the Pend Oreille River has sparked intense debate over the feasibility of diverting water to the Quincy flats.
The article in last week's Miner about the filing of a water right on the Pend Oreille river, for the taking of 10,000 cubic feet of water per second, the water to be transported to the Quincy flats, 200 miles away, has created a good deal of discussion relative to the project. In order to get the point of diversion definitely located a letter was written to County Auditor Jesseph, who informs The Miner that the point of diversion is in northwest quarter of Section 18, Township 31, Range 46. This would mean that the water would be taken out near Boundary Island. The notice of water right was filed by A. J. Ternent, secretary of the Quincy Valley Water Users' Association, of Quincy, Wash. Many think that the scheme is visionary and that it would cost altogether too much money to make it feasible. When the value of irrigated lands in the Northwest is considered, the $200 per acre which it is estimated it will cost to convert the 100,000 acres of sage brush into crop producing lands is not too high.
“Many think that the scheme is visionary and that it would cost altogether too much money to make it feasible.”
This 1910 dispute over water rights and massive infrastructure projects mirrors the ongoing regional debates about water allocation and the environmental costs of large-scale irrigation in the Pacific Northwest.
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