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We find that the people are willing and anxious to accept the project on the basis of the cost estimated and to comply with all the usual requirements preliminary to construction, and we believe that the land is ample security for the estimated cost of construction as stated above.

We therefore recommend:

First, that the sum of $432,300 be set aside for the construction of this project.

Second, that the construction be commenced as soon as the following conditions have been complied with:

(a) That formal agreements defining the water rights for at least 90 per cent of the 1,350 acres now irrigated be duly executed and that in connection therewith the perpetual use of Salmon Lake reservoir be granted to the United States by its present owners.

(b) That a water-users' association be organized and that at least 90 per cent of the 8,650 acres of irrigable land be subscribed.

(c) That contracts for the disposal of excess land be executed for at least 90 per cent of the excess area Third, that the farm unit for the project be fixed at 40 acres of irrigable land.

Fourth, that in order that the work may be completed in time for the irrigation season of 1907 prompt action be taken for the authorization of this project.

YAKIMA VALLEY PROJECT, a

GENERAL STATEMENT.

Active investigation in the Yakima Valley was first begun in April, 1905, after it had become evident that those interested in the older irrigation canals were disposed to settle their existing water rights on an equitable basis without resort to process of law. (See Pl. LVIIa.)

In the early spring of 1903 a reconnaisance was made of the Tieton scheme. It was then determined that no project could be undertaken contemplating taking water from streams the water rights on which were in such a chaotic condition.

In the anticipation of a settlement, either on an amicable basis or through the courts complete hydrographic data were obtained during the irrigating season of 1904 of the flow of all the principal canals and streams that furnish any considerable water supply during the dry season.

In February, 1905, the State legislature passed an act approved March 4, 1905, entitled "An act relating to the appropriation of waters of the State for irrigation purposes, granting to the United States the right to exercise the power of eminent domain in acquiring lands, water, and other property for rights of way, and for reservoirs and other irrigation works, granting to the United States certain rights in State lands and in the waters of the State, relating to water-users' associations, and declaring an emergency." Under this law a withdrawal of the waters of Yakima River and its principal tributaries and a list of the State lands over which rights of way were required and lands susceptible of irrigation under the Yakima project were filed with the State land commissioner May 10, 1905. About the same time active investigations in the field were begun.

Yakima River drains an area of 5,300 square miles west of the Columbia. Its normal low-water flow into the Columbia 10 miles above the mouth of the Snake, if unaffected by diversions from irrigating ditches, would be about 1,400 second-feet.

The highest recorded discharge during the nine years in which a station has been maintained on the river is 27,050 second-feet in 1901. The main river and its principal branches, the Naches and the Tieton, rise from the summit of the Cascade Mountains, draining an area above their confluence, of about 90 miles north and south and 60 miles east and west, approximately 2,570 square miles. About half of this area is arid and grows nothing but sagebrush and bunch grass, with no timber. The precipitation on this portion varies from 5 to 12 inches and contributes nothing to the low-water flow of the river. The balance of the area is covered with timber, varying in density with the amount of rainfall, which is from 12 to 100 inches.

a From report by T. A. Noble.

The lower and arid portion of the valley, in which lie the lands which can be irrigated, is divided into five basins separated by basaltic ridges through which the river flows in narrow canyons and gaps. In the order of their position along the river from the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia, the basins are as follows:

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The value of land increases very rapidly from the higher to the lower elevations, on account of the increased length of growing season and higher temperature. The higher lands, owing to the shorter season and greater rainfall, require less water for irrigation.

The principal criterion of the value of any irrigated land is its proximity to a ready and profitable market. Puget Sound, Columbia River basin west of the Cascades, and Alaska, being engaged principally in commercial, mining, lumbering, fishing, and allied pursuits, support a very large population, but a very small percentage of the accessible area is suitable for raising those crops that can be produced in the irrigated districts. Here is an ideal condition for an irrigated area—an adjoining humid area supporting a large population. The short distance to tide water, ranging from 99 to 250 miles, is also a favorable condition. The irrigable lands are at comparatively low elevations, and the productiveness of the soil along Yakima and Columbia rivers is greater than in any other arid section of the United States, except in the extreme Southern States.

The growing season varies from seven to five months, according to elevation. On the lower unirrigated lands near Columbia River the temperature has been known to rise to 117° F.

SOIL.

The character of the soil varies in the different basins, being lighter and more sandy near the Columbia, light volcanic ash in the Reservation and Yakima basins, volcanic ash with more or less clay in the Kittitas basin, and an adobe clay in the Clealum basin. In places on the benches these soils are of considerable depth, but generally they form a covering of from 1 to 3 feet on top of porous gravel and river wash. In each of the existing irrigated areas a portion of the land has become swampy or alkaline by lack of proper drainage and an excessive use of water for irrigating.

WATER RIGHTS.

There are 55 canal systems taking water from Yakima and Naches rivers between Clealum and the mouth of the Yakima, not including numerous small canals taking water out of the smaller tributaries of the Yakima, which furnish but little to the low-water supply of the

river. The total average amount of water diverted from Yakima River by these canals in August, 1904 and 1905, the amount of land irrigated in 1905, and the amount of land covered, was as follows:

Canal systems on Yakima River and tributaries.

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The average diversion for these two years was at the rate of 1 second-foot for each 58 acres of land irrigated. During the month of August in both these years the river was practically dry at Prosser Falls, except the amount appropriated for power purposes, and in the last year there was a considerable shortage in some of the canals. With the enormous amount of additional lands that can be irrigated from the existing canals at a very slight increase in cost per acre, there will be an irresistible tendency in the future to enlarge and extend the canals and use more water from the river. The result of this tendency, if not checked by a settlement of all water rights affecting the flow of the main stream, will be to deprive those lower down on the stream of the water to which they are entitled and to make it unsafe to use the river for conveying stored water. A settlement of all water rights on the basis of the natural flow of the river in the years of lowest discharge is, therefore, necessary before any project can be approved. Such a settlement is now pending, and will not only make the way clear for the Government to undertake a project but will save to the water users endless expense and prevent the stagnation in business which is sure to follow in the train of the water-right litigation which has already been started.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific Railway traverses the center of the valley from the summit of the Cascades to Columbia River. The Columbia is navigable for 50 miles upstream from the yoint where the Northern Pacific crosses at Kennewick. The distance to transportation by water or rail from the farthest point in any irrigable land being investigated under the Yakima project is 20 miles. The average haul would be about 7 miles. By the construction of two short branches, one 20 miles and one 50 miles long, the average haul could be reduced to less than 4 miles.

STORAGE.

As all of the natural flow of Yakima River is already appropriated by users who have preserved their legal rights under the State law, storage is an essential part of any plan for the future development of irrigation in the valley. Five reservoir sites have been found and their capacity and cost of construction are being thoroughly investigated. It is expected that the average cost of these reservoirs will be reasonable per acre-foot, though they vary greatly in capacity and cost of development. They are as follows, in the order of their capacity and importance: Lake Clealum, Lake Kachess, Lake Keechelus, Bumping

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