The Kittitas Reclamation District (KRD) was formed as an irrigation district on September 25, 1911 and in 1925, under contract with the Bureau of Reclamation, construction began. Construction was finished in 1933 and at the project's peak, in 1928, the work force consisted of 1,440 men. The giant ditch was dug using dynamite, steam engines, horse-drawn teams -- and old-fashioned sweat and shovels.

 

Irrigation water for the KRD is diverted from the dam at Lake Easton. Today the KRD currently services approximately 60,000 acres with 330 miles of canals and laterals within the Kittitas Valley. There are thirty siphons and eleven tunnels to help the canal keep as much elevation as possible.

 

More KRD Facts:

• KRD receives its water allotment from the Bureau of Reclamation. The water allotment is based upon levels of precipitation, snowpack, and water storage.

• From its diversion point at Lake Easton Dam to its terminus on the Turbine Lateral where it spills to the Yakima River the canal only loses 310 feet of elevation in those 78 miles.

• The KRD has a pro-ratable water right. In a drought year, when there is less water than it takes to fulfill all of the non-prorated water rights in the Yakima River basin, the KRD will receive less than its full entitlement. Shortfalls have occurred in 1977, 1987, 1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2025.

• KRD’s irrigation water season typically runs from April to at the latest October 15th, with water deliveries for fish flows continuing later.

• The KRD operating budget is funded by landowner assessments. The rates of assessment, as well as all KRD policies, are determined by a Board of Directors who are elected from landowners within the District.