KID may condemn 4-generation farm to build Tri-Cities reservoir. Open house set

The Kennewick Irrigation District will explain its plan at a Wednesday, Aug. 26, open house to build a large storage reservoir to make sure the district can reliably deliver water, even in drought years.

The plan has been controversial because the 400 acres identified for the project in Badger Canyon south of the Tri-Cities includes the four-generation Cox family farm, which could be condemned and purchased through the eminent domain process.

Owner Robert S. Cox made clear earlier this year that he does not want to sell his 65 acres, where his family grows pumpkins that supply Pacific Northwest stores from Alaska to Idaho each October.

KID held a meeting in February on its plans for the reservoir, but board members delayed action on condemning the land until an open house on the project could be held.

With the coronavirus pandemic, the open house was delayed, and now is scheduled to be held via the internet and phone at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

KID officials will answer questions at the meeting, but the board is not expected to take action Wednesday.

The 400-acre site picked by KID is similar in size to the Columbia River between the blue and cable bridges that link Kennewick and Pasco.

The reservoir would store water allotted to KID from the Yakima River that would be available for irrigating the district’s 12,000 acres of farmland and 8,200 acres of urban property when river flows are low during the heat of the summer and early fall.

KID officials say the drought of 2015 made clear the need for the reservoir, which would be the first major one built in the Yakima Basin since Cle Elum Lake was constructed in 1933.

During the 2015 drought KID water use was strictly limited through watering schedules. There still were six times when there was so little water available that the supply to the community was shut off.

KID picked the land in Badger Canyon that includes the Cox farm as the rare site where the reservoir would be at the right height for gravity flow in and out, without the additional cost of pumping, and would be close to the main canal.

Instructions for attending the virtual meeting Wednesday and asking question are on the irrigation district’s Facebook site.

This story was originally published August 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.