Our History

The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District is a special purpose district organized in February of 1940. Statutory procedures for district formation were a little different in 1940 than at present. A petition was signed by more than 50 landowners and presented to the Board of County Commissioners. Public hearings took place. The District was named, the exterior boundaries defined, and certain lands excluded by the Commissioners’ actions. Contracts for water supply, construction of irrigation works, and repayment of the District’s share of the portion of the total Project construction cost allocated to irrigation were negotiated by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1944 and 1945. The Repayment Contract was based on the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 and the Columbia Basin Project Act of 1943. They established a rather complex formula for allocating the District’s construction obligation to irrigation blocks, repayable over a 40 year period after a 10 year development period for the block. The Repayment Contract was executed in 1945 and was confirmed as to legality by the Superior Court in 1946.

The contract, transferring operation and maintenance responsibilities for constructed works from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Irrigation District, was signed in December of 1968. In January 1969 the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District assumed operating responsibility for facilities to serve up to 300,000 acres.

The District is governed by a board of five directors elected by the landowners they serve. Each director serves a three-year term with two directors elected in years one and two and one director elected in year three. Management and Administrative functions are performed by the Secretary/Manager and the Assistant Secretary/Treasurer under policies established by the Board.