Irrigation in the Empty Interior is necessary, which causes limited water supply in te area. Irrigation in Washington state is necessary for the production of most of the crops in the east of the Cascade Mountains. The term "The Evergreen State" is used to describe the state, but should only really refer to the western side of the state. "The Cascade Mountain Range effectively drains most of the moisture from the atmosphere onto the west side of the mountains leaving the east side with plenty of sunshine, but very little rainfall."
Supplemental irrigation is necessary during the warm summer months of June, July, and August in the western side of the state. The primary water sources for Eastern Washington are the Columbia, Yakima, and Snake River watersheds.
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Snake River Watershed |
The Columbia Basin Project provides irrigation water to farmers in Eastern WA State. The construction started in 1936, but it the other half of the project has not been done. The transformation of Eastern WA from a desert to a productive agricultural community went on from 1945 to 2008.
Sources:
"Grand Coulee Dam Columbia Basin Irrigation Project Ice Age Floods." Ice Age Floods-Discover Glacial Lake Missoula and Lake Bonneville. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://hugefloods.com/GrandCoulee.html>.
Maasakkers, Tijs V. "The Role of Science in Water Management in." 13 May 2008. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://web.mit.edu/dusp/epp/music/pdf/tijsfirstyearpaper.pdf>.
Snake River Watershed Task Force. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://snakerivertaskforce.org/>.
"Washington Irrigation." Irrigation in the Pacific Northwest. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://irrigation.wsu.edu/Content/Washington-Irrigation.php>.
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