Siphons critical for moving water to farms

Siphons were a large part of the irrigation project enabled by the pumping plant at Grand Coulee Dam. Most of them were placed in locations where a simple canal would not be feasible, due to an extreme elevation change. Siphons near the main canal, such as this one of the East Low Canal, were about 22 feet in diameter. This October 10, 1948 view, is located near Adco, about 6 miles east of Soap Lake.

Notable about this particular siphon is what it is crossing under. Note the body of water on the left, Crab Creek, temporarily dammed up. Its flow would be restored when the siphon was done. Note the line of dirt over the far end of the siphon. That's the mainline of the Great Northern Railway. Its original alignment has just been restored over the siphon. A temporary line just beyond has finally been removed to allow further construction of the siphon up to the canal on the far side.

A concrete mix plant was established a short distance behind the photographer, as two siphons over Dry Coulee were being constructed nearby, along with the bifurcation of the main canal into the West and East Low canals.

Dan Bolyard, Them Dam Writers online 2020