After completion of the surveys, it became evident that the land parcel naturally divided itself into three areas of about 400,000 hectares each, which the company designated as the Western, Central and Eastern sections. The CPR believed that through irrigation, this land would be made more valuable and highly saleable to immigrants. It expected to recover the cost of development from the land sales and, at the same time, increase traffic on its railway. The company anticipated that the cost of operation of the irrigation systems would be met by water rentals charged to the farmers using the company's works.
The CPR spent $18 million on the construction of works to irrigate the eastern and western sections of this land block. The central section contained about 364,000 hectares, of which 81,000 hectares were deemed irrigable, but was never developed because of its higher elevation and undulating topography. The railway expected that the lands would be sold in a few years time, whereupon the irrigation system would be turned over to the water users and operated by them, in accordance with the agreements issued to the purchasers.