However, adverse economic and agricultural conditions - during and following World War I - deterred rapid settlement and those who settled could not pay the irrigation charges levied. The CPR found the project to be an increasing handicap to its operations, since up to 1935 it had only received $550,000 from _those who colonized the land, out of a total sale value of $3 million.
Consequently, in 1935, the farmers suggested that the CPR relinquish its claim for the cost of the irrigation works and transfer the works to the landowners, to be operated by them. This arrangement was ratified by the provincial government and the Eastern Irrigation District was formed under special incorporation legislation, a satellite statute to the Irrigation Districts Act. All the irrigation works, land contracts, and unsold lands in the district, together with $300,000 for the replacement of major structures, were then transferred by the CPR to the district. In exchange for receiving the aforementioned assets, the farmers agreed to honor all the water contracts which the CPR had entered Into with the water users and to absolve the company of all liability as far as the delivery of irrigation water was concerned.
Of the lands transferred, about 81,000 hectares were considered irrigable. A small portion in the west of the section was suitable for dry-land farming and the remainder had potential for grazing only.
The CPR did not recover the cost of the irrigation works and suffered a loss on the operation of the project. Nevertheless their prime objectives - namely agricultural development and increased traffic were to a large extent accomplished. Increased production and population growth occurred where, without irrigation, there would be little agriculture and only sparse settlement.
The past-due indebtedness of the settlers was cancelled and new contracts were issued, setting the value of the best irrigable land in the district at not more than $24.70 per hectare, compared to the previous $61.75 to $123.50-per-hectare price. This reduction of land prices gave the farmers reasonable assurance of eventually owning their own land within the district.
In 1937, with PFRA assistance, an additional 10,100 hectares of land in the Rolling Hills area was developed for irrigation and settled by farmers moved from drought areas in Saskatchewan. During the ensuing years approximately 324,000 hectares have been sold to the water users, while the district has retained 251,000 hectares, in addition to the ownership of all the main canal and reservoir rights-of-way. Most of the lands retained by the district are operated as community pastures.
Under the 1970 provincial assistance program, the E.I.D. undertook to replace or rehabilitate a large number of their major structures, many of which are over 60 years old. Up to 1977, over $7 million was spent on this work. Further to the 1973 Canada-Alberta Irrigation Rehabilitation Agreement, PFRA replaced the Brooks Aqueduct with a double-bank earth-fill canal, at a cost of nearly $8 million. As addition, some $700,000 worth of repairs was spent on the Bassano Dam.
The entire irrigation system consists of open channels. The diversion structure located on the Bow River is capable of delivering 88 cubic metres per second into a main canal. The average yearly quantity diverted is 616,740 cubic decametres. There are 550 kilometres of main canals, 1,358 kilometres of secondary canals, 37 major control structures and 2,460 secondary control structures in the system. In addition to these, there are 10 internal storage reservoirs, 1,510 kilometres of open channel drains and 1,246 bridges and road crossings.
In 1979, there were 1,180 farmers receiving irrigation water. Because palatable groundwater
did not exist in the area, the district conveyed water to two towns, three villages, and five
hamlets,
together with conveyance for stock water supplies, Ducks Unlimited and oil and gas industries.
Over
86,200 hectares of land were irrigated within the district in 1979.