For a capital payment of $166,000, the A.R. & I. Co. (a CPR subsidiary) agreed to deliver 1.1 cubic metres of water per second during the irrigation season to the district's headgates along the canal. The district agreed to maintain, repair, renew and operate all works, both new and old, within its boundaries and pay $4,500 annually for the water delivered to its headgates. However, with the depression of the 1930s, the landowners were unable to make their annual payments. In 1940, the CPR agreed to write off $60,000 of interest defaulted by the district from 1933 to 1940, and reduced debenture interest rates substantially. In 1946, the CPR accepted a lump sum payment as final settlement, just prior to the transfer of the A.R. & 1. Co. project to the Province. Following the enlargement of the St. Mary and Milk River Development Districts canal system in 1952, improvements were made which increased the irrigable area to over 8,100 hectares. By 1979, development of lands within the district had increased this to over 12,500 hectares.