The ditch that divided two nations
An apology to Charles Dickens but it was the best of times for some and the worst of times for others as Canadians and Americans became involved in a dispute over water.
John F. Dormaar, in his publication for the Lethbridge Historical Society on “Alberta’s Stretch of the Milk River,” quoted Mark Twain’s observation that “whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting over.” It’s ironic that less than three decades before our tale of two rivers, the North West Mounted Police marched through Milk River country in pursuit of whiskey traders.
As settlement in the West began to include farmers, notions of irrigation development became reality as Ora Card and his Mormon members began to develop an irrigation infrastructure from St. Mary River as it crossed the 49th parallel all the way to Lethbridge. Not to be outdone, the Americans’ future irrigation development included the water used by the Canadians. In the Nov. 26, 1900 edition, the Great Falls Tribune carried an article in big type, “Planning To Outwit Canada” and keep all the water flow from the St. Mary. United States engineers presented a plan where all the water could be diverted into the Milk River system and even though it flowed about 200 miles through Alberta, it would be impossible for the Canadians to divert this valuable resource as the Milk River Ridge appeared in the way.
Engineers in Canada had a different view as the Canadian Northwest Irrigation Company constructed over 14 and a half miles of canal along the Milk River Ridge to a coulee running north to the new irrigation canals of the St. Mary.
On Nov. 17, 1904 water was diverted into the infamous “Spite Ditch.”
Accused by the United States lawmakers of “lacking in friendliness,” this canal exists today as a symbol of peace allowing negotiations on the issue of water rights between nations.
The two countries had different views on water rights with the Americans’ position on individual rights and freedoms to the water versus the British system of ensuring federal control with stringent water-licensing procedures.
The tales of water rights began as early as 1882 and with the co-operation of Saskatchewan, Montana and Alberta, the Milk River Watershed Alliance helps ensure all stakeholders are treated fairly as they work together on the protection and usage of the “Milk.”
When you head south on the old Sunshine Trail (Highway 4) as the Town of Milk River comes into view, pull over and look west along the hillside of the Milk River Ridge; there will be a band of rose bushes, willows and thick grass. The Milk River Canal, a.k.a. “Spite Ditch,” helps ensure a supply of water to not only Henderson Lake but also its adjacent golf course, the farmlands and the towns along the canal started by Card, using water from the United States.