Grand Coulee Dam of Reclamation was founded, it investigated a scheme for pumping water from the Columbia River to irrigate parts of central Washington. An attempt to raise funds for irrigation failed in 1914, as Washington voters rejected a bond measure. In 1917, William M. Clapp, a lawyer from Ephrata, Washington, proposed the Columbia be dammed immediately below the Grand Coulee. He suggested a concrete dam could flood the plateau, just as nature blocked it with ice centuries ago. Clapp was joined by James O'Sullivan, another lawyer, and by Rufus Woods, publisher of "The Wenatchee World" newspaper in the nearby agricultural centre of
Foster Coulee Foster Coulee Foster Coulee is a coulee in Douglas County, Washington. Like the larger Moses Coulee nearby, it was formed during the Missoula Floods at the end of the last ice age, some 14,000 years ago. Washington State Route 17 between Bridgeport, Washington and Coulee City, Washington follows East Foster Creek along much of the coulee's valley floor. East Foster Creek now flows east to west through Foster Coulee to Grand Coulee. The United States Geological Survey quadrangle map "Foster Coulee" is named for this prominent feature. Foster Coulee was formed during the Missoula Floods. The Okanogan lobe of the