Placid in appearance, but canals can be a deathtrap

MOSES LAKE — With warmer weather returning to the Columbia Basin, local officials are emphasizing a message they say cannot be repeated enough: irrigation canals are not recreational waterways. “The best way to stay safe from canals is to avoid them altogether,” said Grant County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Kyle Foreman. That message is echoed by both law enforcement and irrigation officials, who say the canals’ design — built for moving water, not people — makes them inherently dangerous.