Irrigation Leader April 2021

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 4

april 2021

Jack Russell and Sylvia Johnson: Advancing Groundwater Management at the Middle Republican Natural Resources District

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CONTENTS APRIL 2021 Volume 12 Issue 4

Irrigation Leader is published 10 times a year with combined issues for July/August and November/December by

an American company established in 2009.

STAFF: Kris Polly, Editor-in-Chief Joshua Dill, Managing Editor Tyler Young, Writer Stephanie Biddle, Graphic Designer Eliza Moreno, Web Designer Caroline Polly, Production Assistant and Social Media Coordinator Cassandra Leonard, Staff Assistant

8

SUBMISSIONS: Irrigation Leader welcomes manuscript, photography, and art submissions.

However, the right to edit or deny publishing submissions is reserved. Submissions are returned only upon request.

For more information, please contact our office at (202) 698-0690 or irrigation.leader@waterstrategies.com.

Jack Russell and Sylvia Johnson: Advancing Groundwater Management at the Middle Republican Natural Resources District

5 C onstant Improvement

By Kris Polly 8 J ack Russell and Sylvia Johnson: Advancing Groundwater Management at the Middle Republican Natural Resources District 14 Piping

the Central Oregon Irrigation District’s Pilot Butte Canal

22 N uSTREEM’s Portable, Flexible Turbine Container Design 23 K evin Polak: The Designer Behind the NuCONTAINER 28 T he Impressive Product Line of Hose Solutions, Inc. 34 I rrigated Agriculture in Russia and Ukraine

ADVERTISING: Irrigation Leader accepts half-page and full-page ads. For more information on rates and placement, please contact Kris Polly at (703) 517-3962 or kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

CIRCULATION: Irrigation Leader is distributed to irrigation district managers and boards of directors in the 17 western states, Bureau of Reclamation officials, members of Congress and committee staff, and advertising sponsors.

For address corrections or additions, please contact us at admin@waterstrategies.com.

Copyright © 2020 Water Strategies LLC. Irrigation Leader relies on the excellent contributions of a variety of natural resources professionals who provide content for the magazine. However, the views and opinions expressed by these contributors are solely those of the original contributor and do not necessarily represent or reflect the policies or positions of Irrigation Leader magazine, its editors, or Water Strategies LLC. The acceptance and use of advertisements in Irrigation Leader do not constitute a representation or warranty by Water Strategies LLC or Irrigation Leader magazine regarding the products, services, claims, or companies advertised. /IrrigationLeader

Do you have a story idea for an upcoming issue? Contact our editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

4 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

irrigationleader

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COVER PHOTO: Jack Russell, Manager, and Sylvia Johnson, Assistant Manager, Middle Republican Natural Resources District.

Photos courtesy of the Middle Republican Natural Resources District.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE MRNRD.

Coming soon in Irrigation Leader: May: Small Irrigation Districts June: New Zealand

@IrrigationLeadr

Constant Improvement

I

rrigation water managers in this nation have a difficult job and carry it out well. They keep systems in good repair, solve problems, and track water use and effects on the environment. In addition to the day-to-day management and maintenance of their systems, they are also always looking for the next big improvement they can make to their systems to make their jobs easier in the long run.

Nebraska’s Middle Republican Natural Resources District (MRNRD), which manages water and natural resources issues across more than four counties, including Hayes County, where my family has farmed for five generations, is implementing thousands of McCrometer telemetry meters on its wells and across its system. MRNRD Manager Jack Russell and Assistant Manager Sylvia Johnson tell us about how this improvement allows the district to move from just regulating groundwater to helping its producers come up with ways to manage and reduce their water use.

The Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) is also carrying out a major conservation project: the first phase of the piping of its 23‑mile-long Pilot Butte Canal. COID Managing Director Craig Horrell; COID Deputy Managing Director Shon Rae; and Kevin Isley of construction firm Taylor Northwest, who is the project manager for the piping project, speak with Irrigation Leader about the piping project and COID’s other top current issues.

Small hydro firm NuSTREEM, meanwhile, is offering

By Kris Polly

new and innovative ways for irrigation districts to improve their systems. General Manager Juliann Blanford tells us about the NuCONTAINER, a modular, transportable powerhouse packaged inside a shipping container, and Kevin Polak, NuSTREEM’s mechanical design engineer, gives us insight into how he designed the NuCONTAINER. We speak with Jim Lowry of Hose Solutions, Inc., about its durable, flexible, and noncorrosive hoses, which are designed to move water, wastewater, concrete slurries, fuels, and other liquids.

Finally, Bob Wietharn of Riverscreen tells us about his 2019 trip to Ukraine and Russia, where he visited Riverscreen customers and saw agricultural and irrigation practices in those countries up close.

With new meters, new pipelines, and new technology, irrigation districts and water managers across the nation are making constant improvements to their systems. I hope the stories in this issue of Irrigation Leader give you inspiration for some improvements of your own. IL Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and the president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

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Jack Russell and Sylvia Johnson: Advancing Groundwater Management at the Middle Republican Natural Resources District

T

he Middle Republican Natural Resources District (MRNRD) is one of Nebraska’s 23 natural resources districts (NRDs), watershed-based local agencies that handle a wide variety of environmental issues across the state, including groundwater quantity and quality, soil erosion, and flood prevention. One of the MRNRD’s main focuses today is on groundwater management. To further this goal, it has acquired a WaterSMART grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to put updated telemetry meters on all its wells. The end goal is to provide all its farmers with realtime information on their water use, soil moisture, and other useful information. In this interview, MRNRD Manager Jack Russell and Assistant Manager Sylvia Johnson update us on the achievements of the metering program and their plans for the future.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions.

Jack Russell: I was born and raised on a farm in Riverton, Nebraska. My family has lived along the Kansas-Nebraska border for as long as I know. I spent some time working in Colorado and North Dakota and came back to Nebraska 6½ years ago to work at the MRNRD. Sylvia Johnson: I was born and raised in Alma, Nebraska, on a farm and ranch, and my husband and I farm and ranch as well. I am the assistant manager of the MRNRD. I’ve been here a little over 10 years.

Irrigation Leader: Tell us about the MRNRD.

Irrigation Leader: How much groundwater can your irrigators use in a season?

8 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

Ken Seim of Seim Ag Technology checking one of the MRNRD’s new telemetry meters.

Jack Russell: Right now, groundwater irrigators have an allocation of 12 inches a year, spread out over a 5‑year allocation period, meaning that they can use 60 inches over 5 years. If they don’t use their entire allotment during the 5‑year allocation period, they can carry over 1 year’s allocation, giving a potential maximum of 72 inches in an allocation period. Most of our water users manage their water well enough that they usually carry water over from each allocation period.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your metering project. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MRNRD.

Jack Russell: The MRNRD is one of three NRDs that cover the Republican River basin in Nebraska. We cover a little more than four counties and have about 295,000 acres of irrigated land. When the NRDs were formed in 1972, they were given taxing authority, and during the 1990s, the NRDs were given statutory authority related to groundwater management. In 1998, a lawsuit was filed related to the Republican River Compact between Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska, and after the Supreme Court ruled on the matter in 2002, one of the final settlement stipulations was for the NRDs in the Republican River basin to put meters on all irrigation wells.

Jack Russell: Our current WaterSMART grant is going toward installing telemetry meters on all wells in the rapid response area of the MRNRD. In the early years, when the moratorium on increases in consumptive use from irrigation was put on, we installed over 2,600 meters. These meters allowed us to monitor and certify how much irrigation water was being used. Over the last several years, the MRNRD has shifted from regulating groundwater to helping our producers come up with ways to manage and reduce their water use. Our first WaterSMART grant was submitted and approved in 2019. It was preceded by two water sustainability grants from the State of Nebraska. These grants were successful in helping to expand the high-tech metering project that involved monitoring soil moisture.

Sylvia Johnson: The goal of the high-tech irrigation project is to help our producers be more efficient managing their water.

Efficiency is a core part of having a sustainable water source.

We believe that if we give our farmers more tools in their toolboxes, they will be able to use their water more efficiently, which will in turn help the MRNRD in the long term.

We have been working with Seim Ag Technology on all these projects. When we asked for proposals for this project, the McCrometer company showed us its products, and we decided that they were a good fit because our existing meters were also made by McCrometer. This project will provide more frequent data for timely water management decisions.

FlowConnect meters are able to collect and transmit flow from the meters to our in-house servers. These meters offer automated data collection to provide accurate and reliable information for water resource management.

The MRNRD has been successful in applying for grants and in being able to provide cost-share funding to the producers for this real-time telemetry. This technology, which provides information on rainfall, pressure readings, flow readings, and soil moisture levels, helps them better manage their irrigation water. They can use it to set up alarms on their systems to alert them of major rain events. These systems have been popular among the producers because the new technology has helped them adjust their irrigation to actual needed usage.

Jack Russell: These initial high-tech irrigation systems measure how much water is being applied as well as rainfall, pressure, and soil moisture. They transmit all this information via telemetry to a server that is accessible both to the producers and to the MRNRD. The producers can see in real time how rainfall affects their soil moisture and whether more water is needed. The technology is user friendly, and the graphics are easy to interpret. McCrometer is working on an app to allow access to that same information on phones.

After the first 2–3 years, we noticed that anybody who was using this system was using around 10 percent less water than they were before the systems were installed. Even 10 percent is a lot, especially if we can reach half the users within our 295,000 irrigated acres. irrigationleadermagazine.com

Ken Seim of Seim Ag Technology checking one of the MRNRD’s new telemetry meters.

We have also worked with CropMetrics, LindseyZimmatic, and ServiTech on soil moisture monitoring.

Irrigation Leader: Approximately how many producers are working with you on this?

Sylvia Johnson: There are 100 for the high-tech soil moisture program, and this number is constantly growing.

Jack Russell: We’ve had 3 years’ worth of high-tech grants and have worked with 100 people. That is what led us to update all our meters with McCrometer as well.

When you start looking into making your district high tech, you realize that the most important first step is making sure everyone can see how much water they are applying in real time. If everybody had telemetry water meters, they would have access to that information.

We started working with Ken Quandt of McCrometer to apply for a WaterSMART grant from the Bureau of Reclamation. The WaterSMART water and energy efficiency grant program puts a lot of emphasis on water savings. We included information we had already collected on water savings from the high-tech project in the application and linked in the compact compliance portion of this by looking at the high-depletion rapid response areas with wells. We were successful in getting the grant.

We’re currently installing 1,000 McCrometer telemetryconnected water meters. This project includes installing flow-straightening veins in the irrigation pipes prior to the water meters. The FS100 straightening vein eliminates water surges and other factors affecting accuracy. The NRD purchased the server, so we will control the information.

Our goal is to make the information available to every producer through a password-protected login.

April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Access to real-time data will eliminate the need for staff to read meters every fall. These FlowConnect meters have a built-in solution for collecting and transmitting flow information from the meter to our in-house sever. These meters offer automated data collection to provide accurate and reliable information for water resource management.

FlowConnect has exact-read technology that ensures an exact match from meter to website. Since the batteries for the telemetry systems last for 5 years, we will check their status and change their batteries on a rotating basis, checking 25 percent of them every year on a 4‑year cycle.

Another benefit of a system like this is that we will be immediately informed if there is a problem with a meter.

So far, we have put in about 800 meters, which is a good start. We’re really excited about where the project is going. What is distinct about this project is not just that we are installing telemetry; it’s that we are creating a single, connected, consistent system. Uniformity across the district generates economies of scale. When everybody has the same meter, all the data come through the same software and are accessible at the same location.

The district is also using the WaterSMART grant to install several weather stations to monitor local weather conditions across the district for local crop water use.

Irrigators will be able to match their water applications to local weather factors, as monitored and calculated by local weather stations. Then they’ll be able to match the water applications to local crop water use.

Irrigation Leader: Considering that the producers who have taken part in this program are saving an average of 10 percent of their water, are other producers contacting you to take part?

Sylvia Johnson: There is a lot of interest from other producers. Often, farmers who have one meter want to know when they can get more.

Irrigation Leader: Can they buy into the program and purchase their own meters?

Sylvia Johnson: The board has discussed that, but hasn’t settled on anything.

10 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

Irrigation Leader: What results are you seeing from this program?

Jack Russell: The first irrigation allocation started in 2005.

After the drought in 2012, when the average irrigation usage was 17 inches, the board put a hard cap on water use in 2013. Every irrigator’s allocation was reduced by 20 percent.

The producers in the MRNRD monitored their usage on their meters, which showed them the advantage of knowing their water application and the importance of meeting our compact with Kansas.

Our goal is to be sustainable. Everybody who is currently irrigating should be able to continue to irrigate.

The goal is for everybody to be successful, both now and long into the future. Most of these farmers have GPS on their tractors, planters, and sprayers, and we’re trying to give them the tools to help them now so that they are in even better shape. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE MRNRD.

Jack Russell: We’re pretty busy installing the meters as we get them. We’re hoping to meet our goal of having the updated meters in the whole district within the next 3 years.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service just received funds that it will be able to use through its Environmental Quality Incentives Program to target practices that match the project the NRD is implementing with its WaterSMART grant. This will coordinate with what we are doing with the meters by promoting telemetry soil moisture probes and other practices. This supportive program will help us with our groundwater management efforts.

Kem and Cheryl Seim of Seim Ag Technology installing a weather station.

Grain bins in the MRNRD’s service area.

Irrigation Leader: What are the immediate goals of your program?

Jack Russell: We’re working with Ken Quandt of McCrometer to apply for another WaterSMART grant for 1,000 more meters. We have successfully accessed funds from the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources’ Water Resources Cash Fund. It is paying for part of this WaterSMART grant. If we can cover the next 1,000 meters with the next WaterSMART grant, we’ll be able to finish it off within a couple of years. The ultimate goal is for every producer to have an app on their phone that tells them how much water they’re using and what their soil moisture is. McCrometer’s app for FlowConnect, which will allow customers to get data on their phones, laptops, and other devices, will launch soon.

Irrigation Leader: What is your advice to other NRDs or irrigation districts that are considering a similar conservation metering program?

Jack Russell: The key thing is to look at the producers’ needs and to find the tools that are necessary to meet those needs.

Most producers don’t aim to use all the water they can. Most users want to be good stewards of the land and to use what they have wisely. It is always easier for an NRD or district to simply regulate and allocate water and to do no more than that, but it works so much better in the big picture if you can actively help producers to improve their management.

Sylvia Johnson: It can seem overwhelming at first, and it requires time and patience, but when you get into a irrigationleadermagazine.com

project like this, you know you’re doing the right thing for the producers and the district by improving the level of sustainability. Just as with everything in this world, you have to evaluate where you are and recognize what new technology can do. You have to adapt to new practices; you can’t just live in the past.

Irrigation Leader: Is there anything more you would like to add?

Jack Russell: I think we both would like to acknowledge the landowners and irrigators who will benefit from this project. Their level of interest has been extremely high, and it is exciting to be working on a project that will benefit all the irrigators in the MRNRD. IL Jack Russell is the manager of the Middle Republican Natural Resources District.

He can be contacted at jrussell@mrnrd.org.

Sylvia Johnson is the assistant manager of the Middle Republican Natural Resources District. She can be contacted at sjohnson@mrnrd.org.

For more about MRNRD, visit mrnrd.org. For more information on McCrometer’s technology, contact Market Development Manager Ken Quandt at kenq@mccrometer.com.

April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Piping the Central Oregon Irrigation District’s Pilot Butte Canal

Groundbreaking on the Pilot Butte Canal piping project.

E

14 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

2000, the district has increased stream flows in the Deschutes basin by nearly 80 cubic feet per second (cfs), through conserved water projects and permanent instream transfers.

The district has taken unprecedented steps to conserve water, improve fish and wildlife habitat, and responsibly manage its natural resources. One of its most recent conservation projects is the first phase of the piping of its 23‑mile-long Pilot Butte Canal.

In this interview, COID Managing Director Craig Horrell; COID Deputy Managing Director Shon Rae; and Kevin Isley of construction firm Taylor Northwest, who is the project manager for the piping project, speak with Irrigation Leader about the piping project and COID’s other top current issues.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions.

Shon Rae: My background is mostly in the home building industry and in nonprofit management. I grew up on a small farm here in central Oregon. I have some experience in irrigation from the farm side. I’ve been with the district for 6 years. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF COID.

stablished in 1918, Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) is a municipal corporation of the State of Oregon. The district’s mission is to provide a reliable supply of water to 3,500 patrons throughout Bend, Redmond, Powell Butte, and Alfalfa. COID operates and maintains over 400 miles of canals that collectively deliver water to approximately 46,222 acres of productive land.

The irrigation system consists of two main canals: the Pilot Butte Canal, which runs north through Bend, Redmond, and Terrebonne; and the Central Oregon Canal, which runs east through Bend, Alfalfa, and Powell Butte. Both canals divert water from the Deschutes River. The Deschutes River is the largest spring-fed river in the United States.

The district provides water for about 48,000 acres within an 180,000-acre area in Central Oregon. More than 400 miles of canals provide agricultural and industrial water to the Bend, Redmond, Terrebonne, Alfalfa, and Powell Butte areas. In addition, COID provides water to subdivisions in the areas the canals pass through, for landscapes and lawns, parks, cemeteries, and golf courses.

COID has worked for over a century to improve irrigation water delivery, both on farm and within its canal systems. Since

Craig Horrell: I owned a civil engineering firm for about 17 years and did lots of work for irrigation districts. Seven years ago, this position became available, and I have been the managing director since then.

Kevin Isley: I’m an Oregon native. My background is in water and wastewater. My dad was a biologist with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, so I’ve been around water all my life. I grew up in northeastern Oregon and have an agricultural background. I have been in construction project management for 16 years and have been with Taylor Northwest for 5 years.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about COID. Shon Rae: The district was started and made its first delivery in 1904 and has gone through several names, including Pilot Butte Irrigation and Light. The district was taken over by its membership 101 years ago. Today, we service 48,000 acres of irrigated land and have about 3,600 patrons. Over the years, our area has urbanized, and many of our big parcels are getting subdivided into small plots of 5 or fewer acres.

That means that we have more patrons than many other local irrigation districts. We are constantly seeking opportunities to conserve water through programs like piping to maximize our supply and reduce irrigation demands. To provide a reliable supply of water to our patrons, we must find ways to provide it in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner.

Irrigation Leader: To what degree are you still primarily an agricultural water provider?

Craig Horrell: About one-third of our acreage consists of lifestyle farms—people raising kids to do 4‑H and raise cattle for themselves. Another third consists of small acreages.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about COID’s women in leadership positions.

Shon Rae: Craig is probably to thank for that. We’ve hired several women managers and promoted women internally to management positions. Half our management team are women, which is not common in our industry. It’s generally an industry dominated by older men. It’s exciting for us to be at the forefront of promoting women in water. There’s no reason that women can’t be in leadership positions in this industry.

Craig Horrell: The women we’ve hired and put in these positions all have a deep-rooted desire to help agriculture because they’ve either been raised in agriculture or live on it now.

Shon Rae: We also recently hired a woman with an environmental background. She’s our land-use and development person. She brings a nice balance to our perspective. irrigationleadermagazine.com

Irrigation Leader: What are the implications of urbanization for property, water rights, and communication with your customers?

Shon Rae: It is a considerable challenge. We have around 200–300 property turnovers a year, including both large and small properties. Many new owners are from cities and do not understand water rights. Owners often think that COID will come out and turn on their water for them.

There is a huge need to educate these people, and although we try to educate them to some degree, we don’t have the capacity to educate them to the degree necessary. They need to be shown how to change water and how to use their land beneficially. It’s a constant challenge. In town, bigger parcels are being developed into small residential parcels, which leaves us with water that we can use for other purposes.

Craig Horrell: We’re looking at creative ways of moving that water to better uses, such as by marketing it to farmers who want to expand the water rights on their farms. We have looked at water banking as well.

Another issue created by urbanization is that people who have never dealt with irrigated ag move into our district and see the canal as a water feature. Piping sections of the canal has been a topic of debate with homeowners with property along stretches of the canal. Seven years ago, we began an educational program to help people understand that water is a utility that must be delivered to farmers efficiently.

Shon Rae: Our system runs through the city of Bend, the second-fastest-growing city in the nation. With growth come changes and challenges. We’ve created and implemented a strategy to establish a community-wide awareness and understanding of COID’s mission to provide a reliable supply of water in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner. The district has given presentations to chambers of commerce and civic groups to talk about trending water topics in the community. We also seek opportunities to partner with organizations that align with our mission and goals. We have made a lot of progress, but the growth of the city makes it a continual process.

Irrigation Leader: What was the motivation behind piping the Pilot Butte Canal?

Craig Horrell: COID is taking a long-range view of our irrigation system to ensure reliable access to water for the next 100 years. COID’s capital plan revolves around piping the entire length of the Pilot Butte Canal. We lose approximately 50 percent of our water to evaporation and seepage from canals and laterals during the irrigation season. By piping the Pilot Butte Canal, we can conserve a significant portion of this water and use it to benefit fish and wildlife in the Deschutes River ecosystem, support April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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hired KPFF Engineering of Portland to do a 30 percent design of the main canal. We thought this was an excellent opportunity for a design-bid process. We asked for proposals from a team that could help us build components, and we brought Taylor Northwest in during the 30 percent design, which helped us immensely in figuring out the components of the design. We asked for proposals for a design-build, and Taylor Northwest was the successful bidder.

Irrigation Leader: Mr. Isley, how does this project compare to the projects that Taylor Northwest typically works on?

Kevin Isley: We do a decent number of large, underground civil projects and pipe work. We’ve also recently started doing more design-build and construction-managergeneral-contractor-type project deliveries. This one was a good fit in that regard. We find those projects to be highly successful, mostly because constructability review goes on throughout the design process, rather than being done after the plans are already complete.

Craig Horrell: The cost of the large-diameter pipe made up 50 percent of the cost of this project. Taylor Northwest helped us determine what product would be the best and most affordable, which was no easy task. We ended up choosing steel pipe manufactured by Northwest Pipe.

COID’s raw pipe as it comes off the Northwest Pipe mill. The 102-inch spiralweld steel pipe is lined and coated with polyurethane before being transported to the worksite.

sustainable agriculture, save our patrons money, and help central Oregon better manage its water resources for the future. The amount of water COID saves through on-farm improvements, piping, and other conservation measures can be shared with North Unit Irrigation District (NUID) and other junior water right holders to ensure that farmers have the water they need, even in dry years. NUID will then be able to make water available from its storage in Wickiup Reservoir to increase winter flows in the Deschutes River.

Irrigation Leader: How much pipe is involved?

Irrigation Leader: Tell us about the planning and construction process. At what point did you select Taylor Northwest as the contractor, and why?

Craig Horrell: After we started a modernization plan, we decided to focus on the main canals and main laterals. We

16 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

Craig Horrell: The important factors included price, durability, and constructability. There were challenges to constructability with some of the preferred pipe materials, especially when it came to large-diameter pipe. Steel pipe matched up to other materials from a performance and quality standpoint, and the cost was competitive. Another benefit is the strength of steel and its natural resistance to seismic events. It took us about 3 months from start to finish to properly vet and select pipe materials and a vendor.

Craig Horrell: We visited several pipe plants. Northwest Pipe won out for a lot of reasons. It has a Portland, Oregon–based manufacturing center, which for us is basically as local as you can get. It’s made in Oregon and will stay in Oregon. That was a huge factor because delivering 14‑foot pipe is pretty expensive.

Irrigation Leader: When was ground broken on this project, and what is the projected timeline for completion?

Craig Horrell: We shut the water off on October 1, 2020, about 7–10 days earlier than normal, to get a jump start on construction in case we encountered bad weather. Taylor Northwest broke ground the first week of October. We will complete the year 1 work of phase 1 before we turn water back on in mid-April 2021. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF NORTHWEST PIPE.

Craig Horrell: The first phase involves 7.9 miles of largediameter pipe, ranging from 24 to 109 inches in diameter. It will be able to be pressurized to 100 pounds per square inch.

The entire Pilot Butte Canal is 23 miles long and will be piped in roughly 10 phases.

Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us more about the factors that went into the selection of that pipe?

Work on phase 1 of the Pilot Butte Canal piping project.

Kevin Isley: We’ve had good weather, which has been a big help. The district has also been proactive about communicating about the project to its patrons. The patrons we have visited in the field have been accommodating and appreciative of the work. People enjoy the aesthetic quality of the canals, but they have been educated properly over the last few years of planning and understand the overall importance of these improvements for the districts and the local environment. We are on schedule, and everything is going well. We have a great design and project team, and everyone is working together to move the project forward through design and construction.

PHOTOS COURTESY OF COID AND KEVIN ISLEY.

Irrigation Leader: How is COID funding this project?

Craig Horrell: This project is 75 percent funded through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, PL-566, and 25 percent funded through COID. The district is paying for its 25 percent with a $2 million state revolving loan from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and an $8 million lottery bond from the State of Oregon. Our lottery bonds were temporarily put on hold because of the COVID‑19 pandemic, though it looks like the governor will reinitiate them. The remaining $24.9 million is coming from the Natural Resources Conservation Service under PL-566.

Shon Rae: The amount of economic activity COID can generate in the Oregon economy as a result of irrigationleadermagazine.com

modernization-related expenditures is enormous. As the spending moves through the economy, its ripple effects go far beyond the initial direct expenditures. The benefits are staggering and serve as motivation to manage water more sustainably. Piping the entire Pilot Butte Canal is expected to create over 150 jobs in the construction sector and other sectors and to generate more than $145 million in income.

Infrastructure projects are much needed in our world right now to keep people working and our economy healthy.

Craig Horrell: We are fortunate as Oregonians that our contractor is local to central Oregon and that our pipe provider is local to Oregon. This project will support at least 150 jobs for the next 2 years. IL

Craig Horrell is the managing director of the Central Oregon Irrigation District. Kevin Isley is a project manager at Taylor Northwest. Shon Rae is the deputy managing director of the Central Oregon Irrigation District. For more about Central Oregon Irrigation District, visit www.coid.org. You can follow COID on Facebook @centraloregonirrigation.

April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 17

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NuSTREEM’s Portable, Flexible Turbine Container Design

N

uSTREEM is a manufacturer of proven, modular small hydro installations that are suitable for irrigation districts or other water conveyance operators. To make its turbines more portable and easier to install, it has developed the NuCONTAINER, an integrated, modular package in which multiple turbines are transported and can be installed in a standard-size shipping container. In this interview, NuSTREEM General Manager Juliann Blanford tells Irrigation Leader about the advantages of this novel design.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell our readers about the inspiration behind NuSTREEM’s container design for turbines.

Juliann Blanford: Talking with leaders in the industry, we saw a need for an easily integrated, modular hydropower package that would simplify shipping and installation while also significantly reducing the cost required for civil works. The capital costs of small hydro development are often a deterrent to its expanded use. Few sites can reasonably overcome the upfront capital costs to generate a return attractive enough to appeal to investment. To overcome these barriers, the market has been driving toward modular and standardized approaches to hydroelectric generation. To provide a solution, we came up with the concept of the NuCONTAINER. The NuCONTAINER is a prefabricated standard shipping container that can be used in place of a classic powerhouse. This design substantially reduces foundational requirements, the extent of the civil design, and the necessary onsite construction.

Irrigation Leader: What flexibility is there in this design?

Juliann Blanford: NuSTREEM’s design allows for one, two, or three turbines per container. Multiple containers can be used for a single site, encompassing a large variation of flows.

A modular system can be installed almost anywhere small hydro is desired—irrigation districts, mining facilities, rivers and canals, existing mills, conduits, and factory sites—whether in an independent micro grid or as part of a larger grid applied system. Anywhere there is moving water with a change in elevation, it is possible to use a modular hydropower solution.

Our approach differs in its use of standard shipping containers and in its ability to scale by adding turbines to each container and adding containers to a site. It is a proven, off-the-shelf structure that is inexpensive and readily available.

Juliann Blanford: In addition to enabling less costly and faster site construction, the NuCONTAINER design

22 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

Irrigation Leader: Is the container used for your turbines specially coated or painted?

Juliann Blanford: A standard shipping container is used.

The container can be painted with standard industrial paint or to any customer-specific requirements.

Irrigation Leader: What are the dimensions and weight of the NuCONTAINER? Juliann Blanford: NuSTREEM’s single NuCONTAINER weighs approximately 20,000 pounds, and the triple-turbine NuCONTAINER weighs approximately 40,000 pounds. The larger container can be moved using a crane, while the smaller NuCONTAINER can be moved using a forklift or crane.

Irrigation Leader: What is the energy production capacity of a single NuCONTAINER? Juliann Blanford: The smallest NuTURBINE in a single NuCONTAINER would produce approximately 75 kilowatts (kW). Three of the largest NuTURBINEs in a triple NuCONTAINER would produce approximately 750 kW. This puts the estimated annual energy production in the range of 350–3,500 megawatt-hours. IL Juliann Blanford is the general manager of NuSTREEM. She can be contacted at juliann.blanford@nustreem.com or (305) 519‑3614.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF NUSTREEM.

Irrigation Leader: Are there any other advantages to this kind of design?

has other economic benefits. For example, the ability to transport an entire powerhouse using a truck changes the maintenance and repair concepts. The entire powerhouse can be returned to a central depot or to NuSTREEM for maintenance or repairs. Furthermore, a replacement can be installed quickly and easily to ensure minimal power interruption. The wiring and testing are done prior to delivery from NuSTREEM. The powerhouse essentially becomes the line-replaceable unit. This provides a level of standardization and logistical support that minimizes the need for field disassembly, reassembly, and test by specialists.

Environmentally speaking, the entire NuCONTAINER design is directed at the overall goal of making decentralized hydropower generation economically attractive. This incentivizes the growth of a technology that will provide society with a low-environmental-impact alternative to other power generation methods.

Kevin Polak: The Designer Behind the NuCONTAINER

K

evin Polak brings over 35 years of experience in design and manufacturing to his position as mechanical design engineer at NuSTREEM. One of his triumphs has been the design of the NuCONTAINER, a modular powerhouse that fits one, two, or three turbines into a standard shipping container for ease of installation, transportation, and repair.

In this interview, Mr. Polak tells Irrigation Leader about his background and his work at NuSTREEM. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to work at NuSTREEM. Kevin Polak: Until 2017, I owned and operated a productdesign and prototyping firm in Connecticut for about 20 years. With over 35 years of experience in design and manufacturing, I have worked with many companies in various industries. I have designed products and managed projects for commercial, industrial, and aerospace industries, supporting numerous companies locally and across the country. In addition to designing products, I have been involved in developing production-document-control and configuration-management standards.

During the 1980s and 1990s I worked with NuSTREEM’s CEO, Andy Sadlon, designing digital mass memory products for military applications. Just over 2 years ago, Andy reached out to me to ask me to help out with some design-related tasks for NuSTREEM on a short-term consulting assignment. In September 2018, I accepted a fulltime position as a mechanical design engineer.

Irrigation Leader: What sorts of systems and machines did you design and build during your career previous to NuSTREEM? How has that experience informed your current work?

Kevin Polak: As I mentioned earlier, I have worked in a variety of industries throughout my career. Providing design services in mechanical, electromechanical, and electronic packaging; metal and plastic components; mechanisms; drafting; and more allows me to bring this experience and knowledge to NuSTREEM. The design approach taken with the NuTURBINE is to produce a machine that is modular, uses standard components and processes, and will perform under various operating conditions. This eliminates long lead times and specialty components. Until the NuTURBINE, turbines have been basically custom-built machines.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about how the idea for the NuCONTAINER arose.

conversation on the show floor at HydroVision 2019. The idea of putting our turbine in a mobile enclosure like a shipping container arose. My answer was, “Absolutely!” The show attendee we were talking with had been unsuccessfully looking for this sort of solution for quite a while. After the show, I began to package a single NuTURBINE into a shipping container, and NuSTREEM provided a conceptual design for review. It was exactly what they were looking for. Our company’s owner was briefed on the concept and gave us 100 percent backing to fully develop the NuCONTAINER system with up to three NuTURBINEs in one shipping container.

Irrigation Leader: What was the most difficult thing about designing the NuCONTAINER? Kevin Polak: Fit. Fitting our turbines, configured with larger generators, was a challenge that needed to be overcome. This required looking at different generator offerings and some out-of-the-box thinking. We needed to mount these larger generators in the footprint of our existing turbine with minimal change so that they fit into a standard shipping container.

Irrigation Leader: What are the advantages of the design over other ways of deploying small hydro turbines?

Kevin Polak: The largest obvious benefit is reducing construction costs. Other advantages include a shortened installation time, enabled by the fact that the NuCONTAINER includes the required grid interconnection devices. It is a modular powerhouse. It is built and tested at NuSTREEM’s facility and shipped complete to the site. The NuCONTAINER can also be moved as site conditions change, as in mining applications.

Irrigation Leader: What other current projects are you working on for NuSTREEM? Kevin Polak: NuSTREEM’s current products are supplied with induction generators. I am actively working on including synchronous generators on our NuTURBINE’s modular platform. Future work will include larger versions of the NuTURBINE that are higher flow and head applications that expand our product offerings. IL Kevin Polak is a mechanical design engineer at NuSTREEM. He can be contacted at kevin.polak@nustreem.com.

Kevin Polak: Juliann Blanford, NuSTREEM’s general manager; another show attendee; and I were having a irrigationleadermagazine.com

April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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The Impressive Product Line of Hose Solutions, Inc.

H

ose Solutions, Inc., (HSI) provides specialized hoses designed to move water, wastewater, concrete slurries, fuels, and other liquids. Its products are durable, flexible, and noncorrosive, providing an alternative to rigid pipes made of traditional materials like steel or PVC. In this interview, Jim Lowry, HSI’s business development and operations manager, tells us about the distinctive qualities and advantages that make HSI’s products attractive to customers from Alaska to Antarctica.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Jim Lowry: Prior to joining HSI, I worked in the heavy equipment industry. This afforded me the opportunity of interacting with a wide variety of manufacturers, distributors, and end users. Interestingly, I continue to work with companies and contacts from these sectors in my position today.

Understanding the selling cycle from my experience with those market segments really has benefited me with regard to the responsibilities I have at HSI. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about HSI and its history.

Jim Lowry: HSI was founded in Arizona in 2000. The business is the product of an international history dating back to the late 1800s; the family has a history of involvement with weaving, which is a critical part of manufacturing the company’s specialized high-pressure hoses. While remaining focused on technological improvements, the company has always emphasized working with suppliers and customers to form longterm and strategic relationships. Today, HSI is internationally recognized as a leader in innovation, quality, and responsiveness.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about HSI’s product line.

28 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

lowering their pump on one continuous length of pipe—in some cases, down to a depth of 1,000 feet. While its major advantages include ease of installation and resistance to corrosion, the real benefit of Boreline is that it will reduce energy consumption considerably and make a massive contribution to your bottom line.

HSI has also developed an amazing tool, the Pump Puller, to assist with installing submersible pumps on Boreline. The unit is a trailer-mounted hydraulic spool system designed to install and retrieve pumps at the push of a button. The advantage of this Pump Puller is that work can be performed off site in the controlled environment of your yard. When ready to install, you simply drive out to the site, back up to the well, and install and retrieve pumps at the push of a button. This is ideal for remote locations or locations at which you encounter overhead or other site restrictions, or for customers who just want to get their pump in or out of the well quickly, safely, and efficiently.

This Pump Puller is available from HSI for sale or rent.

Mineflex is a high-pressure dewatering hose used extensively in the mining and fracking industries, where miles of hose need to be deployed and retrieved quickly and efficiently.

Our Fuelflex hose is a fuel transfer hose that is used for civilian and military applications and has been deployed in Antarctica for ship-to-shore refueling.

In addition to water utilities and industrial and mining users, we have agricultural customers who use our products to pump water from rivers, to irrigate fields, to pump water from one pond to another, to fill stock or storage tanks, or to supply farm implements like sprayers. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HSI.

Jim Lowry: The best way to look at our product line is to consider the applications our products are used for, including potable water transportation, dewatering, irrigation, firefighting, and fuel transfer. Our hoses can be anywhere from 1 to 12 inches in diameter, depending on the product line and the specific uses they are designed for. The tensile strength of the different types of hoses varies according to the product, and it is the tensile strength that determines a hose’s pressure rating and how it can ultimately be used.

The company’s most popular products today are Boreline FlexiRiser and Mineflex. Boreline FlexiRiser is a flexible drop pipe designed to replace the rigid pipes used with submersible pumps. Rather than install submersible pumps on threaded 20-foot sticks of steel pipe that corrode and scale over time, Boreline offers water utilities the option of

A cross-section of smaller-diameter Boreline with two types of fittings—stainless and glass-reinforced nylon.

Irrigation Leader: Does the company have patents on its products?

Jim Lowry: No. It’s difficult to patent a hose that can be used in different environments. What the company has done is simply to focus on producing a high-quality hose with exceptional performance characteristics—bigger, better, and tougher than anything else that was available—and then to back it up with superior customer service. This approach has worked, leading to a growing product line.

Irrigation Leader: How does the Boreline FlexiRiser, which has a submersible pump hanging from it, stand up to the torque of the pump motor?

Jim Lowry: You’ve touched on a question that many people ask. We start off by explaining that we recommend a centralizer kit that is installed above the pump. This is a simple rubber spider that prevents the top of the pump from touching the side of the casing.

A more in-depth explanation would focus on the fact that there will always be water inside the column, at least up to static water level. When the pump is switched on, there will be a partial rotation in the direction of the pump. The weight and pressure of the water flowing up the column will bring the pump and FlexiRiser back to their original position, where they will remain during operation, behaving like a rigid column. The largest pump we ever installed on a Boreline FlexiRiser had a 296-horsepower motor!

Irrigation Leader: Who are your customers, and where are they located?

Jim Lowry: Our customers are all over the world, including in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and East Asia. In fact, we have sold our products from the Alaskan north coast all the way to Antarctica. Our team includes engineers who are fluent in a variety of languages, which is a major advantage considering our international market reach. We sell to small water utilities and cities as well as to remote towns and villages. We also visit large open-pit and underground mines, farms, and environmental Superfund sites. We also supply water-bottling companies, breweries, and soft drink companies. We have even sold to NASA! In terms of marketing, we run a lean but highly effective operation, relying heavily on relationships with distributors, both domestically and internationally. Recently, we have been developing regional and strategic distributorships here in the United States to expand our presence in key markets.

Irrigation Leader: What are the advantages of HSI’s flexible hose products?

Jim Lowry: We believe in our products and their contribution to our customers’ bottom lines, as do our thousands of new and repeat customers around the globe. irrigationleadermagazine.com

We are always looking for ways to increase customers’ awareness of our products and their many efficiencies. This is particularly important in the case of Boreline FlexiRiser, a product we have been manufacturing since 1990 but which is still viewed as a fairly new product in the industry.

However, the real advantage of working with us is that you get the HSI package. This includes the most knowledgeable experience in the drop pipe industry the world over, with access to a vast network of industry professionals in the water well and related industries that we can easily tap into. We are not only focused on how our products directly benefit our customers but on the long-term contribution we can make to their water systems and bottom lines.

Irrigation Leader: What are the company’s top issues today?

Jim Lowry: One challenge confronting HSI today is the lack of awareness about the contribution of the FlexiRiser to potential users’ bottom lines. Boreline FlexiRiser is honestly a no brainer, and its contributions are not limited to its product-specific advantages. Installing pumps on FlexiRiser contributes to the successful and efficient running of an entire well field operation, benefiting the installers, engineers, and even the financial controllers, who are focused on the bottom line. Everyone realizes the benefits pretty quickly.

We are confident that as this information continues to spread, the groundwater industry will come to understand the value of HSI. We have begun to see dramatic growth with small municipalities, farmers, and ranchers in rural areas, part of which is attributable to word of mouth.

Because our product is a permanent solution, we count on these sorts of referrals—frankly, that goes to the heart of our deep commitment to customer service.

Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future?

Jim Lowry: Our customers place great trust in HSI, so it is imperative that we continue offering cutting-edge products, knowledge, and solutions and that we are always available for discussions regarding anything related to the groundwater industry. This is our domain, and we are committed to being the premier source of information and to being able to assist with any inquiry we receive. HSI has never been willing to rest on past accomplishments, and we are constantly looking for new solutions to evolving challenges. We keep on trying, learning, and gathering more experience, and we never give up. IL Jim Lowry is the business development and operations manager at Hose Solutions, Inc. He can be contacted at jim.lowry@hosesolutions.com or (480) 607‑1507.

April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Irrigated Agriculture in Russia and Ukraine

Bob Wietharn (center) with two Riverscreen customers on a farm in the Mari El Republic area of Russia.

B

ob Wietharn is the inventor and manufacturer of the Riverscreen, an innovative floating screen that can pump and filter out debris from running water as shallow as 4 inches. In August 2019, Mr. Wietharn traveled to Russia and Ukraine, where he visited Riverscreen customers and dealers and visited a number of farms. In this interview, Mr. Wietharn shares with Irrigation Leader his impressions of Russia and Ukraine, including details about farming, irrigation, and equipment.

Irrigation Leader: How long was your trip to Russia and Ukraine?

Irrigation Leader: How many countries have you sold your screens to?

Bob Wietharn: More than 40—and it all started in Clay Center, Kansas, in 1998. When most people come out here,

34 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your impressions of Russia and Ukraine. What did you see over there?

Bob Wietharn: We left on August 14, 2019, and flew into Moscow. Then we drove down to visit a large farm in the Tula area, which covered 375,000 hectares (926,645 acres).

That farm had ordered one Riverscreen, tried it, and then ordered 36 more in a single shipment. At the time we visited, all the screens were stored inside a locked shed, because their growing season was over. In that region, their biggest concern is theft. If they leave anything out without a guard, it’s taken. We were driven around the farm in an old, beat-up truck. Off the main road, the roads were horrendous, with terrible potholes. We visited sites that pumped out of the river and out of ponds off the river. They were growing carrots and cabbage. All that produce is sold in Moscow. I was amazed by the deep black soil and the erosion that the operators of the farm were causing. Their farming practices reminded me of things we did 30 years irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOB WIETHARN.

Bob Wietharn: We were in Russia for 9 days and in Ukraine for 5. We went over to see two of our dealers, one in Russia and one in Ukraine. They took us to meet with their customers.

they shake their heads and can’t believe that it all happens in this little building.

Irrigation Leader: What kinds of irrigation did you see?

Bob Wietharn: It was all center-pivot irrigation. In terms of brand, there was a bit of everything. People there told me that they can get Valley equipment that is made in China, or Valley equipment shipped from the United States.

They prefer the equipment that is built in the United States because it is of far better quality. I thought that was interesting. The equipment that is made in China is 40 percent cheaper, but they still prefer our quality.

Irrigation Leader: Did they pump from canals?

Bob Wietharn: The first farm had tiny, shallow streams, the kind that the Riverscreen is about the only product that can be used to pump from.

We then visited one of the largest farms south of Moscow and another northeast of Moscow. The latter was more like what you would see in the Midwest—a farm of several thousand acres farmed by locals. There were a lot of little streams and rivers, and rolling, deep, black soil that reminded me of Iowa. There was not as much erosion.

You could tell the difference between a corporate farm and a private farm. At the private farms, everything was immaculate.

Irrigation Leader: Do they use modern equipment?

Bob Wietharn: The people were friendly and clean cut.

Moscow was a well-kept city. Its subway system is clean and filled with artwork, and it transports 6 million people a day.

It was impressive.

Bob Wietharn: At the large farm I mentioned, you could tell that the operator wasn’t the owner. The operators used dated equipment—whatever got the job done. At the privately owned farm, they had modern equipment and wanted to order more. They used tractors of the sort I would see at home. In fact, the farmer there wanted to order a U.S. John Deere, because the John Deeres that are sold in Russia now are produced in China. The Chineseproduced John Deere was just a Chinese tractor painted green with a John Deere emblem on it. He wanted me to get him a used tractor—he named a specific model—but due to the laws and regulations on trade between the United States and Russia, I’ve found it to be impossible.

It was the same with the vehicles. On the large farm, they used old-fashioned cars and trucks. On the privately owned farm, they had cars like those you would see in the United States.

Irrigation Leader: What kind of crops do they grow over there?

Irrigation Leader: What other differences did you note between the United States and Russia?

Bob Wietharn: We saw carrots, cabbage, and potatoes.

The farm we visited near Tula decided to get into the potato industry. In spring 2019, it started constructing a 5‑acre processing facility and then planted 60,000 hectares (148,263 acres) of potatoes. Most of those potatoes were going into Moscow.

Bob Wietharn: In comparison to what I saw in Russia, rural America is rich. In the United States, a rural town has blacktop streets, post offices, grocery stores, and all the necessities, while big cities have problems like homelessness.

In Russia and Ukraine, the situation was almost the opposite: The wealth is in the cities and the poor are in the country.

Bob Wietharn (right) and a Riverscreen customer inspect a Riverscreen at work in a Ukrainian canal.

ago in my farm operation, when people weren’t aware of the danger of erosion. In terms of equipment, however, they had modern pivots, pumps, and engines—and of course, they were using Riverscreens.

Irrigation Leader: What were the people like?

irrigationleadermagazine.com

April 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Bob Wietharn (right) with a Riverscreen customer near Tula, Russia.

Irrigation Leader: How was Ukraine different from Russia?

36 | IRRIGATION LEADER | April 2021

Bob Wietharn is the president of Riverscreen. He can be contacted at bob@riverscreen.com

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF BOB WIETHARN.

Bob Wietharn: Ukraine was totally different on the irrigation side. Russia’s got a lot of water in its streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes. Ukraine is the opposite. It doesn’t have any groundwater, and it doesn’t have a lot of surface water. We toured farms in the Odessa area, which is along the Black Sea. All the fields were 1,000 hectares (2,471 acres) in size and were perfectly flat with black soil. It rains in the winter, but not as much in the summer. The soils are deep. In the place where I was, there was a canal system that had been built under the Soviet Union and that ended in Crimea. Without this canal system, Crimea has no water.

Well, as we all know, Russia took over Crimea, and after it did, Ukraine shut the water off. Crimea does not have any water right now. Only about 60 percent of that canal system is being used today.

Another peculiarity has to do with land ownership.

After Ukraine became independent in 1991, the Ukrainian government distributed the land that had previously been owned by collective farms to collective farm workers, with the result that about 7 million people received plots

of 2–3 hectares (5–7½ acres). Several million other rural residents were granted ownership of small plots of land previously owned by the central or local governments.

However, in 2001, the Ukrainian parliament instated a moratorium on the sale of private agricultural land, which is still in force. As a result, the owners of these small plots cannot sell them, and they instead rent them out to farmers on short-term contracts. Because the people who farm those plots do not own them, they can’t make long-term investments. If the laws on land ownership were to change, I think there would be a lot of investment in that land. There is huge potential for production. Another difference is that genetically modified crops and Roundup are not allowed. IL

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