Mike Miller, Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District
East Wenatchee and the Columbia River from above.
T
he Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District (GWID) services 10,000 acres in north-central Washington State. As an essential business, GWID has had to find new ways to operate during the COVID‑19 pandemic. In this interview, GWID Manager Mike Miller, who has been with the district for almost three decades, tells Irrigation Leader about the challenges it has had to face during the pandemic and the measures it is taking to continue operations. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about yourself and about GWID. Mike Miller: I’ve worked for GWID for 29 years. I started as a foreman and electrician and worked my way up to manager. We service 10,000 acres of tree fruits. In addition to me, we have five field employees, one full-time office employee, and one part-time office employee. Irrigation Leader: How has the COVID‑19 pandemic affected your operations?
30 | IRRIGATION LEADER | JUNE 2020 - COVID-19 SPECIAL ISSUE
Irrigation Leader: How many people do you have working right now? Mike Miller: Currently, three people are working full time: the Bray’s Landing operator, the Howard Flats operator, and me. One employee is working in the East Wenatchee unit for emergencies only. After a 14‑day period of limited working during which none of them felt ill, the two East Unit employees came back to work. The third East Unit employee had a roommate test positive, so the health department told us not to let him return to work unless he waited 14 days and had no symptoms. As of May 11, all employees have returned to work. Our office manager had been traveling, so we required her to work remotely; she will be allowed back on May 18, assuming she shows no symptoms. IRRIGATIONLEADERMAGAZINE.COM
PHOTO COURTESY OF BREWBOOKS.
Mike Miller: GWID is divided into three specific units: the East Wenatchee unit, the Brays Landing unit, and the Howard Flats unit. There are about 30–35 miles between each of them. One of the three GWID employees who work in the East Wenatchee unit tested positive for COVID‑19. The other two employees have been working around him and trying to socially distance, but we ended up having to require all three of them to self-isolate. We were in the process of
trying to get our water on as quickly as possible before we had a positive test, and we didn’t make it all the way through. One East Unit operator tested positive and was immediately sent home. The other two East Unit field personnel, who had been working closely with him, were sent home as well. I’ve been out in the field turning on water myself, and in the case of emergencies, two of those three employees are coming out to help, wearing gloves and masks. Special thanks are due to Craig Simpson of East Columbia Basin Irrigation District and Waylon Marshall of Wenatchee Reclamation District, who both called and offered to provide help when we were down people. That was greatly appreciated as I tried to come up with a plan to move forward.
