Preserving Pick-Sloan Power for the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District
Raymond Bell in a field irrigated by SWUID water.
T
he Sidney Water Users Irrigation District (SWUID), based in Sidney, Montana, serves water to 48 family farms across around 5,000 acres in eastern Montana. Along with its neighboring district, Kinsey Irrigation Company, SWUID is threatened with the loss of affordable project use power (PUP) from the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, which was authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1944 and which SWUID has been using for 75 years. In this interview, SWUID President Raymond Bell explains the district’s situation and what actions are needed to preserve its operations and services. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background.
34 | IRRIGATION LEADER | July/August 2020
Irrigation Leader: How many generations has your family been in Montana? Raymond Bell: The farm that I was born and raised on was my grandpa’s farm, so I belong to the third generation of our family to live in Montana. My son is working for me now; he is from the fourth generation. My grandfather immigrated from France. My mom’s family came from Germany. My dad was raised in the district on a small homestead. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about SWUID. Raymond Bell: The district has been pumping water since the early 1940s. The district was put together and founded in 1937 through the Works Progress Administration and was granted Pick-Sloan power in 1946. That power source was pretty much what got the district going. Right now, we support about 48 families. The district serves about 5,000 acres. The Yellowstone River is our source of water. irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SWUID.
Raymond Bell: I was born and raised in Sidney, Montana, on a farm in the Sidney Water Users Irrigation District. I haven’t gone far from home. After I got married, my dad got us into the trucking business, in which I worked for about 25 years. Then, we sold our trucking business off and went back to farming. We invested in some more land for the farm in the irrigation district. We put in some irrigation pivots and made some other irrigation improvements. I
joined the SWUID board in 1996 and became president of the district in 1998. I’ve held that position ever since.
