How SePRO Helps Districts Develop Algae and Water Quality Strategies
Chemicals are applied to a canal.
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ePRO is a research-based life sciences company that is a leader in aquatic vegetation and algae management for irrigation canals. It produces a number of wellknown aquatic herbicides and algaecides, like Sonar, Clearcast, Nautique, and Captain XTR. Beyond its products, SePRO prizes its ability to establish close relationships with irrigation districts, understand their problems, and provide successful recommendations that cover not just product choice, but application methods as well. In this interview, Mike Pearce, SePRO’s portfolio leader for algae and water quality solutions, tells Irrigation Leader about the company’s canal and irrigation portfolio and services.
Mike Pearce: My background is in canals and irrigation. I like to say that I grew up at an irrigation district. I went to work
32 | IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF SEPRO.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
for the Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) in Washington State as a temporary laborer in 1999, when I was 19 years old. I started working for KID full time in 2000 and worked there for 11 years. During my time at KID, I took advantage of its education reimbursement program to complete a degree at Washington State University. I was involved with KID’s vegetation-management program from the beginning, doing both aquatic and terrestrial applications. Due to changes with National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permitting, I began using SePRO technologies for aquatic weed and algae control and built a solid relationship with the company over the years. In 2011, I had the opportunity to join SePRO as a technical specialist for its Pacific Northwest territory, which exposed me to irrigation districts throughout Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. This is where I learned that all systems are different and there is no such thing as a one-sizefits-all program. In 2017, I took over as a portfolio leader and moved to SePRO’s headquarters in Carmel, Indiana.
