Irrigation Leader November/December 2016

Volume 7 Issue 10

November–December 2016

Hope for the Hi-Line: A Conversation About Rehabilitating Aging Infrastructure With the Milk River Joint Board of Control Project Manager Jennifer Patrick

What Would the Builder's Think?

By Kris Polly

T

his July, I was fortunate to have participated in a tour of the St. Mary Diversion sponsored by the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group and the Montana Water Resources Association.

It was a great experience. Montanans are enthusiastic, can-do Americans, and the scenery is wide open and beautiful. The glacial water in the project canals has a unique, almost turquoise color that is also beautiful to see. The St. Mary Diversion was one of the first U.S. Bureau of Reclamation projects, with construction beginning in 1907, and most of the original infrastructure is still in place.

Most noteworthy are the hand-riveted, 80-inch steel siphons that are still delivering water. While the siphons have been repaired in various places, the original engineering has stood the test of time.

The gravity-flow system has successfully delivered water for alfalfa, wheat, other forage crops, and livestock production for over 100 years. It is clear, however, that many of the project’s components are crumbling and in need of replacement.

What would those original builders of the St. Mary Diversion think if they could see the project today? They engineered it and built it to last, so they would likely not be surprised that it is still operating. They may be surprised, however, at the project’s state of repair, and they may also be surprised to see that the project has not continued to develop. Those who promoted and built the St. Mary Diversion over 100 years ago understood that irrigation creates an economic engine for local and state economies. Today, Montana’s Canadian neighbors to the north in Alberta are growing 40 different crops that supply a variety of processors and contribute C$3.5 billion to the province’s economy. What would the builders of the St. Mary Diversion think about that?

Kris Polly is editor-in-chief of Irrigation Leader magazine and 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 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at Kris.Polly@waterstrategies.com.

Irrigation Leader magazine will sponsor an Irrigation Leader Educational Tour of irrigation and irrigation-related infrastructure in New Zealand. The dates of the tour are February 18–25, 2017.

Please note that we will award an additional door prize prize-credit (in the form of reimbursement) to be applied to the Irrigation Leader Educational Tour of New Zealand at our annual Operations and Management Workshop at the Crown Plaza Phoenix Airport Hotel, Arizona, on February 1–2, 2017.

2017 New Zealand Water Leader Educational Tour

The cost of the tour is $2,000.00 per person, which includes hotel accommodations, meals, and ground transport, but not airfare.

Individuals wishing to participate must register and pay their tour fee by December 9, 2016. Our tour space is limited to 20 participants. For more information and to register, please see our website at www.WaterStrategies.com.

Companies that have expressed interest in participating and sponsoring the tour include: • Alligare • Rubicon Water • WaterTronics If you are interested in receiving information about the tour as a potential participant or if your company is interested in being a sponsor, please e-mail Kris Polly at Kris.Polly@waterstrategies.com, and we will add you to our information list.

NOVEMBER–DECEMBER 2016

C O N T E N T S 2 What Would the Builder's Think?

By Kris Polly

VOLUME 7

ISSUE 10

Irrigation Leader is published 10 times a year with combined issues for July/August and November/December by Water Strategies LLC 4 E Street SE Washington, DC 20003 STAFF: Kris Polly, Editor-in-Chief John Crotty, Senior Writer Matthew Dermody, Writer Robin Pursley, Graphic Designer Capital Copyediting LLC, Copyeditor 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 John Crotty at (202) 698-0690 or john.crotty@waterstrategies.com.

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

Copyright © 2016 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.

COVER PHOTO: Jennifer Patrick, project manager for the Milk River Joint Board of Control.

Irrigation Leader

4 Hope for the Hi-Line: A Conversation

About Rehabilitating Aging Infrastructure With the Milk River Joint Board of Control Project Manager Jennifer Patrick

10 Having the Backs of Irrigators in

Montana: A Conversation With Congressman Ryan Zinke

INTERNATIONAL

12 Growing and Sustaining the Communities

of Southern Alberta: Irrigation on the Canadian Prairie

16 Seizing a Transformational Opportunity:

The Blackfeet Water Compact

By Gerald Lunak

ASSOCIATION PROFILE

20 U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage: A Discussion With President Brian Wahlin RECLAMATION PROFILE

24 Big Challenges and Rewards in Big Sky

Country: A Conversation With Steve Davies of Reclamation’s Montana Area Office

DISTRICT FOCUS

30 Helena Valley Irrigation District

By Jim Foster

THE INNOVATORS

34 Blazing a New Trail for Weed Control:

A Conversation With Wayne Bistodeau of Ram Flame

38 Classified 3

Hope for the Hi-Line: A Conversation About

Rehabilitating Aging Infrastructure With the Milk River Joint Board of Control Project Manager Jennifer Patrick

T

he Milk River Joint Board of Control is made up of eight nontribal Milk River Project irrigation districts in northern Montana: Malta, Glasgow, Dodson, Fort Belknap, Zurich, Harlem, Paradise Valley, and Alfalfa Valley. Those eight districts deliver water to approximately 110,000 irrigated acres of alfalfa, wheat, and barley in the Milk River basin. The Milk River Project spans 300 miles, from Glacier National Park through the Blackfeet Nation up through southern Alberta and down across northern Montana’s high prairie, supplying much-needed water to rural communities in what is known as Montana’s Hi-Line.

Commissioned and built at the turn of the last century, the Milk River Project was one of the first built by the U.S. Reclamation Service—the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s predecessor. The very same infrastructure built during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration, with some improvements and additions, delivers water to irrigators today. Water from the St. Mary River, diverted via the St. Mary Diversion Dam and the St. Mary Canal into the Milk River near Glacier National Park, accounts for more than half the project’s supply.

Jennifer Patrick has been the project manager for the Milk River Joint Board of Control since 2007, serving as a liaison to all the Joint Board’s member entities. Ms. Patrick, a Montana Hi-Line native, is also a member of the Saint Mary Rehabilitation Working Group, which was commissioned by the state of Montana to create a workable solution to rehabilitating the Milk River Project’s aging infrastructure.

Irrigation Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, sat down with Ms. Patrick to discuss how the Milk River Project and the Joint Board operate, the challenges of repairing and upgrading the project’s aging water infrastructure, and her goals for the future of the project.

Kris Polly: The Milk River Project’s infrastructure is unique in that it is spread out across hundreds of miles. Please describe the project.

Jennifer Patrick: The system runs approximately 300 miles from Fresno Reservoir to where it leaves the project. That number reflects the driving distance on the highway, not as the river flows, which is even greater given how much it meanders.

The system starts up in Saint Mary area, which diverts water from the Saint Mary River into Lake Sherburne. From there, it travels up to Canada through a system of canals and drop structures, and then it flows down from Canada to us through the Milk River into Fresno Reservoir, which holds about 96,000 acre-feet of water. Then it moves through the 4

Irrigation Leader

The St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group and the Montana Water Resources Association sponsored a tour of the St. Mary River Diversion this past July.

basin on through some smaller reservoirs and diversions to Nelson Reservoir before flowing out of the project. Once it passes the [town of ] Glasgow, we can’t get it back. The water flows through two reservations, the Canadian border, and a lot of municipalities.

Kris Polly: How do you staff such a geographically large project?

Jennifer Patrick: We’ve had anywhere from 4 to 12 staff members, depending on the project. We can always add people, but we generally have a staff of 5 to 6. They include welders, drivers, and heavy equipment operators.

Malta Irrigation District carries a staff of 7 or 8 people that we can pull from at any time. There’s at least one in every district, so if we have a failure, we’re able to pull about 12–15 total from all the districts if needed.

Kris Polly: What are some of the unique challenges the district faces?

Jennifer Patrick: The Milk River is a 100-year-old project, and a catastrophic failure could happen at any time.

We also have aging infrastructure where the water comes back to us from Fresno on down. The irrigators are on the hook for on-farm infrastructure that is degrading; district infrastructure that is degrading; and for the Saint Mary diversion, which is also degrading. That is what they’re mainly trying to get a handle on.

Kris Polly: What is the project’s most critical aging infrastructure issue right now?

Jennifer Patrick: The most critical would probably be the St. Mary Diversion Dam. We could be making more Irrigation Leader

progress there, but we have endangered bull trout at that diversion dam, which are doubling or tripling the cost of rehabilitation and making things difficult.

Kris Polly Ideally, what would you like to see happen to solve that issue?

Jennifer Patrick: I would love the agencies overseeing the endangered species to replace the infrastructure, but I don’t live in that ideal world right now. When we have farmers and ranchers who are maybe making $700 after repaying their operating budgets because they are only receiving $4 for a bushel of wheat and $1.10 a pound for their calves, it is really tough to figure out how to pay for 76 percent of a $20–40 million project. In my ideal world, I would love a cost component that we could actually pay.

The farmers know they’re on the hook for this, but they’re at the point where they don’t have the ability to pay any more. The total costs of rehabilitation are estimated to exceed $205 million.

Kris Polly: What kind of talks have you had with Reclamation about that issue?

Jennifer Patrick: Reclamation’s Montana Area Office has a great staff. We have worked with them on replacing concrete on our project, in which we provide the manpower, the engineering, and some of the staff. We know that our process for paying for things doesn’t have as many hoops to jump through as Reclamation’s does.

They have worked with us to figure out what we can afford and where the breaking point is. They have been very helpful, but the cost allocation ratio for the Saint Mary is 76 percent for the irrigators and only 24 percent for the federal government.

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Kris Polly: What is your long-term vision for the project?

The St. Mary Diversion Dam diverts water from the outlet of Lower St. Mary Lake to the Milk River through a 29-mile canal, siphon, and drop system.

Jennifer Patrick: I would like to be able to fix the project and build it up to last for another 100 years, but not at millions and millions of dollars in costs being borne by the irrigators. At some point, the farmers may decide that these costs aren’t worth it, especially in light of what wheat and cattle are bringing, and they may walk away completely.

There are a lot of little communities along the Hi-Line and along the river that depend on the farmers and will suffer if that happens.

Kris Polly: What should every elected official know about your project and about what irrigation means for Montana?

Jennifer Patrick: This is a vital part of the state of Montana. We have some of the most productive alfalfa- and wheat-growing areas here, and if that goes away, we will lose one more crop that could be produced in the United States rather than being brought in from somewhere else. We have over 20 towns here, and many of them depend on the Milk River water supply. If it goes away, there will be nothing there at all. We need to find a workable solution.

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Having the Backs of Irrigators in Montana: A Conversation With Congressman Ryan Zinke

C

ongressman Ryan Zinke is the at-large representative for the state of Montana in the U.S. House of Representatives. Prior to his election to Congress in 2014, Congressman Zinke served in the Navy SEALs for 23 years and then as a Montana state senator for one term.

He is a fifth-generation Montanan.

In July 2016, Congressman Zinke introduced the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act, which would enact the Blackfeet Water Compact and resolve the water rights issues among the Blackfeet Nation, Montana, and the federal government.

Irrigation Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, sat down with Congressman Zinke to discuss the benefits of the Blackfeet Water Compact legislation, the process that has allowed the bill to move forward, and other water issues facing Montana and the country.

Kris Polly: Congressman Zinke, please tell our readers what the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act will mean for the Blackfeet Nation, its irrigators, and irrigators on the Milk River Project?

Congressman Zinke: The completion of the Blackfeet Water Compact is in the best interest of both the tribe and Montana. The Blackfeet have waited the longest and given up the most during their history with regard to water, so as the congressman who represents the Blackfeet, I feel we need to move forward quickly and complete the compact.

Across Montana, there are a lot of projects that will depend on resolution of the compact, including the St. Mary’s bypass, as well as the adjudication of other water rights issues. I’m optimistic that it will move forward.

The Blackfeet compact is the first to move forward under [House Natural Resources Committee] Chairman Rob Bishop’s requirements for approving water agreements, and we’ve worked enormously hard to make it a priority.

Kris Polly: Why do you think the process (both the compact and legislation) has been able to move forward in recent years as compared to the past?

Congressman Zinke: I’ve worked with both sides, including the agencies, the chairman of the Blackfeet, and Chairman Bishop to make this a priority. We prioritized this because it’s not only good for the Blackfeet Nation, but also for Montana. It’s also important to show leadership and prove we can get things done.

There are a number of other pending water compacts on the national level, but getting this one through despite

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all the hurdles shows leadership. I’m grateful to Chairman Bishop for being supportive. There have also been a number of members of the House who have been very helpful in advancing this compact. A lot of it is about relationship building and about identifying priorities.

Kris Polly: More generally, what are some of the most critical water resource development issues for Montana and for the West?

Congressman Zinke: The first would have to be infrastructure. Montana is not alone in that much of our infrastructure was built at the turn of the last century.

We need to look at that to make sure we’re using the water we have more efficiently. A prime example is the St. Mary’s bypass, which is basically a furrow that was welded together in 1906 or so. If it breeches, the Milk River will become a creek, which will affect the entire Hi-Line of Montana. The Blackfeet Water Compact needs Irrigation Leader

to be done so we can start looking at these water projects that are affected by it.

We need to protect the cleanliness and quality of our water as well. Agriculture is our number one industry, but we also have a strong recreation sector; Montana is known as the state where “a river runs through it,” and we’re very protective of our water systems to make sure they’re maintained in perpetuity. We have Glacier National Park, the Yellowstone River, and arguably some of the greatest fly fishing in the world. That’s all part of the uniqueness of Montana. Water is a critical part of our economy and our future.

Kris Polly: What are some legislative solutions in the works to address those issues?

Congressman Zinke: We have the Dry Prairie Rural Water Authority up in the northeast quarter of the state, which provides the region’s entire drinking water supply; we also have the Yellowstone Project, the St. Mary Bypass, and other projects throughout the state.

Water is not just a Montana issue, but also a national issue. There are places where we are not using our water resources as efficiently as we could because of the depreciation of the ditches and other infrastructure. Water is a critical and strategic resource, and we need to make investments to ensure that it is used efficiently so that

Irrigation Leader

industries like agriculture and recreation will have the water they need. We can’t do that if the infrastructure is inadequate.

Kris Polly: What does irrigated agriculture mean for Montana?

Congressman Zinke: Agriculture is and likely will remain the largest industry in the state. A lot of the farms are family owned, and they are located in smaller communities that cannot replace the aging water infrastructure by themselves. A national emphasis has to be placed on allocating resources at the ground level for the benefit of Montana and the country as a whole. The agricultural viability of these communities, their ability to ship crops as markets change, and our ability to have a positive commodities trade balance are important national issues.

Kris Polly: What should every Montanan and American know about the work Congress is doing to ensure a sustainable and long-term water supply for agriculture in the state and the country?

Congressman Zinke: Irrigation districts need to know that as a former SEAL commander, I have their back. It is my priority because it is their priority.

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International

Growing and Sustaining the Communities of Southern Alberta: Irrigation on the Canadian Prairie

W

ith its deep blue waters flowing out of the Rocky Mountains in Glacier National Park, the St. Mary River runs northeast through the Blackfeet Reservation into Canada and, eventually, the Hudson Bay. The St. Mary is a vital source of irrigation water for Montana, where its waters are diverted into the Milk River and conveyed hundreds of miles east to the agricultural communities of the Hi-Line, and for Alberta, where the river is diverted and impounded at various points before its confluence with the Oldman River near Lethbridge, Alberta. Just as the waters of the St. Mary River diverge between the two countries, so too do the respective stories of irrigation in the state and province.

Those diverging stories reveal themselves on the drive from Great Falls, Montana, north across the high prairie to Lethbridge. Fields of wheat and alfalfa define the landscape of northern Montana east of the Rockies. After crossing the border, however, the fields turn decidedly more green. Despite the northern latitudes, which translate to shorter growing seasons under colder temperatures, irrigated fields of alfalfa, corn, canola, sunflower, and wheat dominate the prairie. Storage and seed silos dot the highway every couple of miles. The difference is striking.

Southern Alberta is home to 13 irrigation districts that deliver water to nearly 1.5 million acres. The region grows upward of 40 different crops despite annual precipitation averaging 16 inches. And, according to a study commissioned by the Alberta

Irrigation Projects Association (AIPA), Alberta’s irrigation industry contributes more than C$3.5 billion to Alberta’s gross domestic product. Irrigation is truly the economic engine that drives the region.

Southwest of the city of Lethbridge, past rolling fields of canola and hemp, is the St. Mary Reservoir, which is owned and operated by the provincial government (Alberta Environment and Parks) and stores nearly 370,000 acre-feet of water for irrigation, recreation, and flood control. The primary conveyance of irrigation water in the region is the 176-mile St. Mary Canal, which delivers 3,200 cubic feet per second of water (at the start of the system) to 540,000 irrigated acres. It takes almost a week to get water from St. Mary Reservoir to the end of system near Medicine Hat. Efficiencies abound. For irrigators in southern

Alberta Infrastructure oversaw the C$47 million rehabilitation of the then 45-year-old St. Mary Dam and replacement of its spillway. The project was completed in 1999.

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Irrigation Leader

Alberta, pivots have increasingly become the irrigation method of choice over the last 10 years: From 2005 to 2015, the use of low-pressure pivots on irrigated lands has increased from 47 percent to 71 percent.

Irrigators also use flood (11 percent), high-pressure pivots (10 percent), wheel lines (8 percent), and a small amount of drip (2 percent). In addition to those increased on-farm efficiencies, according to AIPA Executive Director Ron McMullin, there is increasingly more automation on irrigation delivery systems in the province. With the adoption of SCADA, some Alberta farmers can now text their water orders to their respective district water masters, who make adjustments in deliveries via a laptop.

Early History

The history of irrigation on the Canadian prairie in Alberta is a familiar one and very much tied to that of American pioneers. According to Mr. McMullin, irrigation came to the region because flows in the Oldman River were not sufficient to float barges of coal from Lethbridge, which was once known as Coal Banks, to Medicine Hat. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, the mining of coal and the development of the transcontinental railroad brought people to southern Alberta. The Canadian Pacific Railroad and the Alberta Railway and Coal Company, each owning huge tracts of land in the area, wanted to continue to attract people and saw irrigation as a path to building communities.

Representatives contracted with Mormon irrigators from Utah to come and build irrigation systems in the area. Those first systems provided the first toehold for crops in the dry, high prairie of southern Alberta.

Terrance Lazarus, general manager of the St. Mary River Irrigation District.

Irrigation Leader

As part of its ongoing conservation program, the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) is putting its open canals and laterals into pipe. On the Grassy Lake Main Canal, SMRID is installing several kilometers of 60-inch PVC pipe.Â

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A Difference of Rights

Property in and right to the diversion and use of all water in Alberta is vested in the Crown. In the same way that state laws govern American irrigation districts, however, provincial law governs Canadian irrigation districts. They hold board elections, hire managers, and do all types of operations and management that American irrigation districts do. The districts deliver water to farmers; the district, not the farmer, owns the license and hence the water rights. Land and water rights are separate with the provincial 1999 Water Act, so water licenses may be transferred—subject to district and provincial requirements. Mr. McMullin noted that a transfer requires a district referendum and review from the Department of the Environment.

The St. Mary River Irrigation District

Driving across the wide expanse of corn, amid the flowing and golden waves of canola, sits the Broxburn Cafe. Over a delicious roasted red pepper soup and slightly nutty Saskatoon pie made with Alberta huckleberries, Terrance Lazarus, general manager of the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), discussed the challenges that he and his district, like most districts, face: infrastructure management and increasing efficiencies. “We can’t just think about right now, we have to be thinking about 50 years down the line.”

As manager of Canada’s largest irrigation district, he has to contemplate a lot of infrastructure. SMRID delivers water through 1,280 miles of canals and pipeline to nearly 400,000 acres of land from Lethbridge to Medicine Hat. As part of an ongoing overhaul of the district’s infrastructure, SMRID has put a significant number of miles of lateral into pipe—many of SMRID’s turnouts are now serviced by pipe and metered.

At a SMRID construction project site, Trevor Geremia, SMRID’s young lead engineer, showed off work on the Grassy Lake Main Canal, which will put several miles of open canal into 60-inch PVC pipe. The project, like many of the irrigation infrastructure rehabilitation projects in the province, has benefitted from provincial support. Alberta’s Irrigation Rehabilitation Program (IRP) is a 75–25 costshare program between the province and its irrigation districts. Over the past four decades, the IRP has invested an average of $20 million per year to improve Alberta’s irrigation systems. The IRP helped to fund the Grassy Lake pipeline project.

Hydropower on the Prairie

SMRID’s neighbor, Raymond Irrigation District (RID), helps run a small hydropower facility along a canal that parallels the St. Mary River Main Canal west of the town of Raymond. The facility replaces three drops along the canal that were located close to each other. Brought online

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Gordon ZoBell (left), general manager of the Raymond Irrigation District, and David Selman (right), SMRID Irrican plant operator, in front of the 6.9-megawatt power plant at drops 4, 5 and 6 of the St. Mary Main Canal.

in 2004, the power plant employs a horizontal Kaplan turbine to generate a maximum of 6.9 megawatts of power.

According to Gordon ZoBell, RID general manager, his district, along with SMRID and neighboring Taber Irrigation District, got together to form Irrican Power, a cooperative that facilitates the development of hydropower projects on existing irrigation conveyances in the region.

Three plants generating about 38 megawatts in total are now operational. While current electricity prices are a source of concern, Mr. ZoBell noted that Irrican was able to participate in a Canadian government program that guaranteed prices for small power projects over a set period of time to help those projects get off the ground.

Addressing Aging Infrastructure Head On

Heading back from the Grassy Lake Canal project, one gets a sense of the economic multipliers inherent in irrigated agriculture. Not only are there fields of peas in harvest and expanses of hybrid seed canola pollinated with leafcutter bees, but also many businesses built on irrigation: sprawling McCain and Lamb Weston potato processing facilities, a sugar processing plant, potato and onion storage facilities, compressed hay processing, and numerous farm implement and truck dealerships. The rural communities along the St. Mary River Main Canal appeared economically healthy, a characteristic that could be directly attributed to the varied crop portfolio of the region’s farmers.

Montana, like much of the West, is struggling to maintain and, in some cases, overhaul its water conveyance systems. The same is true in Alberta. The difference is that Alberta’s irrigation projects are able to tackle the problem head on with the financial and policy help of the provincial government. There is a pervasive can-do spirit in the work of the region’s water managers and little talk of environmental hurdles. You get the feeling that there is a true recognition and appreciation of the role that irrigated agriculture plays in the region’s economy and social fabric.

Irrigation Leader

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Seizing a Transformational Opportunity:

The Blackfeet Water Compact

By Gerald Lunak

T

he Blackfeet Tribe faces many challenges today, but securing our water rights and resources are among the most important. The issue of water is not a new one, and it has always presented difficulties.

Since the Treaty of 1855, water has been both a spiritual part of the world of the Blackfeet as well as an important means of providing a permanent homeland for members of the tribe. The transition to a permanent reservation has been difficult for a people who had traditionally followed and hunted buffalo for food instead of growing crops and engaging in development of reservation resources. Water use for agriculture and livestock, as well as for oil and gas, timber, and other economic purposes, together with reservation domestic and municipal use, is part of our present and our future moving forward, but managing it properly is still a challenge.

Senate Passes Water Rights Compact

On September 15, the United States Senate took a step toward addressing some of those challenges when it ratified the Blackfeet Water Compact as part of the

Water Resources Development Act. The bill’s passage is an important step toward settling and securing water rights for our members. The compact will resolve long-standing water rights claims of the Blackfeet Tribe in the state of Montana.

The compact confirms the tribe’s rights to the waters that flow through our lands and jurisdiction to administer water on the reservation. In addition, the compact, together with the federal settlement legislation, provides funds to develop new irrigation projects; to repair and update canals, dams, and other existing water infrastructure; and for other water uses. The compact will give us more certainty regarding how much water we will have over the long term and will allow us to do more planning for future economic purposes. This will benefit both the Blackfeet and our neighbors.

Challenging Process

The process of ratifying the water rights compact has been a difficult one, due in part to long-standing and complex legal challenges. The state and federal governments each have their own unique processes and challenges. However, the state of Montana was proactive

Gerald Lunak, Blackfeet Tribe water resource director, standing next to Birch Creek on the southern border of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

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Irrigation Leader

by establishing a water rights commission that provided us the opportunity to pursue this process. We have done so by engaging with state and federal stakeholders, giving positive and effective testimony at congressional hearings, and demonstrating to our members that the process can work in spite of the difficulties. The progress of the compact indicates just how far the process has come.

Seizing the Opportunity

This compact is a great opportunity for our communities. We have vast land resources with potential for production agriculture and irrigation and ranching, as well as timber, oil and gas, and other resources, but the compact will allow us to use our resources more effectively.

The annual flow of water from the headwaters of the Upper Missouri River and the St. Mary is a vital resource, and the compact will allow us to properly use it. Under the compact, the Blackfeet will also be able to contract, lease, or permit our reservation waters. Knowing precisely how much water we will control will allow us to decide how much will be needed to meet our own needs and provides us with the opportunity to lease or permit water to our neighbors.

The Blackfeet Tribe will also benefit from the opportunities the compact presents for investment in our water infrastructure. Many of our canals and other irrigation resources are unlined and overgrown with vegetation, and some are over 100 years old. Only one

of our diversion dams has been repaired within the last decade, and the canals do not operate at peak efficiency.

The need to repair and update these projects is clear, and the compact will allow us to do so. The compact will also allow the tribe to construct new irrigation projects on nearly every stream on the reservation. This will ensure long-term water access for our farmers, remote communities, and all our members.

A Brighter Future

Our people are encouraged by what this compact can do to benefit our economy and our environment. The funding and legal certainty provided by the compact will allow our farmers and irrigators to make decisions about how to best use the water for our own use and allows the tribe to permit or lease excess water to our neighbors and to others.

The compact will allow us to develop and improve the water infrastructure on our land, which will improve the quality of life for all our members. We have to look to the future and understand that this compact will help brighten it for us.

Gerald Lunak is the director of water resources for the Blackfeet Tribe. You can reach Mr. Lunak at glunak@blackfeetfire. org. To learn more about the Blackfeet Tribe, visit http://blackfeetnation.com.

Failed condition of a drop structure on the Birch Creek Project, Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Irrigation Diversion from Badger Creek to Four Horns Lake on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. This is a recent construction.

Irrigation Leader

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A S S O C I A T I O N

P R O F I L E:

U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage:

A Discussion With President Brian Wahlin

T

he U.S. Committee on Irrigation and Drainage (USCID) seeks to bring together water and irrigation professionals to resolve challenges faced by the industry. Its 400 members come from a plethora of professional and academic backgrounds and meet regularly to network and share both problems and solutions. Irrigation Leader’s editorin-chief, Kris Polly, sat down with Dr. Brian Wahlin, the president of USCID, to discuss its mission and organization, its efforts to better bring together current members while attracting new members, and the way it is evolving to better meet the needs of irrigation professionals.

Kris Polly: What is your background, and how did you get involved with USCID? Brian Wahlin: I’m a vice president at WEST Consultants, which is an engineering and water resources firm specializing in hydrology and hydraulics. We are a small firm composed of several small offices mainly along the West Coast. Most people are familiar with WEST because of the various HEC-RAS training courses that we offer. Before that, I worked for the Agricultural Research Service at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

I was involved in such agricultural research as improving flow measurement for farmers and developing automatic controllers for the operation of their irrigation systems.

I obtained my PhD in civil engineering from Arizona State University; my dissertation involved automatic control of irrigation systems. That’s where I developed a

love of irrigation for a career. During my 12 years at WEST, I’ve been able to continue to participate in USCID and have been able to pursue irrigation-oriented projects.

Kris Polly: Please tell us about the history and mission of USCID. Brian Wahlin: USCID, a nonprofit corporation, was organized in 1952 as the U.S. representative of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage (ICID).

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation provided the secretariat for USCID until 1990, when Executive Vice President Larry Stephens established an independent office to serve as the society’s headquarters.

USCID’s mission statement is “to promote progressive and sustainable irrigation, drainage and flood control practices in support of food and fiber production and public safety, recognizing that sustainability embodies economic, social and environmental goals.”

We’re a multidisciplinary society that brings together all different professions and interests relating to drainage across the United States, with our primary focus being surface water irrigation in the West. Irrigation district operations personnel and district managers are the core of USCID’s membership.

Our members also include professional engineers, attorneys, university professors, students, government officials, consulting firms, as well as cities and municipalities.

We have a board of directors that is made up of irrigation district managers, consultants, government officials, and

Brian Wahlin discusses canal automation with irrigation district personnel at GEI Consultants’ office in Bakersfield, CA, in February 2016.

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Irrigation Leader

university professors. We have a lot of diversity on our board, and we’re trying to develop an equally diverse membership for USCID, too.

Kris Polly: Tell us about your conferences.

Brian Wahlin: One of our big priorities is to bring people together and have interaction at those conferences.

We offer formal training opportunities as well as field trips to local sites to see firsthand what sort of irrigation operations are happening in that area. People get very excited about the conferences and seem to really enjoy them.

We also try to approach each conference so that it addresses a unique need that we feel that irrigation district professional might be encountering. At our last conference in October 2016 in Fort Collins, Colorado, we focused on evapotransportation. The reason we focused on that is the American Society of Civil Engineers has recently published and updated its manual of practice (MOP 70) on evapotransportation and irrigation water requirements, which basically sets the standard for evapotransportation calculations. Since it had just come out, we decided to make this conference focus on that. It was a unique opportunity, and we had great attendance at that workshop. All attendees received a free copy of MOP 70 with their registration.

In the past, we’ve had two conferences per year, one in the spring and one in the fall. However, we recently eliminated the spring conference after realizing that attendance has been down due to farmers and other irrigation personnel ramping up for the season. Conference registration fees are right around $750, which are relatively well priced compared to other conferences.

We are also trying to do some events where we go out to the districts. Earlier this year, we held a dinner meeting on canal innovation for some farmers in Bakersfield, California.

We took something that we would present at the USCID conference, condensed it, and held the meeting locally with the farmers. We’re going to push to do more of that in the future.

Brian Wahlin presents the 2016 USCID/Summers Engineering Scholarship to Nicholas Hembree at the USCID conference in Fort Collins, CO. Mr. Hembree received a $1,000 scholarship and free registration and travel to the conference.

join for $350 per year. Corporate engineering firms can join for $700, and then we have the sustained membership for $2,900 per year, which includes free registrations and exhibit space at conferences. Sustained and corporate members also get a subscription to ICID’s journal on irrigation and drainage.

Kris Polly: Does USCID send out information on a regular basis or offer online classes?

Brian Wahlin: We have newsletters that go out three times per year. Because we’re also the U.S. representative to ICID, people can also get the ICID newsletters that are sent out via email. The ICID newsletters are succinct and also have different categories of articles, making it very easy to skim and find articles that interest you.

Kris Polly: How does someone join USCID, and what is the dues structure?

Kris Polly: What would you like our readers to know about USCID?

Brian Wahlin: Members can join simply by going to our website and clicking on the appropriate link. We have several different membership options: individual memberships are $100 per year, memberships for professionals age 35 and younger are $50 per year, and student memberships for those enrolled in universities are free for the first year and $20 per year after that. USCID also offers several scholarships for students each year. (Details are at www.uscid.org).

We have four other categories for entities or firms.

Institutional organizations such as government agencies pay $350 dollars per year, and individual water districts can also

Brian Wahlin: We are a multidisciplinary professional society that provides excellent opportunities to learn more about the irrigation and drainage profession and to advance a district’s knowledge to help overcome problems that irrigation districts face every day. As a smaller organization, there are plenty of opportunities to be involved, such as by joining technical groups or serving as a board member.

USCID members can also participate in activities of ICID. ICID meets annually to provide technical information and networking opportunities for irrigation professionals from around the world.

Irrigation Leader

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R E C L A M A T I O N

P R O F I L E:

Big Challenges and Rewards in Big Sky Country:

T

A Conversation With Steve Davies of Reclamation’s Montana Area Office

he U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Montana Area Office oversees 11 projects that provide water to 400,000 acres of land and electricity to 150,000 homes each year. Montana agricultural water users grow sugar beets, potatoes, corn, grain, hay, alfalfa, and other crops, in addition to raising livestock. Managing so many water infrastructure projects in such a rural state is a considerable challenge, and no one knows that better than Steve Davies.

Mr. Davies is the area manager for the Montana Area Office. He has been with Reclamation since 1986, first working on projects in South Dakota and Wyoming before moving to Montana in 1991. In 1995, Steve moved to the Montana Area Office, where he most recently served as manager of facility operations and maintenance before being named area manager in December 2015. Irrigation Leader’s senior writer, John Crotty, spoke with Mr. Davies about Reclamation projects in Montana, how changes in runoff and snowpack are affecting downstream water users, and how the Montana Area Office interacts with a variety of stakeholders to carry out its mission.

Steve Davies: Aging infrastructure is probably the number one challenge that we have. The Milk River project is one of Reclamation’s original projects. We also have three other projects constructed in the early 1900s, including the Lower Yellowstone, Buffalo Rapids, and Huntley Projects on the Yellowstone River downstream of Billings and the Sun River Project west of Great Falls.

The majority of the rest of our projects were built under the Flood Control Act of 1944 (Pick-Sloan Plan).

We have a number of projects that are at or over 100 years old or at the end of their intended design life.

They were built well, and a lot of the original structures are still in the ground, but they’re very costly to repair and replace. So that’s a big challenge for all our stakeholders and customers, and frankly, for Reclamation, too.

John Crotty: Please provide our readers with an overview of Reclamation projects in Montana.

John Crotty: So how is Reclamation addressing that issue?

Steve Davies: Montana has quite a diverse infrastructure of Reclamation facilities. My jurisdiction is all east of the Continental Divide. We have 12 dams that are classified as high hazard, 9 diversions dams, 10 pumping plants, and 2 hydropower plants—a 250-megawatt plant at Yellowtail Dam and a 50-megawatt plant at Canyon Ferry Dam. We have 20 irrigation districts on 11 projects totaling almost 400,000 acres, and that’s pretty much border to border from the mountains of the Continental Divide all the way east to North Dakota; from the Milk River Project, which runs across the whole

Steve Davies: There’s really no single solution. A lot of projects are 100 percent funded by our irrigation districts.

Essentially, all the maintenance costs of our canals and lateral distribution systems are paid for by our irrigators.

While some of our dams are multipurpose—flood control, fish and wildlife, and hydropower, which helps spread the costs out over those other project purposes—the challenge of funding increases every year. It’s getting tougher, and that’s not likely to change.

There’s competition for limited water supplies, and that is not unique to Montana. Also, in this environment

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northern portion of the state, south to the Montana–Wyoming border.

John Crotty: What are some of the unique challenges for Reclamation’s Montana projects?

Irrigation Leader

of less federal and state funding, we need to be looking internally within a project to solve these problems. The districts themselves have to collaborate with stakeholders and partners. They can’t get very far going it alone, whether that’s dealing with conservation and environmental groups, municipalities, counties, states, or federal partners. The competition for state and federal grants is increasingly competitive and limited.

John Crotty: What other issues are Reclamation projects in Montana addressing right now?

Steve Davies: Endangered species is a big issue in Montana. Right now we’re working on an environmental impact statement (EIS) on our Lower Yellowstone Project for the endangered pallid sturgeon. The final EIS, titled Lower Yellowstone Intake Diversion Dam Fish Passage Project, was released publicly in late October. We’re working collaboratively with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as joint lead federal agencies on this project.

The purpose of the EIS is to evaluate alternatives and impacts to improve passage for pallid sturgeon at the intake diversion dam site while continuing the economic viability and operation of the irrigation districts. In the Lower Yellowstone Project, there are four irrigation

districts serving about 58,000 acres. They are critical to that economy and to Montana. The EIS evaluated five action alternatives, including a rock ramp, a bypass channel, a modified side channel, installation of multiple pumping structures, and combining pumping with conservation measures. The preferred alternative identified in the final EIS is the bypass channel alternative. A record of decision selecting an alternative for implementation could be issued as early as December 2016.

Contrast that with the situation on the Milk River Project. We’ve been studying bull trout, listed as threatened in 1999, for over a decade on the St. Mary River system.

The two major issues are sufficient passage for the fish and the prevention of entrainment of trout at the Saint Mary Diversion Dam into the St. Mary Canal. Reclamation is working with its partners, the Milk River Project stakeholders and the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group, to address these issues.

We’ve identified and are currently designing a very costly (as much as $40 million) option to replace the diversion dam, including fish passage and entrainment provisions. Right now, cost reimbursement is a big issue for the irrigators. They pay about 74 percent of all the costs on the Milk River Project, including the St. Mary system, and that’s beyond their affordability. Under the current

Fresno Dam, located on the Milk River 14 miles west of Havre, Montana. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

Irrigation Leader

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cost allocation structure, $30 million of the $40 million project would be passed onto the irrigators, and that’s only for one structure on that entire system. It’s costly, and we’re certainly trying to address this.

Drought and climate change are also critical issues in Montana. As part of the president’s Climate Action Plan, the Missouri River Headwaters basin was selected as one of two national drought resiliency pilot projects by the National Drought Resilience Partnership, which consists of a number of federal agencies, including the U.S. Departments of the Interior, Agriculture, and Energy; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Federal Emergency Management Agency; the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Reclamation in turn is partnering with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC). The DNRC is active in drought efforts in Montana. We are collaborating closely with various groups on a climate impacts assessment and study of the Missouri River. The goal is to bring about drought contingency planning and preparation at the local level in that basin. It will help watershed groups and communities to get in front of what drought may bring in the future to these entities.

John Crotty: Has there been a trend toward lower flows and less snowpack?

Steve Davies: I think we’ve certainly seen changes in runoff patterns. Some Montana river basins have recently had some of the lowest spring runoff on record. I think in general we are seeing runoff earlier—as much as a month before irrigation even really gets going. It’s hard to capture that and time it right with irrigation. The long-term trend is hard to pinpoint, but those are some of the difficult issues we are facing. A lot of entities are trying to get active and predict as much as they can to provide information to districts and stakeholders.

John Crotty: What other challenges are you facing?

Steve Davies: We have a couple of big water rights settlements with our Montana Indian tribes. We’re at the implementation stage of the Crow Tribe water rights settlement. We are currently working on construction of a new municipal and industrial system, a new irrigation system, and new energy development. Reclamation is currently collaborating with the Crow Tribe to develop hydropower at Yellowtail Afterbay Dam. The Blackfeet Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act has not been enacted yet, but it did pass in the United States Senate version of the Water Resources Development Act. There are some key provisions that would affect the Milk River Project and the St. Mary system if it passes intact.

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John Crotty: Please highlight some of your recent management and infrastructure projects.

Steve Davies: We’ve been fortunate to modernize several of our facilities through the Safety of Dams Act. We have one rehab project underway right now at Nelson Dikes on the Milk River Project. These projects are 85 percent federally funded. We also have about a $50 million project underway right now at Yellowtail Dam to modernize the power plant and increase its capacity from 250 megawatts to 300 megawatts. That’s entirely funded upfront by our power customers. That kind of funding mechanism will become more and more important in the future with limited federal budgets.

We are active with Montana Indian tribes in rural water development. The Fort Peck Dry Prairie Water Project is bringing clean water to rural parts of northeastern Montana, and the Rocky Boy–North Central Water Project is working to do the same in north-central Montana. There are a lot of funding challenges with these projects: They take many years to complete, and they are expensive (each are about $300 million), but it is important to fund them through completion. A lot of municipalities and cities along the way are hooking into these new rural water systems.

John Crotty: What have Reclamation projects meant for the state of Montana, and how have they positively affected the state?

Steve Davies: Well, Montana essentially remains a rural state, and agriculture is a primary driving force for the state’s economy. Our projects serve as much as 400,000 acres of land, and they fuel the communities across the state to make the whole economy work.

Irrigated agriculture is an incredibly important part of Montana’s economy. We grow a lot of crops, such as sugar beets, grain, corn, alfalfa, hay, potatoes, and beans.

Reclamation facilities are a part of that.

John Crotty: The Hi-Line communities are reliant upon Reclamation water systems.

Steve Davies: That is especially true of the Milk River Project. When we capture water at St. Mary Diversion Dam, it flows over 250 miles before it actually reaches irrigators. In an average year, about half the water that those irrigators on the Milk River receive comes from the St. Mary, and in a drought year, it’s probably close to 80 percent. The entire economy of the Hi-Line, along Highway 2 from Glasgow all the way west to Havre, is entirely dependent on the Milk River Project.

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District Focus

Helena Valley Irrigation District

By Jim Foster

C

ompleted in 1958, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation built the Helena Valley Irrigation District (HVID) to reclaim farmlands that were inundated by the construction of the Canyon Ferry Dam and Reservoir; to provide flood control, irrigation, municipal water for the city of Helena; and to produce hydropower. Reclamation considers the irrigation portion to be multipurpose, as it provides not only irrigation water for agriculture but also municipal water for the capital city of Helena. We are still meeting those ever-increasing needs, which requires a good working relationship among the district, city leaders, and Reclamation. We have 18,308 contracted acres on which our members grow primarily alfalfa, hay, barley, and wheat.

The district receives its water from a pumping plant located at the base of Canyon Ferry Dam. A 10-inch-diameter penstock connects the dam to the pumping plant, which houses two 3,500-horsepowerrated, hydraulically powered centrifugal pumps. Those pumps lift the water 300 feet into a 2.6-mile tunnel through the mountains and then into a gravity canal and lateral system. A 10,000 acre-foot regulating reservoir, located roughly in the middle of the district, provides the necessary storage to get through the summer’s high demands and ensure adequate water for Helena during the winter.

Although HVID is not a relatively large district in terms of acres irrigated, it is a complex one that incorporates several high-maintenance features, including a large hydraulic head gate located in Canyon Ferry Dam, intake and discharge penstocks, the 2.6-mile tunnel, a three-story pumping plant, a regulating dam and reservoir, a municipal reservoir outlet structure, 16 branch laterals, and over 300 turnouts.

Urbanization and Reclassification Urbanization around the district has been a key issue for HVID over the past 20 years. The growth of subdivisions on both sides of the canals has led to instances of encroachment in which people fail to respect the boundaries of the privately owned land easements near the dams and canals. We usually intervene and resolve the issue ourselves by educating the people involved about the boundaries and the legal language of the easements. Urbanization also creates an ongoing safety issue for us, especially with children living and growing up around canals and other infrastructure that can be very dangerous to them. It is almost impossible to completely seal off these places to prevent accidents, so it is a constant concern for us and our landowners.

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Approximately 5 percent of our water is used by the city of Helena for municipal purposes. Although this is a small percentage, it is a large amount of water for the city, which has increased its reliance on HVID water as it has grown. This creates challenges for us regarding the use of allocated irrigated water, but we have sought to address those issues by aggressively participating in the federal reclassification process. We have taken willing subdivisions out of the district after going through a long process involving multiple layers of the court system. We identify and sign up as many acres as possible that are eligible for reclassification and then move forward with the courts once we have enough to be worth the time and cost of completing that process.

This process helps those who no longer have use for irrigation water but also allows us to focus our water on those who do need it. We then replace the reclassified land with acres that were not originally considered irrigable but now are, thanks to sprinkler irrigation.

Despite the lengthy Reclamation reclassification and court processes, this is truly a win-win for all parties.

Present and Future of Hydropower Hydropower was an intended purpose of HVID when it was built, and we are constantly looking for ways to improve and expand our hydropower capabilities. One example is a hydropower project we are working on at the Helena Valley Pumping Plant. Recently, Congress passed legislation allowing existing federal projects like HVID to get approval for projects like this through Reclamation’s Lease of Power Privilege (LOPP) process rather than through the more difficult approval process of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. With much work, money, time, and effort on the part of HVID, Reclamation issued a preliminary LOPP to the district.

The preliminary LOPP includes the completion of the National Environmental Policy Act action, which includes an environmental assessment, along with conceptual designs and engineering, a utility interconnection plan, and a variety of financial and economic projections.

The next step is to obtain the final LOPP, which involves the submittal and approval of the final engineering design, approved water rights, and a water use plan from the Reclamation Technical Resource Center in Denver. We have run into difficulty in two areas: interconnection with the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and NorthWestern Energy, and a purchase power agreement with NorthWestern Energy or another utility. We are currently concentrating efforts in those arenas.

We are fortunate: Reclamation’s Montana Area Office has proven to be a competent, accessible, and committed partner. Area Manager Steve Davies and LOPP Irrigation Leader

Administrator Chris Gomer are outstanding individuals who, while ensuring that the federal process is properly and transparently fully accomplished, do all they can to assist us in getting through the process and completing it.

When completed, the project will supply 10 megawatts of electric power, with potential of expansion in the future.

The district’s goal for the revenue is to ensure sustained low, affordable rates for the irrigators and to invest in infrastructure renewal and rehabilitation. Hydropower is clean, renewable energy that a lot of end users like to buy. We hope to be able to produce it.

HVID is also looking at new, innovative technologies for generating electricity, including the use of microhydro turbines in pipelines, drops, siphons, canals, and laterals to generate more power and reduce our costs. We have identified about 20 different potential microhydro projects in different locations. The microhydro technology is getting better and more efficient all the time, and the electricity generated from it could be used by us or sold to others.

Aging Infrastructure Aging infrastructure is an issue we are constantly seeking to address. Most of our laterals and canals are unlined, but we are working to line and pipe as many as we can when we have the available funding.

Automation is another priority of ours in upgrading our facilities. We obtained a planning grant from the Montana Department of Natural Resources to develop an automation design for our pumping plant and recently submitted a grant application with the department to automate our gatehouse

at the regulating reservoir. Automation provides us with secure, remote operation of both facilities, which will reduce travel time and save water through timely flow adjustments.

Automation will also serve as an infrastructure safeguard and public safety tool by enabling HVID to immediately shut down or adjust the system, or a portion of the system, in an emergency such as a canal breach.

Benefits of Irrigation It’s important for people across the country—including our political leaders and decisionmakers—to understand the importance of our water and irrigation facilities, the value of water in relation to agriculture, and the negative economic and environmental consequences should the water go away.

Our water has made the Helena Valley greener, lusher, and more beautiful. Our open drains, which empty into Lake Helena, provide prime fish spawning habitat; lush riparian growth that supports birds and small animals; jobs in our region; and economic benefits to the entire community and country in the form of plentiful, affordable food. None of this would be possible without irrigation water, and I hope that people remember the role we play in helping both our environment and our economy when the time comes to set policies for water in the West.

Jim Foster is the general manager of the Helena Valley Irrigation District. He has been with the district since 1989. You can reach Mr. Foster at jimfoster@hvid-mt.com.

Canyon Ferry Dam and Reservoir, along with the Helena Valley Pumping Plant.

The photo was taken from the top of the discharge penstock, where it attaches to a 2.6-mile tunnel through the mountains to open into the Helena Valley.

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Blazing a New Trail for Weed Control:

The Innovators

A Conversation With Wayne Bistodeau of Ram Flame

F

ew discoveries in human history have been more beneficial than that of fire. Our ability to harness fire has enabled countless innovations and helped advance civilization as we know it. Ram Flame is continuing on that path with its line of flamers and burners meant to destroy weeds in crop fields, irrigation ditches, and canals without harming the environment or clogging up water infrastructure. Irrigation Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, sat down with Wayne Bistodeau of Ram Flame to discuss the company’s origin, the products it produces, and what differentiates its products from other weed control methods.

Kris Polly: Can you give us a brief history of Ram Flame and an overview of the products you manufacture in Idaho?

Wayne Bistodeau: We acquired the company from Matt Larsen last year. He had developed a ditch burner. We helped him change it and develop it so it would be more suitable for burning irrigation ditches.

The burner was originally diesel powered, but diesel was a difficult fuel to work with, so we redesigned it to use propane. Propane is a cleanerburning fuel, less expensive, uses about 75 percent less fuel, and has fewer problems with pressure and pumps.

We have the ability to precisely adjust the boom to the height or angle of the irrigation ditch.

The boom on the burner can be folded to be as short as 10 feet or extended to 26 feet. The burner can also reach a ditch depth of 13–16 feet, depending on how close the tractor is to the edge of the ditch. The burner’s propane tanks can range from 100 gallons to 500 gallons. Which one an operator would use depends on how large of an area they are burning, as well as the size and horsepower of the tractor.

We’ve also modified the hydraulics to use a self-contained, electrically powered pump on each individual cylinder rather than a large central system that requires two hydraulic feeds from the tractor. The tractor just needs a simple electrical connection to run the entire system. The burner can be mounted to a tractor without the need for any hydraulic system at all, which makes it more versatile.

Kris Polly: I know the burner has been used to burn off dead weeds that clog canals and ditches in the winter months, but you mentioned that it can also be used to burn off live weeds during the summer.

Can you talk about that?

Wayne Bistodeau: We have developed other equipment, such as flamers, that can be used for crop fields. The field flamers do not burn the weeds down to ash, but rather, they heat them to the point that the leaves wilt and die. It essentially starves the plant by rupturing and disintegrating its internal cells, releasing

34

all the water in the cells, which is then evaporated due to the heat of the flamer. With no internal cell structure and no water inside, the plant dies.

Kris Polly: How would you compare using your burner with using a standard mower?

Wayne Bistodeau: A standard mower merely cuts and knocks down the weeds, which allows them to eventually grow back. Those weeds can also flow down ditches or canals and clog up drains, laterals, and other pieces of irrigation infrastructure. It is also difficult to maneuver a mower onto the sidewalls of a canal or ditch. Our burners and flamers address both of those concerns.

Kris Polly: What can you tell us about some of the other products that you make?

Wayne Bistodeau: We have expanded our product line to include a row crop flamer that can kill weeds inside crop rows if the crop is hearty enough to withstand it. Flaming is 75–80 percent more effective than using herbicides and lacks the risk of contamination. Many plants have also become resistant to herbicides, but they cannot resist the flaming.

Our field flamers are similar but have a broader base and are run over fields prior to planting so seeds can be planted in soil beds without any weeds or weed seeds to begin with.

Farmers can also begin planting almost immediately after going over a field with a field flamer. There is no need to wait for an herbicide to wear off or to treat a field with another compound before planting.

Kris Polly: What should every irrigation district manager and board member know about your products?

Wayne Bistodeau: Our products are easy to use and easy to maintain. They do not require a special or dedicated tractor to use, and there is no need to maintain revolutions per minute on the tractor; the tractor can sit at idle or run at any speed that is needed. The simplicity of the flamers and burners is one of their best attributes.

Irrigation Leader

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CLASSIFIED LISTINGS FARMERS IRRIGATION DISTRICT

has an opening for a Division Supervisor position with a crew of 6. Seeking qualified applicant with experience in canal & lateral irrigation operation and maintenance, water measurements, construction & pipeline installation, record keeping, heavy equipment operation, communication, motivational and delegation skills. Must have a clean driving record and pass a drug test. Must live in Bayard, Western Nebraska area, a community with a population of about 1300, and is approximately 20 miles from the twin cities of Scottsbluff/Gering Nebraska. Generous benefit package, salary commensurate with experience. Farmers Irrigation is a district servicing approximately 55,000 acres along a 75 mile canal system with three divisions, each with a shop location, supervisor, and 5-7 employees, with headquarters in Scottsbluff.

Submit letter and resume to Farmers Irrigation District 1505 2nd Avenue Scottsbluff, NE 69361 fax to 308-632-5085 or email to farmersid@embarqmail.com For further information, please call 308-632-4921 Application deadline Jan. 31, 2017.

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GMDA - Annual Winter Meeting Fort Worth, Texas

January 9-11, 2017 Hear from noted experts in the fields of

Hydrogeology, Agriculture, Geology & Water Management Strategies Featured Topics: • Airborne Electromagnetic Helicopter Flights • Weather Modification • Ogallala Jeopardy • Conjunctive Use of Surface and Groundwater For Registration or Sponsor Information, Please Contact: C.E. Williams or Britney Britten 806.883.2501 • cew@pgcd.us • britney@pgcd.us

5TH ANNUAL IRRIGATION LEADER OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT WORKSHOP Sponsored by Irrigation Leader Magazine

February 1–2, 2017 • Phoenix, Arizona IRRIGATION LEADER magazine is sponsoring the 5th annual Operations and Management Workshop with a theme of Emergency Management Plans. The purpose of the workshop is to provide an opportunity for general managers and directors of irrigation districts and water agencies to discuss ideas and exchange information on a variety of district operational and management-related issues, to build out-of-state working relationships, and to learn from their peers. The issues and topics have been selected by general managers and board directors and pertain directly to the management and improvement of irrigation districts and water agencies.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 8:00 a.m.

8:30 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

12:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m.

2:00 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

Physical Training by Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District Creating Emergency Management Plans for Irrigation Districts and Water Agencies Networking Break Using Social Media in Emergencies Lunch on Your Own How to Verbally De-escalate Situations Identifying and Resolving Staff Problems Ice Cream Sundae Break Board Members’ Role in Emergencies Innovative Managers Reception

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2 8:00 a.m.

8:30 a.m.

10:00 a.m.

10:30 a.m.

12:00 p.m.

1:30 p.m.

3:00 p.m.

3:30 p.m.

4:30 p.m.

5:30 p.m.

Physical Training by Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District Saving Lives and Money With Safety Programs Networking Break Planning for a Canal Break: Lessons Learned Sponsored Lunch Australia Irrigation Education Tour and Exchange Program Networking Break Innovative Technologies Open Forum Reception New Zealand Irrigation Education Tour (February 18–25, 2017) Door Prize Sponsored by Irrigation Leader Magazine

ONLINE REGISTRATION: You can register for the Operations and Management Workshop at www.WaterStrategies.com. Please complete and submit the online form as soon as possible, as space will be limited. Should you have a particular topic you would like discussed during the open forum at the meeting, please add it to the registration form in the space provided. Should you have other ideas for the workshop, please share those as well. Updates to the agenda will be provided as registrations are received.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS: We have reserved a block of rooms at the Crowne Plaza Phoenix Airport Hotel, located at 4300 East

Washington Street, Phoenix, Arizona 85034. The rate is $139.00 single or double occupancy per night plus tax. Your reservation includes a complimentary full express breakfast, complimentary 24-hour airport shuttle service, complimentary wireless Internet service, and complimentary valet parking for registered guests with in-and-out privileges. To make or confirm your reservations at the special Irrigation Leader rate, please call (855) 586-8475 or 1-888-233-9527 and identify yourself with the Irrigation Leader group no later than Friday, January 6, 2017.

COMPLIMENTARY AIRPORT SHUTTLE. To request the hotel’s complimentary airport shuttle, please call 1-855-586-8475 as soon as you have retrieved your luggage. Reservations for your return to the airport can be made at the Front Desk.

QUESTIONS: Please contact Kris Polly at (703) 517-3962 or Kris.Polly@waterstrategies.com.

Thank you for your time. We hope to see you in Phoenix.

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE

PAID

BISMARCK, ND PERMIT NO. 433

Bridging the gap between idea + achievement

2016 CALENDAR November 3 November 3–4 November 14–16 November 20–22

November 29–December 2 December 14–16 January 9–11 January 11–13, 2017 January 12, 2017 January 24–26, 2017 January 25–27, 2017 February 1–2, 2017 February 1–3, 2017 February 15–17, 2017 February 18–25, 2017

February 23–24, 2017

Offices worldwide

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Columbia Basin Development League, Annual Conference, Moses Lake, WA Idaho Water Users Association, Water Law Seminar, Boise, ID National Water Resources Association, Annual Convention, San Diego, CA Nebraska Water Resources Association & Nebraska State Irrigation Association, Joint Convention, Kearney, NE Association of California Water Agencies, 2016 Fall Conference & Exhibition, Anaheim, CA Colorado River Water Users Association, 2016 Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV Groundwater Management Districts Association, Annual Winter Meeting, Fort Worth, TX Four States Irrigation Council, Annual Meeting, Fort Collins, CO Idaho Irrigation Equipment Show & Conference, Burley, ID Idaho Water Users Association, Annual Convention, Boise, ID Colorado Water Congress, Annual Convention, Denver, CO Irrigation Leader Operations and Management Workshop, Phoenix, AZ Montana Water Resources Association, Annual Conference, Helena, MT Ditch and Reservoir Company Alliance, Annual Convention, Ignacio, CO New Zealand Water Leader Educational Tour, sponsored by Irrigation Leader and Municipal Water Leader Magazines Family Farm Alliance, Annual Meeting and Conference, Las Vegas, NV

For more information on advertising in Irrigation Leader magazine, or if you would like to have a water event listed here, please phone (703) 517-3962 or e-mail Irrigation.Leader@waterstrategies.com.

Submissions are due the first of each month preceding the next issue.

Past issues of Irrigation Leader are archived at

www.waterstrategies.com/irrigation-leader