VOLUME 11 ISSUE 8
september 2020
Paul Cook: Groundwater Recharge and Water Recycling at Irvine Ranch Water District
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CONTENTS SEPTEMBER 2020 Volume 11 Issue 8
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 Milo Schmitt, Media Intern Caroline Polly, Production Assistant 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.
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Paul Cook: Groundwater Recharge and Water Recycling at Irvine Ranch Water District
5 G roundwater Recharge By Kris Polly
22 R echarging Idaho’s Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer
6 P aul Cook: Groundwater Recharge and Water Recycling at Irvine Ranch Water District
26 E ach Pipe Has Its Role: Thompson Pipe Group’s Product Range
12 Israel Water Education and Trade Tour Preview, June 28–July 6, 2021 16 Part of the Solution: North Side Canal Company’s Recharge Activities
30 G eneral Irrigation’s Redesigned Floating Pump 34 A ssistant Secretary Tim Petty on His Visit to the Milk River Project
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 | September 2020
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 managing editor, Joshua Dill, at joshua.dill@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
@IrrigationLeadr
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COVER PHOTO:
Paul Cook, General Manager, Irvine Ranch Water District. Photo courtesy of IRWD.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF IRWD.
Coming soon in Irrigation Leader: October: Irrigation in Spain
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 irrigation.leader@waterstrategies.com.
Groundwater Recharge By Kris Polly
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roundwater recharge and aquifer storage are techniques that hold promise for irrigation districts and water providers across the country. Groundwater recharge reverses the damage done by overdrafting local aquifers and can improve the health of groundwater-connected springs and rivers. In addition, putting water underground creates a store that can be drawn on in lean times. In this month’s cover story, Paul Cook of the Irvine Ranch Water District tells us about how his district uses its 502 acres of groundwater recharge ponds to bank lowcost water underground for future use. Alan Hansten of Idaho’s North Side Canal Company tells us about how the State of Idaho is funding and building recharge structures off his company’s system, and Roger Chase of the Idaho Water Resource Board gives us the big-picture view of the state’s efforts to improve aquifer health and water supplies in partnerships with local and private organizations. We also speak with Carl Pitzer of Thompson Pipe Group, which manufactures steel, fiberglass-reinforced plastic, and concrete pipe for both municipal and irrigation installations, and Dana Rosendahl, the president of General Irrigation, which has a new floating pump that will be of interest to our readers.
Finally, we have the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Tim Petty, the assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, about his recent visit to the St. Mary unit of the Milk River Project, which was featured in the July/August issue of Irrigation Leader. We thank Dr. Petty for updating us on this important issue. Groundwater recharge and aquifer storage are excellent examples of how water users and suppliers are learning to work with the local geological and geographical features of their areas. A better understanding of the natural world around us often helps us to be more sustainable and more effective at the same time. That is an excellent way forward for irrigators from Southern California to Montana and beyond. 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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Paul Cook: Groundwater Recharge and Water Recycling at Irvine Ranch Water District
IRWD's water banking project in Kern County.
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he Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) has grown from serving 300 customers in 1961 to over half a million people today, providing water and sewer services to a 181-square-mile service area in Orange County, California. In addition to ambitious water recycling and environmental protection programs, IRWD has also constructed 502 acres of groundwater recharge ponds that it uses to bank low-cost water underground for use in times of dearth. In this interview, IRWD General Manager Paul Cook speaks with Irrigation Leader about the district’s top priorities and also updates us on how the district is continuing its services amid the COVID‑19 pandemic. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
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Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the IRWD’s history and current services. Paul Cook: IRWD was established in 1961 to meet the increasing water needs of the region, which at the time was mostly agricultural and ranch land. Since then, the district has grown dramatically—from 300 customers to a daytime population of more than 600,000—and built infrastructure to provide quality drinking water, sewer, and recycled water irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF IRWD.
Paul Cook: I started my career in the construction industry more than 30 years ago, after graduating from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, with an undergraduate degree in civil engineering. My construction experience took me from high-rise buildings to below-ground reservoirs, and while working with the latter, I became interested in all aspects of water treatment and conveyance systems. After 5 years of working in the private sector, I became an engineer at a local water agency near my home in Orange County. While experiencing all the different aspects of
working at a full-service water district, I also completed a master of science in civil engineering at California State University, Long Beach. These experiences solidified my interest in a career based in the water industry coupled with local government service. I went on to become the manager of engineering for the Central and West Basin Water Districts in Los Angeles County, where I oversaw a 5‑year, $350 million capital-improvement program. I joined IRWD in 2004 as the assistant general manager, which proved to be a great fit. This was an agency with plenty of opportunity to grow and apply innovative and sustainable solutions to serving our rapidly growing population, and it was part of my own community. I was appointed IRWD’s general manager in 2011.
The chlorine contact tank at IRWD’s Michelson Water Recycling Plant.
services to our customers. Today, IRWD’s service area covers 181 square miles, stretching from the ocean to the foothills in central Orange County. It includes all of Irvine, plus portions of Tustin, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, Orange, Costa Mesa, and unincorporated communities.
years. Our energy and greenhouse gas master plan includes solar power, energy storage, and our brand-new biosolids and energy recovery facility. With these and other renewable resources, we are making a dent in the water-to-energy nexus that challenges our industry.
Irrigation Leader: Please give us a sense of IRWD’s water storage and delivery infrastructure.
Irrigation Leader: What are IRWD’s water sources?
Paul Cook: IRWD’s drinking water infrastructure includes 1,900 miles of pipeline, 26 wells, 5 water treatment plants, and 36 storage reservoirs. We also have over 1,100 miles of sewer pipeline, 560 miles of recycled water pipeline, 19 recycled water reservoirs, and 2 recycled water treatment plants. Combined, all our pipeline systems could span from the point where IRWD abuts the Pacific Ocean in Newport Beach to the tip of Maine with a few hundred miles left over. It certainly keeps us busy. We care about the environment, too, and we have developed and operate 27 urban runoff treatment sites, including the San Joaquin Marsh, one of just two designated Wetlands of Distinction in California. We strive for resilience and sustainability in many ways. IRWD has developed a unique water banking program that safeguards customers from water supply shortages during critically dry irrigationleadermagazine.com
Paul Cook: Seventy-four percent of IRWD’s water comes from local wells, imported water, and local surface water sources. Recycled water—used for nondrinking purposes— makes up the other 26 percent of our water supply. IRWD began recycling water in 1967, dramatically offsetting our need for imported water, which makes up just 18 percent of our supply today, compared to 66 percent in 1990. Irrigation Leader: Please give us a sense of the groundwater situation in IRWD’s service area and how it affects the district. Paul Cook: IRWD has a network of 26 high-capacity wells and 3 groundwater treatment plants, which provides enough locally produced groundwater to meet half our total water demands. This has contributed significantly to the district’s resilience and has allowed us to keep our rates the lowest in Orange County. September 020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
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Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about IRWD’s current and planned groundwater banking and recharge programs. Paul Cook: IRWD’s groundwater banking program is designed to provide emergency water supplies to our customers when access to imported water is reduced. To do this, IRWD developed 502 acres of groundwater recharge ponds in Kern County and entered into long-term agreements to capture low-cost water for underground storage during wet periods and recovery for use during dry periods or emergencies. We expect to bank enough water from these projects to meet about 15 percent of our customers’ needs during critically dry years.
Paul Cook: Like most organizations, we have had to adapt in response to COVID‑19. I’m proud that we’ve been able to stay healthy and provide uninterrupted service to our community by practicing social distancing, adjusting work schedules, providing proper personal protective equipment to our staff, and making it easy for customers to communicate with us via the Internet, e-mail, and phone. To accommodate customers whose financial situations have changed, we are working with them on payment options while discontinuing our normal practices for shutoffs. IRWD has a history of pioneering recycled water uses in the community. Nearly 85 percent of the landscaping in our community’s tree-lined medians, parks, schools, and golf courses is irrigated using recycled water. We also have a proactive program to promote recycled water in dualplumbed buildings, which has now been implemented in more than 110 structures. IRWD recycled water is used in cooling towers, like those at the University of California, Irvine. We are proud to have partnered with Hyatt House Irvine to establish the first hotel in the United States to use recycled water to flush toilets in guest rooms. Recycled water is also used to make the ice at the Great Park Ice Arena in Irvine. Looking into the future, we are planning new recycled water delivery systems and facilities and an expanded storage reservoir to meet this growing need. We produce recycled water every day, but the community’s demand for it spikes in the summer. Additional storage will help us meet our current and future recycled water needs, even during periods of peak demand. Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future of IRWD?
Solar power infrastructure is installed at IRWD’s Baker Water Treatment Plant as part of the district’s energy and greenhouse gas master plan.
Irrigation Leader: What effects do you expect to see from IRWD’s groundwater storage and recharge programs? Paul Cook: Climate change and the state’s aging water system present unprecedented challenges to water districts throughout California. IRWD is addressing these evolving conditions with resilience measures such as diversifying our water sources, expanding recycled water use, and enhancing local water sources that include the water banking program. Water management today relies on a mix of smart and sustainable approaches to adapt to change.
Paul Cook: My vision is to continue our 60-year legacy of sustainability and resilience by identifying and implementing new initiatives and policies in collaboration with the IRWD board, our staff, and stakeholders. We are already mapping out plans to further stretch our use of recycled water, expand our water banking capabilities, and integrate additional energy solutions into our everyday operations. IRWD understands that a diverse and sustainable water supply is vital to the health and livelihood of a community, and we are committed to that as we seek out and implement innovations and new technologies for even greater resilience for the future. IL
Paul Cook is the general manager of the Irvine Ranch Water District. For more about IRWD, visit irwd.com.
Irrigation Leader: What are the district’s other top issues today?
8 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
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Israel Water Education and Please save the date for the following scheduled tour, sponsored in part by Irrigation Leader magazine and Municipal Water Leader magazine.
Projected Itinerary
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1 Arrival at Ben Gurion Airport and dinner in Netanya, Israel. 2 The group will visit the Caesarea National Park and see the Roman aqueduct and water cistern, proceed to Kibbutz Maga and visit the Netafim irrigation factory, and then go to the Megiddo National Park to see the ancient water system there.
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3 The group will drive north to see two of the main sources of the Jordan River, the Dan and Banias Rivers; go to the Golan Heights to see the Syrian border and Mt. Hermon; and proceed to the famous Golan Winery for a tour and wine tasting. The day will end at the Sapir site near the Sea of Galilee, where water is pumped for the National Water Carrier, the water supply system that spans the length and breadth of Israel. 4 The group will depart Tiberias and drive to Mt. Arbel for an amazing panoramic view of the Sea of Galilee, drive to Mt. Gilboa and Kibbutz Maale Gilboa, and then proceed to Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu for an agriculture bio tour. 5 The group will visit the Mount of Olives for a beautiful panoramic view over the Old City of Jerusalem, then visit the City of David, including the Hezekiah Tunnel. Brave participants can walk through the wet tunnel. The other option is to walk along the dry tunnel to the Pool of Siloam, then drive to Armon Hanatziv to see the ancient tunnels that convey water from Solomon’s pool to the temple. The group will then enter the Old City to see the Western Wall tunnels, the Pool of Bethesda, and the Roman Cardo with its old wells. There will be an opportunity to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.
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Trade Tour Preview, June 28–July 6, 2021 6 The group will depart Jerusalem and drive to the Einot Zukim Nature Reserve, where there are freshwater springs and typical oasis vegetation and animal life. Next, in the desert next to the Dead Sea, which has salty water and no life at all, the group will proceed to the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve, where kibbutz members pump water for their mineral water factory. The group will then visit the world heritage site of Masada, where participants can walk the snake trail by foot or ascend via cable car to see King Herod’s fortress, an ancient synagogue, a Byzantine church, and the water cistern.
8 The group will depart Eilat and drive via the Ramon Crater to the Negev Desert Research and Development Center near Ashalim, which specializes in using salty water for agriculture. The group will proceed to Kibbutz Hatzerim near Beersheba, the southern branch of the Netafim irrigation factory, and continue to the desalination facility in Ashkelon or Ashdod on the Mediterranean Sea.
7 The group will depart the Dead Sea and drive via the Arava Desert Valley to the Yair Research and Development Agriculture Center and tour the Center for Modern Desert Farming, one of the world’s most advanced. There will be a guided visit to the experimental greenhouses and a presentation of agricultural inventions to deal with the challenges of soil and desert climate. The group will then continue to the ecological Kibbutz Lotan near Eilat and learn how it transformed sandy desert soil into a green and flowering organic garden. Participants will learn basic organic and permaculture tips and practical solutions that the Center for Creative Ecology has developed over the years to treat waste, raise healthy food, save energy, and build naturally. Proceeding to Eilat, the tour will aim to visit a desalination facility the draws from the Red Sea.
Services Included
9 We will hold a farewell dinner in Jaffa and then drive to Ben Gurion Airport for a night flight back home.
• meeting and assistance at Ben Gurion Airport on arrival • licensed English-speaking guide for all transfers and sightseeing days • luxury air-conditioned coach • transfer to/from Ben Gurion airport • entrance fees for all visits and tours • eight nights of hotel accommodation • breakfasts and dinners at hotels and farewell dinner at local restaurant
Information on pricing will be presented in updated advertisements and posted to our websites, www.irrigationleadermagazine.com and www.municipalwaterleader.com, in the near future. To receive more information about the tour and to tentatively reserve a participation slot, please e-mail Tom Wacker at tom.wacker@waterstrategies.com.
July/August 2020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
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Part of the Solution: North Side Canal Company’s Recharge Activities
The Wilson Canyon recharge site.
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orth Side Canal Company (NSCC), located in southern Idaho, supplies irrigation water to 160,000 acres of agricultural land and generates hydropower. Recently, its system has also become the site of recharge activities funded by the State of Idaho that seek to rehabilitate the Eastern Snake Plain aquifer (ESPA). In this interview, NSCC General Manager Alan Hansten tells Irrigation Leader about the hydrological and economic situation of the area and the importance of the recharge activities that are going on in the company. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
16 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Irrigation Leader: Where does NSCC draw its water from? Alan Hansten: All of NSCC’s supply is classified as surface water from the Snake River. The headwaters of the Snake River are on the eastern side of the Teton Mountains, in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, and the company is a joint spaceholder in Jackson Reservoir. The company has natural flow rights on the Snake River and storage rights in Palisades Reservoir and American Falls Reservoir. There are spring flows from the ESPA in the American Falls area that flow into the reservoir there and make up a portion of the natural flow water rights that NSCC has on the Snake River. irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF NSCC.
Alan Hansten: I came to work for NSCC in 2009 as the assistant manager. Prior to that, I worked in engineering consulting. In 2013, I took over as the general manager of NSCC. NSCC supplies irrigation water to approximately 160,000 acres of farmland on the north side of the Snake River in southern Idaho. The company also generates
electricity through five hydroelectric power plants and sells it to Idaho Power Company. In addition, the company partners with the State of Idaho on groundwater recharge activities in an effort to sustain the ESPA. The company first diverted water from the Snake River for irrigation in 1908.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the groundwater situation in your area, especially as it relates to the ESPA. Alan Hansten: When irrigation was first developed on the Eastern Snake Plain in the early 1900s, the irrigators began diverting water out onto desert lands, and the percolation of this water through the soil began to raise the water table in the underlying aquifer. The water level and storage amount of the aquifer continued to increase until the early 1950s, when the development of deep well pumping technologies made it feasible to begin extracting water from the aquifer to irrigate farmland. The State of Idaho began issuing groundwater rights on the ESPA, and irrigation expanded. This caused the aquifer to begin to decline, and since the early 1950s, the water table elevation has been going down and the stored volume has been decreasing. In an effort to stop their declining water supply, senior water users have made water calls against junior water users. If those water calls were to result in groundwater pumping curtailment, it would have serious effects on the livelihood and economy of southern Idaho. Now, NSCC, the State of Idaho, the groundwater pumping community, and others are trying to stabilize the aquifer at the level at which it stood in the early 1990s. Irrigation Leader: Does the aquifer level affect your supplies of surface water? Alan Hansten: It does. The Snake River and the ESPA influence each other. There are areas where water from the river feeds the aquifer through percolation and areas where water comes out of the aquifer through springs and enters the river. A decline in those spring flows reduces NSCC’s water supply and requires the company to use more of the water stored in the reservoirs to make up the difference. Our surface water supplies are significantly lower in years with low snowpack and low spring flows. Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about some of the programs that have been put in place to manage and sustain the aquifer? Alan Hansten: In 2015, an agreement was reached between the Surface Water Coalition (SWC), which includes NSCC, Twin Falls Canal Company, and other surface water user entities below the American Falls Reservoir, and Idaho Groundwater Appropriators, Inc. (IGWA). The agreement laid out mitigation actions to be undertaken by IGWA to obtain a net positive change in aquifer volume of 240,000 acrefeet per year. Aquifer levels that need to be reached by certain dates were also established in the agreement. In exchange for IGWA’s efforts, the SWC agreed to not pursue further water calls through the Idaho Department of Water Resources against junior groundwater users that signed onto the agreement as long as the aquifer irrigationleadermagazine.com
level milestones were being met. SWC consultants and IGWA consultants got together and identified a number of wells on the plain to be used as sentinel wells in the administration of the agreement. The State of Idaho also stepped up to the plate and started constructing recharge facilities on NSCC’s systems and other systems on the ESPA. The recharge facilities on NSCC’s system are all funded by the state. The state aims for an average annual recharge volume of 250,000 acre-feet a year. Combined, the groundwater users and the state are aiming to return at least 490,000 acre-feet of water to the aquifer on average each year in order to stabilize it and bring it back to the levels of the early 1990s. Irrigation Leader: Are groundwater and surface water managed and regulated conjunctively in Idaho? Alan Hansten: Yes, in the case of the Snake River and the ESPA. Irrigation Leader: What recharge facilities have been built on NSCC’s system so far? Alan Hansten: One recharge facility has been constructed at what we call the Wilson Canyon site. We have four hydroelectric power plants above the site, and the State of Idaho came in and installed deicing equipment and bulkheads on the power plants. This will allow us to run water around the plants and keep ice from building up and forming ice loads against the structures during the winter. We are now able to begin recharge activities on the main canal system and at the Wilson Canyon site every year as soon as we finish the irrigation season. We started recharging at the Wilson Canyon site for the first time on October 25, 2019, and continued through May 2020. Irrigation Leader: How does the water infiltrate from the Wilson Canyon facility into the ground? Alan Hansten: Wilson Canyon is a large basin surrounded by lava rock, about 20 acres in size, located off to the side of the company’s main canal. There is significant fracturing in the basalt rock in that area, which gives it high permeability. When we put water out there, it infiltrates well. We were able to run 500–600 cubic feet per second (cfs) into the basin nonstop from October to May. Irrigation Leader: How many other recharge structures do you anticipate constructing? Alan Hansten: Right now, we’re waiting for the state to decide if it wants to build another one. There is a potential site below the Wilson Canyon site that it may want to develop. The state is still studying whether it’s feasible and makes sense to add another site to its recharge portfolio. September 020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
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An aerial view of the Wilson Canyon recharge site.
Irrigation Leader: What effects do you expect to see from this project and others like it? Alan Hansten: We’re expecting to see the aquifer begin to cease declining and then begin to recover so that it gets back to early-1990s levels. The State of Idaho is tracking that for us. The state monitors the groundwater level via the sentinel wells. Over the last 5 years, we’ve seen an increase in the level and the amount of water stored in the aquifer. We are currently on a positive trend and have actually been exceeding the goals that were set out in the original agreement. As long as that trend continues, we will be in good shape. We don’t attribute the rise in the aquifer solely to recharge—we’ve had a couple of unusually wet winters on the Snake Plain, which we’re sure had an effect as well. On the whole, we’re cautiously optimistic. Irrigation Leader: The recharge program is being paid for by the state and implies no extra cost for NSCC’s customers, correct? Alan Hansten: Right. It’s a financial benefit to the company. NSCC gets paid by the State of Idaho to run the recharge water. Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about the recharge activities going on in neighboring areas?
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Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future of groundwater recharge at NSCC? Alan Hansten: The COVID‑19 pandemic is having a shortterm effect on the state’s budget and abilities, and I suspect that we’ll all be seeing some economic fallout from it and that recharge may be affected. We may have to reduce the amount that we recharge in a year because of the state’s funding constraints, but I think that recharge activities will continue. Recharge is an important part of a long-term effort to maintain a sustainable economy in southern Idaho. Agriculture makes up a big portion of southern Idaho’s economy, and without irrigation water, there would be no crops and consequently no economy. I think the state will be looking to develop further recharge sites, because not all the sites can be used all the time due to winter maintenance activities. When water is available, the state needs to have other places to send it to keep the program going. IL Alan Hansten is the general manager of North Side Canal Company. He can be contacted at awh@northsidecanal.com or (208) 324‑2319.
irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF NSCC.
Alan Hansten: The Twin Falls Canal Company and American Falls Reservoir District #2 also participate in the recharge efforts. Twin Falls can recharge up to 40 cfs into Murtaugh Lake, and American Falls Reservoir District #2 has three sites along its canal that allowed it to recharge up to 1,400 cfs this past spring. Several other irrigation districts and canal companies in eastern Idaho also divert water from the Snake River to help with recharge efforts.
The state is also monitoring levels in wells that were installed around the recharge basins. Idaho Department of Water Resources staff also place rhodamine dye in the recharge basins to study the flow direction and velocity of the water within the aquifer, which can be determined based on when and where the dye shows up in surrounding wells. The dye tracing helps us all gain more knowledge and understanding of the aquifer and how the water flows within it, which will ultimately help the state understand which recharge sites are best for continued recharge development.
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Recharging Idaho’s Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer
Water flowing into one of the IWRB’s recharge basins.
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he Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB) is a state agency that was created in 1963 to protect Idaho’s water by formulating a comprehensive state water plan. One of its main projects in recent years has been the recharging of the Eastern Snake Plain aquifer (ESPA), which had been depleted by overuse and was no longer supplying enough water for all users. The IWRB has addressed this problem with an array of water conservation solutions and even the creation of new water through cloud seeding. In this interview, IWRB Chairman Roger Chase tells Irrigation Leader about the IWRB’s history and its current efforts on the ESPA. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
22 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Roger Chase: The IWRB was founded in 1963, when the City of Los Angeles was looking at pumping water from Idaho to Southern California. One of Idaho’s great assets, even though the majority of the state is desert, is good water resources, and the board was formed, quite frankly, to protect Idaho’s water. In Idaho, as in any place, people are always asking how to use the water someplace else, which we try to stop. Irrigation Leader: Is the IWRB a public entity? Roger Chase: It is a state agency. We’re sworn in by the state, and we have to follow all the state rules for public organizations. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the issue that the IWRB is trying to solve on the ESPA. Roger Chase: The problem is that we are pumping and using more water from the aquifer than is going in. About 13 percent of the water going into the aquifer comes from snow and rain. Another 15–16 percent comes from tributaries and rivers that run across the aquifer. The irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE IWRB.
Roger Chase: I’ve been involved in politics and water issues throughout my life. I served in the state legislature for three terms and was the mayor of one of the largest cities in the state, Pocatello, for a couple of terms. I was appointed to the board to represent the cities and recreationalists. I’m also a Democrat, which can be hard to find in Idaho. I’ve been on the board for around 12 years and I’ve chaired it for 8.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the IWRB.
A cloud-seeding ground generator.
A cloud-seeding device mounted on an airplane.
remainder is water that we artificially put in. Almost 30 years ago, we got to the point at which we were taking more water out than we had water to put in. That’s when we moved forward with this project.
you dry up some other land. That was pretty controversial, but it helped our plan succeed.
Irrigation Leader: Are the IWRB’s objectives on the aquifer as simple as putting more water in and taking less water out? Roger Chase: You could say that. We still have enough water to make some changes before this becomes a crisis. The other thing that moved this forward is that Idaho has a law that works according to a principle common in the West called “First in time, first in line.” If my water right dates to January 1, and yours dates to January 2, then I get all my water before you get any of your water. It’s a harsh rule, but we were going to have to enforce it. It was forced on us by the courts, because some of the fish hatcheries in the Snake River system weren’t getting the water that they needed. The court ordered us to make them whole; it said we were not providing water to agricultural land properly, either. The court said we had to come up with an additional 400,000–500,000 acre-feet of water to meet these needs. We were required to make an estimate at the start of the year of how much water we would need and to report on it at the end of the year, and based on that, we would be told how much water we needed to come up with. We came close to shutting down 15–18 cities’ water supplies and the water to 400,000 acres of land, but we were finally able to get people to the table and to come up with a plan that would follow the first-in-time, first-in-line principle while also helping the pumpers and avoiding destroying the industry on the Snake River Plain, which represents about 25 percent of Idaho’s income. We also established a policy on the Snake River Plain that says that you cannot break new land unless irrigationleadermagazine.com
Irrigation Leader: What are some of the other methods you’ve used to mitigate the problem on the aquifer? Roger Chase: First, we required pumpers to cut their water use by about 200,000 acre-feet a year. Then we estimated what would be necessary to hold the aquifer at a certain level, concluding that we needed to charge the aquifer by about 250,000–300,000 acre-feet a year. We’ve been successful in doing that. In addition, we meter everybody, from major pumpers to people who farm 20 acres of land. Other key elements were the regulations to build structures to deliver the water to the desert where we needed it and the positive relations we have and continue to develop with other agencies. We probably couldn’t have gotten the permitting done with today’s rules, which are good rules. We worked out a deal with the existing canal companies to use their canals for recharging in the winter when they’re not delivering water. That saves us tens, if not hundreds, of millions of dollars. Without their support, we couldn’t have done this. Irrigation Leader: Where does all the recharge water come from, and what are the main methods by which you are saving all this water? Roger Chase: According to our plan, the state provides half the water needed to stabilize the aquifer, and the private sector provides the other half. We take advantage of any opportunity for efficiency we can find, even things as simple as taking the sprinklers off headlines. We tightened up the dates when farmers can start using irrigation water, September 020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
| 23
which sparked some conflict. Water users also had to come up with ideas of their own on how to save water. They’ve been pretty effective. We provide monetary incentives to encourage people to run water longer in the winter. We also pay a higher rate the longer you can retain that water. That’s important to us because we’re hoping that we get through 5‑ and 10‑year droughts with this recharge program. One of the things that’s been really pleasing to us is that stream flows have increased. Many of the springs in our Thousand Springs region have come back. Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about your cloud seeding program? Roger Chase: Cloud seeding has been a pleasant surprise. Idaho Power took the lead on it, and we invested in it. We now work with four or five universities, private organizations, and Idaho Power on it. The reason that Idaho Power is involved is that cloud seeding helps generate water for hydropower. As the result of court cases, agriculture gets its water before Idaho Power does. Cloud seeding has been going on for 40–50 years. One of the problems with it is that it is hard to tell what’s happening high up in the clouds, so we took Doppler radar devices and put them up high as we could in the mountains. The information we get from them has allowed us to decide more precisely when to seed clouds, with the result that we are able to create nearly 300,000 acre-feet of water a year. When a cold front comes through, our planes will go through and spray their iodine mixture, and then 15–20 minutes later, it will start raining. We know it’s the rain from the cloud-seeding program because of the samples we collect in the field after the storms. Irrigation Leader: Is that expensive? Roger Chase: Last year we spend about $1.7 million on cloud seeding, and our partners, Idaho Power Company and the water users, contributed $2.5 million. Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about how you built the consensus necessary to make the IWRB’s aquifer programs a success?
24 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Irrigation Leader: Are you aware of other similar situations elsewhere in the country, and did you draw some inspiration from how they had dealt with those problems? Roger Chase: I don’t think there were many people who were looking at recharge as a viable option. I remember sitting in board meetings in which people just laughed and said that we would never be able to recharge that much water. A lot of places don’t have the two things that you really need to make it work. One is excess water. Another is specific to our aquifer, which is a lava aquifer. It’s like concrete that’s been poured into the ground. There are big open cavities within it, which is why we refer to it as a lake. The aquifer could be rising for months as you fill it up, and then for 6 months, the water level might not move. That’s because the water has spilled over a ridge and is filling another empty space on the other side. In California, when they take water out of the aquifer, they have a big problem with the land collapsing to fill in that space. That didn’t happen here—we had a big open space where we could put water. Irrigation Leader: What advice do you have for other water managers? Roger Chase: I would advise everybody to do something. The first step is just to start doing stuff. Don’t be scared to try new things. There’s enough knowledge out there about recharging, so there are no excuses. The longer you wait, the harder it gets. Build good contracts with the folks you’re working with. Once they buy in and see what you can do, you can get good funding from large irrigation districts. We’re adjudicating the water in Idaho through a state and federal process to make sure that these waters stay in Idaho. That’s important—states like Idaho and Montana that still have a little excess water are always fearful about where our water is going to go. We don’t have a lot of political clout, but we’ve been proactive and we have put ourselves in a pretty good position. IL
Roger Chase is the chairman of the Idaho Water Resource Board. He can be contacted at idwrinfo@idwr.idaho.gov.
irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE IWRB.
Roger Chase: The biggest thing was the call made by the court. We were literally days away from shutting off massive amounts of water. The strange thing was that the organization that filed the suit was a fish hatchery; a fish hatchery hardly uses any water. But because aquifers rise like lakes, to get water to the spring, you had to get it up to a higher level. It probably helped that the court said we had to fix it and that the only way we could do that was either to shut off the water or to implement new ideas. Another big factor was that we finally had a board and a director
who said we had to do something. I’d also like to mention a couple of people who really helped: the speaker of the Idaho House of Representatives, Scott Bedke; the governors; and the farmers themselves.
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Each Pipe Has Its Role: Thompson Pipe Group’s Product Range
A worker installs a section of pipe.
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project in Seattle, Washington, for a little under 4 years. As that project came to an end, a friend I’d worked with on the bridge accepted a position with Thompson Pipe Group. The company said it was looking for somebody in the Northwest with my sort of background, so in 2015, I accepted the job.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
Carl Pitzer: Thompson Pipe Group was founded by Ken Thompson in 1972 as Thompson Brothers Utility Construction and worked as a large utility contractor, installing large-diameter concrete pipe in Southern California. It developed a way to cast pipe in place in the trench and eventually started precasting pipe. The company saw a need for quality reinforced concrete pipe, and in 1987, it broke
Carl Pitzer: I graduated from Oregon State University’s construction engineering management program in 2012. After graduation, I went to work for Kiewit Construction and worked on the structures on the 520 floating bridge
26 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about Thompson Pipe Group and its history.
irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THOMPSON PIPE GROUP.
hompson Pipe Group is a national pipe manufacturer that works on municipal and irrigation pipe projects across North America. It manufactures steel, fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP), and concrete pipe as well as joints and fittings. Thompson also manufactures products for trenchless pipe installation. In this interview, Thompson Pipe Group Trenchless and Pacific Northwest Manager Carl Pitzer tells Irrigation Leader about the characteristics and uses of each type of pipe his company builds and about trends in the pipe industry.
ground on its first reinforced concrete pipe manufacturing facility in Rialto, California. Since then, the company has grown quickly. In 2008, we acquired the Flowtite FRP pipe manufacturing facility, and in 2017, we acquired the U.S. Pipe and Forterra pressure assets. With that acquisition, we gained additional manufacturing facilities in Florida, Illinois, Tennessee, and Texas. Having grown from a contractor to a pipe manufacturing company, the company changed its name to Thompson Pipe Group. Despite its growth, the company is still a private, family-owned business. With our expanded footprint and manufacturing capabilities, we manufacture and supply different types of pipe, including FRP; C200 steel pipe; reinforced concrete pipe; and reinforced concrete pressure pipes, mainly prestressed concrete cylinder pipe and bar-wrapped pipe. We also manufacture a number of products for trenchless pipe installation, including products for microtunneling, pipejacking, and sliplining. Irrigation Leader: How does trenchless installation work? Carl Pitzer: For microtunneling and jacking operations, a pipe is typically advanced behind a tunnel boring machine, which is pushed through the ground. The pipe is pushed forward by a ram, and the pipe, in turn, pushes the tunnel boring machine forward. The rams are retracted, another pipe segment is placed behind the segment that has just been pushed, and the cycle is repeated. There’s nothing micro about microtunneling or pipe jacking: We recently supplied 132‑inch pipe for a project in California. The pipe diameter is limited only by the size of the machine, and I believe the largest microtunneling machine in the world is a 4.8‑meter machine.
A backhoe fills in a trench.
Irrigation Leader: Who are Thompson’s customers and clients? Carl Pitzer: We produce pipe for every part of the water transmission industry. We manufacture and supply pipes for irrigation, raw water transmission, power plants, hydropower production, potable water, sewer conveyance, and even to use as casing pipes to hold other pipes. We sell directly to owners, contractors, and developers. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about some of your recent projects. Carl Pitzer: A lot of our recent projects in the irrigation market have involved Flowtite FRP pipe. The projects generally involve pumping water to expanded cropland within irrigation districts. We have also been involved in projects to enclose canals to reduce seepage and evaporation losses. One of our recent projects was with the Port of Morrow in Boardman, Oregon. It involved about 16 miles of 30‑inch, 200‑pound-per-square-inch (psi) pipe. That pipe will be used primarily for the processing of potatoes and other irrigationleadermagazine.com
A section of Thompson Pipe Group pipe.
September 020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
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Irrigation Leader: What challenges and trends do you see in the concrete and fiberglass pipeline industry?
Sections of pipe ready for installation.
vegetables that goes on in the Port of Morrow. Instead of treating the water that is used in that process and releasing it back into the Columbia River, it’s more sustainable to pump it to a holding pond 16 miles away, where irrigators can reuse it for their crops. Another ongoing project is the Columbia Improvement District project. We are supplying roughly 8½ miles of 75‑ and 72‑inch diameter, 200 psi pressure FRP pipe to run parallel to an existing line. Irrigation Leader: Are there differences in the kind of pipe that irrigation clients want versus what municipal clients want? Carl Pitzer: I don’t think so. Each pipe has its role and each project has a different set of requirements. With the Columbia Improvement District project, the fiberglass pipe that they’re using is unrestrained, meaning that it’s a pushon joint that doesn’t need to be welded, which means it can be installed much more quickly. Where the pipeline changes direction, we manufacture and supply steel fittings that are welded to handle the thrust instead of pouring thrust blocks. Irrigation Leader: How do you design your products to be resilient to natural disasters such as earthquakes? Carl Pitzer: For earthquakes, it’s a question of understanding your ground conditions and how the earthquake will travel through the ground. You need to check that your joints can handle the expected rotation and displacement. If the ground is stable and you’re only concerned about it shaking, meaning that there’s no liquefaction or permanent ground displacement, then segmented joints can be used effectively. Each joint will dissipate the energy of an earthquake, rather than storing it. The opposite would happen in a long continuous pipe, which could potentially store the energy. Fiberglass pipes that were installed for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power recently went through two earthquakes without any incident.
28 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Carl Pitzer: One of the biggest challenges that we have had is educating folks about using FRP pipe for pressure applications. It has been accepted in the United States as a gravity sewer product for a long time because it is noncorrosive, but educating owners and engineers about its potential as a pressure product has taken quite a while. While it is considered new in the United States, fiberglass pipe has been installed in pressure projects around the world since the late 1960s. Roughly half of the world FRP market is for pressure projects, including irrigation and hydropower. Countries in South America make extensive use of FRP for irrigation and hydropower. Large projects in Turkey use it transport raw water and irrigation water hundreds of miles. New Zealand and Australia also use FRP for a lot of irrigation pipelines. One trend in North America is that reinforced concrete pipe is becoming a preferred product for tunneling operations. As projects get longer and more complex, concrete offers what other materials can’t, including the ability to tunnel curves and to go for longer distances. Irrigation Leader: Why are American clients reluctant to use FRP? Is it just unfamiliarity with the product? Carl Pitzer: Yes, mainly it is unfamiliarity. A lot of times, clients will ask us to show them an example of the product in use, but if we point to a project in another country or state, they want something closer. Most people don’t want to be the first to try something in their region. I’ve noticed that irrigation clients, on the other hand, are open to new ideas and technologies as long as the benefits are there. They don’t mind if the product has only been used far away; they’re open to the product if it has merit. Irrigation Leader: Why do you think that is? Carl Pitzer: Irrigation clients have a get-it-done mentality. I do not see a lot of bureaucracy with them. They are looking for the best value. Some of the districts are privately owned and funded, and the owners are the ones making the decisions about these kinds of things. They take everyone’s critical thinking into account and trust their engineers. IL
Carl Pitzer is the trenchless manager at Thompson Pipe Group and manages its Pacific Northwest Operations. He can be contacted at cpitzer@thompsonpipegroup.com or (971) 227‑3920.
irrigationleadermagazine.com
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General Irrigation’s Redesigned Floating Pump
General Irrigation's floating pump.
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eneral Irrigation and Dewatering of Oakes, North Dakota, designs and installs a wide variety of deepwell, submersible, and towable pumps, including the versatile Dyna Flo pump. One of the newest additions to its lineup is a completely redesigned floating pontoon pump. General Irrigation can build models to accommodate any model of pump or application. In this interview, General Irrigation President Dana Rosendahl tells Irrigation Leader about the design and capabilities of the new floating pump. Irrigation Leader: Please tell about your background and your company.
30 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Irrigation Leader: How many employees do you have? Dana Rosendahl: When I bought the company, there were 3 or 4 employees, depending on the season; today there are 10–13. We’ve expanded the company; in the beginning, we primarily dealt with irrigation. A lot of other irrigation companies handle center-pivot systems only. We handle center pivots, but we also handle towlines, wheel lines, traveling guns, solid set, and other things. We’ve expanded into sewer and water as well: We’re a licensed sewer-water contractor in North and South Dakota. We started a dewatering division and do subsurface dewatering for contractors. In addition to General Irrigation, we developed another corporation, Dyna Flo, to build and market our Dyna Flo pumps. We first built a flood pump, then lift pumps for field irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GENERAL IRRIGATION.
Dana Rosendahl: I grew up on a dairy farm, and as I was growing up, I learned how to weld by fixing and building equipment on the farm. That created an interest in building and manufacturing. I did a couple of years of vocationaltechnical training for welding when I was in high school, and I have some manufacturing experience in welding, forming metal, and assembly lines. That’s one of the things that has aided us in manufacturing these pumps. I started
working at General Irrigation in 1982 and have been here ever since. We never do the same thing twice: We’re always working for somebody different, doing something different, and honing our skills. It’s always fun, and as long as it is, I’m going to keep on doing it.
drainage, and now a floating pump. In the past, we’d sold a couple of floating pumps that I was never really impressed with. They were clunky, badly balanced, and badly built. They didn’t meet my standards, so we came up with our own design. It’s really farmer friendly. The length can be tailored to the needs of the farmer, the location of the pump site, and the depth of the water. I constructed it so that instead of being one massive, long welded piece of equipment, we use two 20‑foot pieces of 12‑inch pipe that we flange together. On the business end, the wheels hydraulically swing up once it’s in the water, and all that stuff is welded. When I was in manufacturing, I learned that all these little components can be welded separately and bolted together at the end. That means that the welded portions of the pump can be made in a welding stall instead of taking up a whole shop like a 40‑foot piece of pipe. It also allows us to ship it in a package half the size of the package the old pump required. We could make longer pumps, although 40 feet is the longest we’ve done. To make it longer would require a bowstring or some other kind of structural support that would take away from the simplicity of the design. Irrigation Leader: What kind of pump does the floating pump use, and what is its range? Dana Rosendahl: What we manufacture is really a pontoon—we can take any brand of pump the customer is partial to and bolt it on. The volute case of the pump will list in the water far enough to self-prime. The kind of pump
that is used will depend on the application. Some customers need 100 pounds of pressure at the pump; some only need 40. Some need a 150‑horsepower motor, some only need a 40‑horsepower motor. Those pumps weigh dramatically different amounts, too. Whatever pump is needed, our pontoon can accommodate it. We can change the pontoons out as well. Our standard pontoons are 16 inches thick and 4 feet by 6 feet in size. There are four of those on each of the floats on this pontoon. We also have 20‑inch and 24‑inch pontoons. A 20‑inch pontoon will support a 150‑horsepower motor; a 24‑inch pontoon can support more than one pump. When a customer comes asking for a pontoon, we go out and look at their pumps, learn about their needs, and then tailor it to their specifications. Irrigation Leader: Are your pontoons air filled, or are they foam filled? Dana Rosendahl: They’re foam filled and made of plastic. The manufacturer we buy them from also uses them in boat docks. Irrigation Leader: What are some of the main applications you foresee your floating pumps being used for? Dana Rosendahl: We’re aiming to be as versatile as we can, but the primary applications are probably going to be drawing irrigation water out of a canal, river, or stream and emptying slews and potholes in the middle of fields. For the latter, a farmer could back a pump out there and pump
A close-up view of the floating pump.
irrigationleadermagazine.com
September 020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
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the water through the existing center-pivot system or some other sort of watering equipment. You’d have to be able to do it in shallow water with low suction and a screen built in such a way that it wouldn’t suck air when the water gets shallow. We plan to install a device like the bottom feeder feature of our power takeoff pump that will allow us to draw water in shallow areas and still have a self-cleaning jetting screen underneath it. As long as it doesn’t protrude below the pontoons, it should pump until the pontoon reaches the mud. When that happens, you can hydraulically swing the pump up and drag it out. One of our goals is to be able to pump in less than 1 foot of water. Irrigation Leader: Do you do custom designs for specific applications?
Irrigation Leader: What should every irrigation district know about you and your company? Dana Rosendahl: The company has been here for over 50 years, and we’ve drawn on the knowledge and experience of those who came before us. We always put the customer first. We always try to design things that are economical and efficient and last a long time. Few products we buy today—toasters, refrigerators, TVs, or washers and dryers— last as long as the ones that were made 25 or 30 years ago. That irritates me. I want people to get their money’s worth, and when I build something, I want it to last. I don’t want our customers to have to come back here in 10 years when their equipment breaks; I want them to be talking to my grandkids in 40 years. IL
Dana Rosendahl: Yes, we do custom stuff all the time. Necessity is the mother of invention, and somebody always needs something. We’ve got a pretty broad client base, and I spend a good chunk of my time on the phone, brainstorming with farmers. They often call me, tell me what they’re doing, and ask, “What would you do?” We get a lot feedback from farmers.
Dana Rosendahl is the president and owner of General Irrigation. For more information about General Irrigation, visit generalirrigation.com.
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From left to right: Senator Steve Daines; Blackfeet Nation Chairman Timothy Davis; Brent Esplin, director for Reclamation's Missouri Basin and Arkansas–Rio Grande–Texas Gulf regions; and Dr. Tim Petty.
Assistant Secretary Tim Petty on His Visit to the Milk River Project
34 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
visited all five of the unit’s drop structures, including drop 5, the structure that failed catastrophically on May 17, and drop 2, which is also being replaced this year. In this interview, Dr. Petty tells Irrigation Leader about Interior’s outlook on the Milk River Project and its work on other vital programs. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your trip to see the Milk River Project in Montana. irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER PATRICK.
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r. Tim Petty, the assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of the Interior, is responsible for the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and, consequently, for a wide variety of issues related to water infrastructure, water resources, energy, ecosystems, and natural disasters. Dr. Petty recently traveled to western Montana to visit the St. Mary unit of the Milk River Project. While there, he met with local and tribal staff and
was appreciative and pleased: To see us out there and to see that we already have equipment on site and that we are already delivering concrete forms was encouraging to him and his staff. The experienced Reclamation team out here has been remarkable in making sure that we have everybody at the table. Making sure the right people are there from the beginning really makes a difference. Irrigation Leader: What can the tribes and the irrigators expect from Interior moving forward?
Tim Petty: We toured all five drops on the canal. It’s an amazing project. It’s amazing to get out there and see the other drops that are still standing after more than 100 years. It’s beyond impressive. We already have hard equipment out there working on those projects. Senator Steve Daines was the main invitee. Brent Esplin, Reclamation’s director for the Missouri Basin and Arkansas– Rio Grande–Texas Gulf regions, and Steve Davies, the director of the Montana area office, were there, too. We had a roundtable discussion with state representatives. Senator Daines and I also got to meet Timothy Davis, the chairman of the Blackfeet Nation, at drop 3. The Milk River Project is an integral part of the tribe’s water resources. He irrigationleadermagazine.com
Tim Petty: The main focus with regard to the Milk River Project is getting water. The main concern we heard at the roundtable was making sure that the project has water next year. We’ve got to work hard through the summer to complete the repairs on drops 2 and 5. Beyond that, it is critical that we can provide assurance for the long term. At the roundtable, we talked about the efforts that have taken place over the last several years to maintain the other drops and the work that will be necessary in decades to come. We stopped to look at drops 1, 3, and 4. They could probably use some work in the future, but right now, they’re in pretty good shape, which is encouraging. Secretary Bernhardt, Commissioner Burman, and the Reclamation team have done an exceptional amount of work and provided up-front money to make sure that this work gets going immediately. The irrigators and others who have been affected were appreciative of the emergency extraordinary maintenance funding that we were able to provide. Reclamation staff were also appreciative—multiple people came up to Senator Daines and me to tell us that. I met with Jennifer Patrick, the program manager of the Milk River Joint Board of Control, and Marko Manoukian, the local chairperson for the St. Mary Rehabilitation Working Group, as well. Numerous people have told me about Ms. Patrick’s hard work on collaboration, which has made all the difference in the world. Water infrastructure efforts are a high priority for the president. We are trying to get our local Reclamation teams the resources they need, understand their priorities and budgets, and then help state and local agencies to solve problems. Reclamation has a track record of 100 years of creativity, and that needs to continue into the future. Irrigation Leader: What are your other top issues at the moment? Tim Petty: Over the past 3½ years, we’ve focused on water supply for rural communities, water infrastructure, and problem solving. The Columbia River record of decision will be out at the end of September, 2 years ahead of schedule. We already have biological opinions from the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This administration has been effective in identifying priorities and making them happen. Secretary Bernhardt is constantly pushing Commissioner Burman and me to make sure that September 020 | IRRIGATION LEADER
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Dr. Tim Petty, Senator Steve Daines, and Reclamation’s Montana area manager, Steve Davies, on site at drop 5.
we’re out in rural water districts, working with irrigation communities and with the municipalities and industries that are part of those small communities. They need water for life, and we are committed to working toward that. Irrigation Leader: What is Interior doing to keep the country secure and united?
Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about your collaborative efforts with local, state, and federal partners?
Irrigation Leader: Finally, what should every Reclamation project beneficiary know about this administration? Tim Petty: We’re listening to them. We want to help them solve problems, which they’re more familiar with than we are in Washington, DC. We are listening to what they say about what they need to do their jobs. We will have their backs when disaster hits—and we know that that’s not an if but a when. IL
Dr. Tim Petty is assistant secretary for water and science at the U.S. Department of Interior.
Tim Petty: We get together on a monthly basis with a group of federal water agencies, including the
36 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF JENNIFER PATRICK.
Tim Petty: I would point to the incredible work that Interior’s Water and Science Program and Reclamation are doing on a risk-based approach to assets for both safety and security. We are looking at what our assets are, how we manage them, how we use our facilities and build our resources around them, and how we make sure they’re secure and safe. Dam safety is another big area of focus. Reclamation’s 5,500 amazing employees do great work to make sure that their workplaces are safe and healthy. From a broader perspective, the water Reclamation delivers to the West and to the United States as a whole is critical to the food security and general health of our populace. The USGS also does vital work on volcano monitoring and early warning systems. Its network of stream gauges helps warn about floods as well as droughts.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Department of Energy. One recent addition to our monthly meetings is Assistant Secretary Bruce Walker of Energy’s Office of Electricity. Reclamation is also partnering with other agencies to address critical grid and cybersecurity issues. We work closely with the states to make sure we understand their needs. Our federal team works side by side not only with the governors’ offices, but with state water resources divisions. The EPA and the USDA collaborate with state and local governments as well, for example in Fort Laramie, Wyoming; Nebraska; and northern Montana.
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Upcoming Events August 6, 13, 19, 20, and 27, September 10 and 17 National Water Resources Association, Western Water Table Talk webinar series September 14–16 WaterPro Conference, Phoenix, AZ CANCELED: September 14–16 WESTCAS, Annual Conference, San Diego, CA CANCELED: September 15–17 Husker Harvest Days, Grand Island, NE POSTPONED: September 22–24 Irrigation Australia Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, Australia POSTPONED: September 22–28 International Commission on Irrigation & Drainage, 24th Congress & 72nd International Executive Council meeting, Sydney, Australia September 27–29 Nebraska Natural Resources Districts, Annual Conference, Kearney, NE October 19 Utah Water Users Association, Annual Summit, Provo, UT October 21–23 Texas Water Conservation Association, Fall Conference, San Antonio, TX October 26-29 American Water Works Association, CA/NV Section Annual Fall Conference, Las Vegas, NV November 9–11 National Water Resources Association, Annual Conference, Scottsdale, AZ November 17–19 (new date) Hydrovision International, Envisioning a Hydro Future, Minneapolis, MN December 14–16 Colorado River Water Users Association, Conference, Las Vegas, NV
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