Volume 9 Issue 6
Jeremy Sorensen of the Strawberry Water Users Association
June 2018
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CONTENTS JUNE 2018 Volume 9, Issue 6
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 Tyler Young, Writer Julia Terbrock, 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.
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An Interview With Jeremy Sorensen of Strawberry Water Users Association
5 Leadership, Regulations, and Sharing Ideas By Kris Polly 6 Jeremy Sorensen of the Strawberry Water Users Association 14 The Use of Federal Water for Growing Hemp: An Interview With Reclamation's Steve Davies
22 Lower Mekong Initiative Cross-Cultural Water Resource Tour Comes to the Borderland By Karen Ray
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26 Economic Development of North-Central Montana: Paul Tuss of Bear Paw Development Corporation
THE INNOVATORS 34 Forecasting Temperature, Precipitation, and Evapotranspiration: Geoff Flint and Tom Hauf of CustomWeather, Inc., and Marco Bell of Merced Irrigation District
Copyright Š 2018 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
COVER PHOTO: General Manager Jeremy Sorensen of Strawberry Water Users Association.
IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTO COURTESY OF JEREMY SORENSEN.
18 An Update on the Produce Safety Rule By Melissa Partyka
MANAGER PROFILE
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.
Leadership, Regulations, and Sharing Ideas By Kris Polly
T
his issue of Irrigation Leader contains articles on food safety, the use of federal water in the growing of industrial hemp, and irrigation along the U.S.-Mexican border. Jeremy Sorensen, general manager of the Strawberry Water Users Association, profiles his irrigation district, its push for title transfer, and the importance of outreach to the next generation of water users. Paul Tuss, executive director of the Bear Paw Development Corporation, shares his insights on the irrigation-led economic development in north-central Montana and the potential for agricultural growth in the region. Geoff Flint, president and chief exective officer, and Tom Hauf, senior sales executive, both of CustomWeather, Inc., and Marco Bell, water engineer for Merced Irrigation District, describe the strategies of providing customers with the CustomWeather model, the success customers have with the model, and the goals for the further development of the model are detailed. Melissa Partyka provides an in-depth update on the
Federal Produce Safety Rule. Bureau of Reclamation Montana Area Office Manager Steve Davies profiles the permitting process to use federal water in the growing of industrial hemp. Karen Ray, media consultant for Elephant Butte Irrigation District, shares the story of the Lower Mekong Initiative Cross-Cultural Water Resource Tour’s recent trip to New Mexico. We hope this issue of Irrigation Leader is informative and helpful in your efforts to promote exceptional leadership in the irrigation industry. IL 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 Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at Kris.Polly@waterstrategies.com.
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IRRIGATION LEADER
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Spanish Fork River Diversion Dam.
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IRRIGATION LEADER
Jeremy Sorensen of the Strawberry Water Users Association The Strawberry Water Users Association (SWUA) delivers 71,000 acre-feet of water to more than 40,000 acres of orchards and alfalfa fields, as well as burgeoning communities on the southern Wasatch Front in Utah County. SWUA uses the infrastructure of the Strawberry Valley Project, the first Bureau of Reclamation project in Utah, to move water from the Colorado River basin into the Great Basin. For General Manager Jeremy Sorensen, delivering water on behalf of SWUA is a family affair. Since SWUA was founded 100 years ago, there have only been 20 years in which there was not a Sorensen on the board of directors. UTAH Mr. Sorensen’s father is currently one of his 15 board members. Mr. Sorensen started with the district as its accountant and moved into the general manager position in Strawberry Water Users Association 2011. Kris Polly, editorin-chief of Irrigation Leader, spoke to Mr. Sorensen about SWUA’s long history of service, his efforts to transfer the title of some of the project’s infrastructure and water rights back to SWUA, and the importance of outreach to the next generation of water users. Kris Polly: Please describe the agricultural lands you serve. Jeremy Sorensen: Agricultural production in our area is quite diverse. In terms of orchards, we have cherry, apple, and even pluot, which is a hybrid between a plum and an apricot. Some growers raise raspberries; others raise pumpkins or watermelons. The majority of growers produce alfalfa, corn, wheat, and barley. IRRIGATION LEADER
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Our growers use flood and sprinkler irrigation. Being in a mountain valley, those up on the hillside prefer the sprinklers, while those in the lower lands prefer flood. Flood irrigation helps push salts down and keep the nutrients going to the plant. Kris Polly: Please describe your water delivery system and its history. Jeremy Sorensen: All our water originates in the headwaters of the Strawberry River, which then goes into the Green River, which flows into the Colorado. All the water that we bring across is considered Colorado River drainage. SWUA relies on Strawberry Reservoir for storage of those waters. The Strawberry Valley Project was built in the early 1900s. Project builders drilled a tunnel through the Wasatch Front from both directions. Those men were working by candlelight and with horses, but by coming from both sides, they were able to drill the tunnel and only missed by about 6 inches. Prior to 1991, SWUA maintained and operated Strawberry Reservoir, collecting both grazing and recreation fees to cover operational costs. This was great for our water users; SWUA was able to charge a minimal assessment to our water users because the fees around the reservoir covered our costs. After 1991, the Central Utah Project (CUP) brought additional Colorado River water into the reservoir. CUP took a 260,000-acre-foot reservoir and increased it to 1 million acrefeet, guaranteeing SWUA 61,000 acre-feet every year. The relationship has benefitted our shareholders. It has provided SWUA with certainty and created storage space for CUP, which now operates the reservoir. Interestingly, after SWUA signed the agreement, CUP built a new tunnel—again digging from each direction—and they were off by more than 60 feet. Kris Polly: SWUA is seeking title transfer of parts of the Strawberry Valley Project. What elements of the project are you seeking to gain title to? Jeremy Sorensen: We are seeking the title to power plants and our main canal, and we are also looking at trying to get the water rights. We see a lot of the issues with the actual water rights, so we are just trying to ensure that
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the federal government no longer has a say in what we can and cannot do. We have had so many problems with the federal government— with someone else in charge and a whole new set of rules that we cannot live up to—because we already have a precedent. We are then told that we have been doing things illegally, even though they have been aware of everything going on. It is difficult to do business with an organization that works that way. Kris Polly: Do the problems that you are referring to relate to some of the water that has gone to small-acreage irrigators? Jeremy Sorensen: Yes. Several years ago, Reclamation issued a footnote to a directive indicating that contractors can deliver to smallacreage irrigators. Yet, the federal government continued to tell us that we could not deliver to any small lots. One of our shareholders, a local city, sued us. The city’s residents had relied on this water for nearly 70 years, and we were required to give it to them. There we were, with shareholders who own the water that SWUA could not deliver because the federal government would not allow us. Fortunately, we were able to work through it. Being the first water project in Utah, everything was a learning process. The way they set it up 100 years ago does not work as well today because of the encroachment of urbanization. We need to adapt. Kris Polly: Has there been a solution to this issue? Jeremy Sorensen: Reclamation grandfathered us in so that we can deliver to small lots. The water has to be tied to the ground, and the city does not own the ground; the homeowner does. Reclamation created the water dedication agreement, which allows the water to be tied to the ground inside the city limits, but the city becomes a subdelivery agent. We bill the city, the city bills the shareholders through their monthly billing, and the city is then able to deliver the water to the user. Title transfer will help with this contracting process. Our other growing cities have a good grasp of state law, but they struggled to work under Reclamation law. Kris Polly: What other benefits do you think title transfer will bring to your shareholders?
Close-up view of the Spanish Fork River Diversion Dam.
STRAWBERRY WATER USERS ASSOCIATION'S BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Scott Phillips PRESIDENT
Kevin Anderson VICE PRESIDENT
Calvin Crandall Jesse Warren J. Merrill Hallam Lynn Swenson Neil Sorensen Bill Beck Kenny Seng Kelly Lewis Guy Larson Robert McMullin Curtis Rowley Curtis Thomas Reid Stubbs IRRIGATION LEADER
Jeremy Sorensen: We will cut out the middleman on a variety of projects. For example, in one pipe replacement project, SWUA had engineered a pipe replacement and had it ready to go. We went to Reclamation to inform it of the project, but we were told that our plans had to be reviewed first. That process took some time. Without the pipe in place, one of our power plants remained idle. After 3 months, the Technical Center told us to get it engineered and have our local bureau take care of it, which we had already done. They finally allowed us to put it in the ground. We spent 3 months waiting and losing money. Kris Polly: Where are you in the process right now with title transfer? Jeremy Sorensen: We are still working on getting all the stakeholders on the same page. When we first decided that we wanted title transfer, a local mayor told me that SWUA only wanted water rights in order to sell to Las Vegas. Of course, that is not possible. The state would not let me do that, and I personally did not own the water; the shareholders, such as the mayor himself, did. However, just one person saying this created a fear that we may do that. IRRIGATION LEADER
Kris Polly: What do you hope to see on the Colorado River to help ensure that your supplies are sustained over the next 100 years? Jeremy Sorensen: What we hear is that if Lake Powell cannot supply the needs of Colorado River water users, upstream supplies will be tapped, starting with Flaming Gorge, and we fear it will move on to Strawberry Reservoir. Water releases will affect all of our water here. We are constantly watching that situation. Kris Polly: What are some of the other challenges that you are dealing with right now? Jeremy Sorensen: Like everyone else, aging infrastructure and communication issues are our two biggest challenges. Communication is the key that everyone needs to work on more. The rumor mill circulates, and one person with influence can spread a lie. We are trying to get accurate information out there and be as proactive as we can. I have started attending council meetings to discuss what SWUA is doing. The more proactive we can be, the better off it will be for the future. We can work on those
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Board President Scott Phillips educates second graders on Farm Field Day.
relationships so that when those off-the-wall stories come out, I can put a rumor to rest.
—JEREMY SORENSEN
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Jeremy Sorensen: In conjunction with the Provo River Water Users Association and the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, we work with the local farm bureau. Each year, they have a Farm Field Day, during which they bring 3,000 second graders to a farm. We have created a model mountain where we explain the water cycle. We have dams and pipes that show how we divert the water to different areas. We can make calls, and I have a sprayer to show the rain. It is fun to watch kids realize the purpose of the reservoirs. This education is much needed. I had someone call me the other day; he was upset because he had a family reunion by a reservoir up Payson Canyon. Because of the drought, the
Kris Polly: What is the most important thing you have learned as an irrigation district manager? Jeremy Sorensen: The most important thing I have learned is communication. Don’t assume anything. If you hear something verify it before making any decisions. Keep everyone involved as up to date as possible. I am not saying I am perfect at this but have found the more I talk to others the less questions we have about what we are doing. IL Jeremy Sorensen is the general manager of Strawberry Water Users Association. He can be reached at jeremy@strawberrywater.com. IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTO COURTESY OF JEREMY SORENSEN.
"The more proactive we can be, the better off it will be for the future."
Kris Polly: In addition to council meetings, do you have other educational components to what you are doing so that people in the area have a better sense of how they get their water?
canyon reservoir has dried up to become a large mud puddle. He told me that I had ruined his reunion because I drained his reservoir (even though I don’t regulate that reservoir). The public perception is that reservoirs are for recreation and fishing, when in reality, they are for drinking, irrigation, and other water usage.
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The Use of Federal Water for Growing Hemp: An Interview With Reclamation's Steve Davies
Although the Agricultural Act of 2014 includes provisions for the growth of industrial hemp for research purposes under state-approved programs, the use of federal water had been in question given hemp’s classification under the Controlled Substances Act. However, in late May 2018, the Bureau of Reclamation’s Montana Area Office issued the first permit for the use of federal water from a reservoir operated by Reclamation to irrigate industrial hemp. Only one permit has been issued so far; however, this action could allow for the crop to grow in popularity throughout the West. In an interview with Tyler Young, writer for Irrigation Leader, Montana Area Office Manager Steve Davies speaks about the recently issued permit. Mr. Davies elaborates on Reclamation's process to issue the permit, how interested applicants should approach the application process, and his perspective on the future of hemp production in Montana. Tyler Young: Please tell our readers about the approved request to use federal water for growing industrial hemp.
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IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTO COURTESY OF STEVE DAVIES.
Steve Davies: In June 2017, we received a request for a water service contract from an individual who was leasing agricultural lands adjacent to the Helena Valley Irrigation District near Reclamation’s Canyon Ferry Reservoir for the purpose of growing industrial hemp. The lands being leased in this situation were not actually within the district’s boarders, but were adjacent to the district’s canal. The request came to Reclamation because we have the authority of market water from the Canyon Ferry Reservoir, so the individual asked for a water service contract for federal water to grow the industrial hemp. Unfortunately, the grower had already planted the crop in 2017, prior to contacting Reclamation for the water service contract. This was the first formal request that Reclamation had received for that purpose. We have a policy that requires upholding the Controlled Substance Act of 1970, which
specifically included hemp as a prohibited crop. Although the 2014 Farm Bill contained provisions that allowed for exemptions to the Controlled Substance Act, we were unable to get to a decision on whether we could lawfully provide water for this purpose before the crop dried up several weeks later. About 69 acres of crop was lost. In 2018, this same grower submitted another request for a water service contract prior to planting the industrial hemp crop. This new request included comprehensive documentation about how the grower’s plan to grow hemp fit the narrow exemptions of the Farm Bill Act. Reclamation was in a much better position of making sure we could legally provide the water based on this additional documentation. In particular, we were able to confirm that this plan had the involvement of the state Department of Agriculture and an institution of higher learning and that the cultivated crop was for research purposes under an established agricultural pilot program. Each of the required provisions identified in the Farm Bill were met, and we were assured that we could legally provide the water and not get caught between the Controlled Substance Act and the Farm Bill Act. A water service contract was subsequently issued in May 2018 prior to the grower planting the crop. We really have to give this individual credit for doing the legwork necessary to demonstrate how she legally fit this program. Looking at the overall timeline for dealing with this situation, it was really important for Reclamation to get this decision right. We did not want to issue a water service contract for this crop and find ourselves in the position later of having to back out. This request was just in Montana, but Reclamation operates in the 17 western states. The cultivation of hemp and marijuana has gained popularity as several states, such as in California, Colorado, and Oregon, have legalized marijuana, so we must pay attention to the particular uses that growers want federal water for.
Tyler Young: Could you describe Reclamation’s official stance on the growth of hemp? Steve Davies: We have policy that prohibits the use of federal water for the growth of hemp, as defined under the Controlled Substance Act. That said, we recognize the fairly narrow provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill Act for growing industrial hemp under an authorized pilot program and how federal water can be used in cases that fit these specific provisions. We are currently getting other inquiries about raising hemp, because farmers are finding a market for the product. Going forward, and until Congress provides additional language on the 2014 Farm Bill Act provisions, we will review such requests on a case-by-case basis to make sure these provisions are met. Tyler Young: What is the step-by-step process for those who want to pursue growing hemp in Montana? Steve Davies: I think first and foremost, they need to be registered and licensed under the state of Montana’s established pilot program. For growers in Montana, they really need to be affiliated with the state Department of Agriculture to grow industrial hemp under that pilot program. It fits exactly the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill Act. Second, they should identify their water source, especially if they expect to need federal water. Tyler Young: What does Montana's hemp industry look like? Steve Davies: I think there is a stronger interest today. The United States imports millions of dollars of hemp from countries such as Canada and China. We are in very close proximity to Canada; this crop is being grown right across the border. A lot of products can be derived from hemp, and certainly that is driving the interest for farmers today. IRRIGATION LEADER
Different types of crops are constantly being explored and grown, and when you cross the border into Canada, it is even more so. The state of Montana’s pilot program has at least a few dozen growers, and the particular grower that I talked about earlier who is now getting Reclamation water is the smallest of all those growers, so there is a strong interest. We are trying to understand the market more, but we have to be mindful of some of the other things that are going on in the United States in terms of legalizing marijuana, for which the Controlled Substance Act and Reclamation policy strictly prohibit the use of federal water. We rely on Congress to pass laws and provide clarification on how they apply to the use of federal water in this industry. Tyler Young: How is this situation changing your day-today role? Steve Davies: Reclamation is a traditional organization that provides water to users for a wide variety of agricultural crops in Montana. The list is growing, constrained only by what farmers can successfully grow and find a market for. We are a large marketer of water in the United States and, to some extent, in Montana. Irrigation districts and water users are becoming more creative in how they apply water and their growing patterns, so everything is constantly evolving, and we try to keep up with that. I think the number of applications for water to grow hemp will only increase in the future. Interest is growing, not just on the part of growers, but also on the part of Congress, which wants flexibility for users to grow what they need to grow to be able to survive and compete in the agricultural industry. IL Steve Davies is the Area Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation's Montana Area Office. He can be reached at sdavies@usbr.gov.
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AN UPDATE ON THE PRODUCE SAFETY RULE By Melissa Partyka
I
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fresh produce have increased, so too has public awareness of produce production environments, placing irrigation supplies in the crosshairs. The microbial quality of irrigation water supplies is at the heart of the matter. Most bacterial, protozoal, and viral pathogens that have been associated with foodborne outbreaks are readily dispersed via water, so surface water distribution networks can spread localized sources of pathogens across large areas. If a grower’s irrigation source is contaminated, pathogens may be broadcast throughout a field, creating contact with many pieces of produce, and eventually resulting in an outbreak. These, among other qualities, make water a perfect vehicle for pathogens, making their regular monitoring beyond a good idea, but a necessity. The problem is deciding what to monitor for, which forces the underlying question: What makes people sick? The answer is: Many things! However, pathogens are relatively rare, and monitoring for a rare thing is not only time consuming but also expensive. So many agencies choose to monitor for indicator organisms that occur in high concentrations inside human and animal guts. To protect the public, standards are frequently set at concentrations associated with human illness. For example, the standards in the AWP come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state that approximately 36 in 1,000 people exposed to water with an average generic E. coli concentration of 126 colonyforming units/100 milliliters are likely to become ill. It does not say guaranteed, nor does it say ill with what. This estimation is the result of decades of research and is still IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTOS COURTESY OF FLICKR/U.S. FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION AND MELISSA PARTYKA.
n November 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) finalized the Produce Safety Rule, which includes an Agricultural Water Provision (AWP) requiring that growers identify, inspect, and monitor their irrigation water supplies for indicator E. coli. Compliance for all aspects of the rule was set to begin in January 2018. However, in March 2017 the FDA made an announcement that it was reviewing the AWP after increasing pushback and confusion over some of the finer points of the provision. In the end, it kept the criteria the same but pushed the timeline for compliance out an additional 4 years and continued to emphasize the possibility of refinement as more science becomes available. Therein lies the rub. Most people recognize that monitoring the water supplies that come into direct contact with fresh produce is a good idea. The problem that the FDA has encountered, one echoed by the scientific community, is that there are currently not enough data available to create a truly science-based standard for irrigation water. That does not mean that the regulation of water has no basis in science, but rather that the science of irrigation water has lagged behind that of other water types, like drinking or swimming. Why is that? Because research is hard and expensive and takes a considerable amount of time before concrete answers may be had, if any ever are. Further, funding for research is frequently driven by demand, and until recently, the demand for research linking microbial contamination of irrigation water supplies to the risk of human illness in the United States has been low. However, as outbreaks of illness associated with consumption of
regularly evaluated. To date, no study has been conducted to approximate the likelihood of illness in people that consume fresh produce that has been irrigated with water at different indicator E. coli concentrations. Before the hard work of understanding risk to consumers can be done, however, we need to first understand the quality of irrigation water supplies across the United States. This is where irrigation districts in California and Washington have been helping. Following the release of the Produce Safety Rule and the subsequent AWP, my colleagues and I began actively pursuing irrigation districts across the western United States as partners in research. Since that time, we have successfully completed a multistate survey of indicators and pathogens in surface irrigation water supplies, followed by a multiyear study to validate the use of data sharing as allowed under section 112.47(a)(2) of the rule. Specifically, this provision allows growers to collaboratively monitor their water IRRIGATION LEADER
ABOVE: Melissa Partyka.
The microbial quality of irrigation water supplies is at the heart of the matter. —MELISSA PARTYKA
supplies, provided there are no reasonably foreseeable sources of contamination in between monitoring locations. In short, this means that growers along an irrigation canal or a piped lateral can all share their data and dramatically reduce the burden on any one grower. Without preliminary data, however, it is unclear how far away growers can be from one another and still collaborate, or even which factors along a canal should be considered “reasonably foreseeable sources of contamination.” We are actively analyzing our data collected from eight districts over 3 years to provide guidance on these questions and help growers begin the work of complying with the AWP. But much more work remains. Though we currently enjoy ample participation, it took us years to gain the trust of enough districts to make a robust study possible. In western states, irrigation districts are a gateway that researchers must pass through to gain access to surface water distribution networks. Though the AWP places the sole responsibility of water testing on the grower, in the West the source of many growers’ water is under irrigation district control. Partnering with irrigation districts is also much more efficient for researchers, since districts already have a built-in relationship with growers and can act as honest brokers of information. However, fear of potential liability has led some districts to respectfully decline opportunities for Food Safety Modernization Act–related collaboration. Thus, the science of agricultural water tends to be concentrated in a few research-friendly irrigation districts, reducing our ability to capture the broad diversity of agricultural water conditions experienced by the majority of produce growers. Even with access and helpful partners, public funding for this type of research is extremely limited, and research takes time. Again, districts may be able to help by lobbying state and federal legislators for increased funding for rigorous, and ultimately publishable, research of surface water irrigation supplies. But for now, growers and regulators will have to make do with the best available research and hope for better. IL Dr. Melissa Partyka is an extension specialist at Auburn University and is an affiliate for the UC Davis Western Institute for Food Safety and Security. She can be reached at m.partyka@auburn.edu.
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Lower Mekong Initiative Cross-Cultural Water Resource Tour Comes to the Borderland By Karen Ray
O
n the eve of southern New Mexico’s monsoon season, members of the International Leadership Visitor Program (IVLP), sponsored by the U. S. Department of State, spent the day with Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID) Treasurer/Manager Gary Esslinger and other water professionals learning about irrigation, agriculture, and environmental and water law practices. The IVLP works with individuals nominated by embassies around the world who participate in professional exchanges to the United States. The theme of this tour was the Lower Mekong Initiative: Cross-Border Water Resource Management. The Lower Mekong Initiative (LMI) serves as a multinational partnership effort initiated by the United States, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam in 2009 to promote and to foster integrated sub-regional cooperation and capacity building in the Mekong sub-region. Mr. Esslinger said, “They were interested in the fact
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that the federal government was not as involved in how we administer water in our area. The U.S. government built our system, but farmers paid it off; this was unheard of.” Also unheard of was Mexico’s million dollar repayment contribution in return for the 1906 water delivery treaty. The participants saw a variety of crops grown and practices that are much different from theirs. They were fascinated by the pecan orchards—a new nut to them—and they were amazed to see field workers harvesting onions. “Does the government hire those people?” one visitor asked. Mr. Esslinger replied, “No, the farmer does.” An Albuquerque-based nonprofit, Global Ties ABQ, facilitated the tour. Spokesperson Destiny Logan explained the organization’s goal to create connections between visitors and New Mexicans. “This group’s objective was to talk about water sharing for multiple purposes because in that region, they are reliant on one river—the Mekong.” IRRIGATION LEADER
The LMI’s challenges in cross-border water rights are similar to our situation with Rio Grande water acquisition and delivery across three states and one country. Hour Thanit, vice chief of office in the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, stated, “EBID is the model of water sharing with the specific amount of water from Colorado to New Mexico and from Texas to Mexico.” Pham Thi Dieu My with the Centre for Social Research and Development in Viet Nam was interested in industrialization and climate change. Thi felt that EBID’s purpose “really matched with our risks in our home country. Topics of water management are the same [as] in the Mekong District.” Dr. Phil King, EBID engineering consultant, described Rio Grande geography, explaining its origins in Colorado and its path through New Mexico and El Paso, Texas, to become the international border between the United States and Mexico. The group’s district tour began at Elephant Butte Reservoir, New Mexico’s key storage dam. Released water travels through the Hatch/Rincon Valleys, irrigating agricultural lands and producing a variety of key crops, from onions, pecans, and forages to our famous Hatch chile. It continues through the Mesilla Valley, enabling agricultural production there, then on through the Mesilla Diversion Dam in New Mexico to be shared with Texas. Below this, the Rio Grande becomes the international boundary, and travelers look across the Rio Grande into Mexico. Dr. King said, “During the critical irrigation season, the two irrigation districts and Mexico often speak daily to stay apprised of the water situation.” SCADA monitoring data, available on the EBID and EP#1 websites, help all parties see where the water is in the system. New Mexico is facing ongoing extreme drought. “The all-time record-low release occurred in 2013,” Dr. King said. “This river has massive swings in water supply.” The district creatively handles drought, including capturing stormwater that can be used directly for irrigation, to reduce the release from Caballo and deliver water to Texas and Mexico or to infiltrate and recharge the aquifer. This provides vital flexibility to producers. Mr. Esslinger described how farmers laser level fields, have on-farm practices like high-flow turnouts, and can apply 4 inches of water conservatively. A full supply is 3 acre-feet per acre, compared to 10 inches this year. “The way we irrigate and conserve water fascinated them; it’s different than what they are used to,” he said. EBID works proactively with environmental groups and is in discussions with the International Boundary IRRIGATION LEADER
Water Commission (IBWC) to maintain the river channel for efficient conveyance, flood control conveyance, and establishment of wildlife habitat in the upriver channel. Dr. King said this long-term struggle to balance the river’s water use functions has developed into a plan to move the habitat out of the main river channel. Samantha Barncastle Salopek, EBID legal counsel, noted that LMI tour members were interested in the balance between human consumption/use of water and natural environmental water use. She explained, “In the western United States, you have a right to use water, although it is owned by the state and is subject to state and federal regulations and delivery obligations.” Water elsewhere is typically managed by government Elephant agencies within communities. The two Butte primary federal regulations are the Irrigation Clean Water Act regulating pollution and the Endangered Species Act District covering ecological flow issues while also protecting human rights to use water.” Ms. Salopek acknowledged the question of balance. “We have to have water to survive, to drink, to eat, to NEW MEXICO provide for our children’s future. But at the same time, there is a benefit to letting the species use the water also.” EBID’s endangered species of concern are the southwestern willow flycatcher and the yellow-billed cuckoo. The district developed a collaborative program to protect species called the Environmental Water Transaction Program. “Over the last 10 to 15 years, farmers have worked together with environment groups to make sure the species gets their water,” said Salopek. Farmers are able to move water rights to different land parcels through a voluntary water rights transfer process. The policy allows e-farmers to order water like farmers and irrigate native vegetation to grow habitat for endangered species. Robert Faubion, EBID board president, said, “Water delivered to restoration sites will irrigate riparian shrub, woodland, and wetland vegetation. It is still agriculture, but we are just growing something different.” The Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park, west of Las Cruces along the Rio Grande, is one example. Learning about New Mexico’s challenges in delivering water to not just EBID users but across state borders and to Mexico provided our international visitors with insights to take home and use to expand their own strategic discussions. One tour member commented that he will remember the “unique landscape and the importance of the Rio Grande for the people of New Mexico and Texas as well as Mexico.” IL Karen Ray is a media consultant at Elephant Butte Irrigation District. She can be reached at ray.karen7@gmail.com.
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MANAGER PROFILE
Economic Development in North-Central Montana: Paul Tuss of Bear Paw Development Corporation
Created in 1969 as an economic development district, Bear Paw Development Corporation has been shaping the economic landscape of north-central Montana for nearly 50 years. Bear Paw Development is looking to propel its district forward by establishing itself as a leader in alternative energy, transportation, light manufacturing, food processing, health care, value-added agriculture, micro-enterprise development, and workforce education. In an interview with Irrigation Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, Paul Tuss, executive director for Bear Paw Development, speaks about the mission and goals of Bear Paw Development. Mr. Tuss discusses the importance of economic development for the region, new areas for expansion within agriculture, and the many economic incentives the state of Montana has to offer to individuals and businesses that wish to call north-central Montana home. Kris Polly: Please tell us about your professional background and the company you work for.
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revolving loan funds. We have approximately $8 million available to lend to aspiring entrepreneurs or existing business owners who want to open a new business or expand an existing one. We are actively involved in every aspect of economic and community development here in northern Montana. Next year we celebrate our 50th year. We are Montana's longest-serving economic development district, and we have been a federally recognized economic development district since the late 1960s. It is pretty unusual to find an organization doing what we do for as long as we have. Kris Polly: Please tell our readers about the Milk River Project. Paul Tuss: We have been involved in this project since its inception. We live in an area of northern Montana known as the Milk River Valley. It is a beautiful part of our state, and from an economic perspective, the valley produces about 10 percent of Montana's GDP, including a significant portion of its agricultural economy. Over 100 years ago, an incredible piece of infrastructure known as the St. Mary Conveyance Works was designed and constructed. It transfers water from the St. Mary River basin to the Milk River basin. What happened 100 years ago, and continues to happen to this very day, is the Milk IRRIGATION LEADER
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL TUSS.
Paul Tuss: I serve as executive director of Bear Paw Development Corporation, located in Havre, Montana. We are an economic development district and have been in operation for 49 years. We serve a five-county region in northern Montana that also includes two Indian reservations. We are a nonprofit economic and community development organization engaged in numerous projects in our very rural area. Bear Paw is a one-stop shop for all economic and community development activities in this region. Half our work is devoted to community development, which is focused on local government infrastructure, including water, wastewater, bridges, senior citizen centers, hospitals, walking trails, and other such amenities. The other half of our business is devoted to economic development, focusing on job creation and business growth. We are a regional host for a small business development center, which helps entrepreneurs develop business plans to help them finance their small business start-up or expansion plans. We also house one of Montana's largest
Paul Tuss, executive director of Bear Paw Development.
MANAGER PROFILE
MONTANA
Bear Paw Development Corporation boundary
chickpeas and lentils. Montana has gone from being a bit player in the pulse crop market just a few years ago to number one in the nation for growing certain pulse crops, including lentils. Our region here in northern Montana is heavily involved in that market. None of this would be possible without the capacity to irrigate these acres with water that flows into the Milk River because of the St. Mary Conveyance. Kris Polly: Are you interested in attracting processors or potential specialty crops to the valley?
River Valley flourishes because we are able to irrigate tens of thousands of acres of land. We live in a fairly arid part of the country, and the Milk River, which flows right through Havre, would actually run dry 7 of 10 years if this infrastructure component had not been constructed 100 years ago. We owe our livelihood to this incredible piece of infrastructure that, unfortunately, needs work right now. It is located on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation and delivers water that ultimately goes into Canada and comes back into the United States just north of Havre. This water is used not only to irrigate an incredible amount of land, but also for municipal drinking water, economic development purposes, and of course, recreational purposes throughout our region. We refer to it as the lifeline of the Hi-Line. Kris Polly: Is Bear Paw interested in further economic development of the St. Mary's project in the Milk River Valley? Paul Tuss: We sure are. We seize every opportunity we can to help communities grow and become great places to live, work, raise a family, and build a business. Candidly, none of these things could happen without this project. This is arguably the single most important infrastructural enhancement in northern Montana when it comes to making communities economically viable and great places to live. We are heavily invested in making sure that this project moves forward and that the necessary rehabilitation happens as quickly as possible. Kris Polly: How many acres are irrigated by the project now? Paul Tuss: Around 121,000 acres are irrigated with water from this project. Agriculture is the backbone to our economy here in northern Montana and always will be. This level of agricultural production simply would not exist if this infrastructural enhancement had not been constructed over 100 years ago. Kris Polly: What are some of the crops that are grown there, and what types of economic projects are you trying to bring to the project? Paul Tuss: We have traditional crops, including wheat and barley, that have always been grown here. However, there are now a significant number of pulse crops that are being grown in this area, including IRRIGATION LEADER
Paul Tuss: You bet. We understand full well that as significant an economic driver as traditional agriculture is, taking traditional agriculture to the next level and adding value to the commodities we grow is equally important. We at Bear Paw Development greatly value the partnerships we have with industry and the agricultural community to add value to the commodities we grow. In other words, rather than simply shipping wheat to the Pacific Rim, it would be far better to be baking bread with it and getting a higher price for the quality products we grow here. The idea is that valueadded activity will result in higher profits for our agricultural producers. Rather than simply raising cattle, we can produce high-end beef that can be processed right here. We have an entire department at Bear Paw Development that is devoted exclusively to value-added agriculture. We assist people at the local level when it comes to things they want to do. For example, we have helped a local snack food manufacturer whose product is grown organically here in our region. If we can add value to these incredible agricultural products that farmers and ranchers have been growing for over 100 years in our region, we are going to see the benefits of that for decades to come. Kris Polly: What are some advantages that companies should be aware of before doing business in Montana? Paul Tuss: We are 35 miles from the Canadian border. Even for those of us who live that close to Canada, we tend to forget that our neighbors to the north are not just great friends of ours but also are consumers. There are a lot of people who live on that southern border of Canada. If I were to get in my vehicle
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MANAGER PROFILE right now and drive 4 hours north of Havre, Montana, I would be in Calgary, which is a city of 1 million people. We are strategically located in an area of Montana, and in an area of the United States, that has geographic access to an incredibly large market. If we can successfully grow crops in our area, which we know we can, and then add value to them through food and other manufacturing processes, access the Canadian market is a great benefit. Kris Polly: Are there any incentives that people should be aware of ? Paul Tuss: That is one of the great values of working with an organization like Bear Paw Development. We have eight well-trained economic development professionals on our staff to assist entrepreneurs and people who may want to start a business. We have access to all the various funding agencies at both the state and federal level. We house a number of programs to help entrepreneurs who are just starting out, as well as business owners who have been in business for a while. We also have loan funds available to start and grow a business. Interested entrepreneurs should get in touch with us.
Kris Polly: Are there any tax advantages to doing business in Montana? Paul Tuss: Montana is one of just a handful of states that does not have a sales tax. That is a significant benefit not only to businesses, but also consumers. An additional tax incentive, particularly from a property tax perspective, is that we have a legislatively authorized property tax break for new and emerging businesses here in Montana. We also are home to several tax increment finance districts that assist businesses and communities build their physical infrastructure. There are a number of advantages to locating in Montana. Kris Polly: If people want to know more information, where should they go? Paul Tuss: You can find us on our website at bearpaw.org. We are willing to do whatever we can to find the right resources to help people grow their business. IL Paul Tuss is the executive director of Bear Paw Development Corporation. He can be reached at PTuss@bearpaw.org.
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THE INNOVATORS
Forecasting Temperature, Precipitation, and Evapotranspiration An Interview With Geoff Flint and Tom Hauf of CustomWeather, Inc., and Marco Bell of Merced Irrigation District
Close-up look of the gridded precipitation outlook for Merced Irrigation District.
Rain and snow are prized by irrigation districts, and when districts depend on them to ensure water deliveries, accurate weather forecasts become a necessity. This is the very challenge CustomWeather, Inc., has set out to meet for its customers. Since 2000, CustomWeather has been providing decisionmakers with accurate weather forecast data with which to better predict precipitation type, precipitation amounts, and evapotranspiration rates, all of which makes managing irrigation districts easier. In an interview with Tyler Young, writer for Irrigation Leader, CustomWeather’s President and Chief Executive Officer Geoff Flint and Senior Sales Executive Tom Hauf, and Marco Bell, water engineer for Merced Irrigation District, discuss what goes into providing their customers with the CustomWeather model, the success customers have with the model, and the goals for the further development of the model. Tyler Young: Please tell us about your background in the industry. Geoff Flint: I cofounded CustomWeather in 2000, and I have a background in meteorology and economics. I wrote most of the original software at CustomWeather, so I have extensive programming experience in addition to over 20 years of experience in meteorology. I help to bridge the gap between sales and technology at the company. We’re always thinking of innovative solutions to different weather challenges that companies face. Tom Hauf: I am a former Air Force weather officer. I joined CustomWeather in 2003. My primary focus
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at CustomWeather is developing and implementing customized weather solutions. Marco Bell: I have been in water resources for about 40 years now. I started when I was a young man working in the Panama Canal. Today, I work for the Merced Irrigation District, where I have been for the past 5 years. Tyler Young: Please give us a brief history of CustomWeather, why it was established, and its mission. Tom Hauf: CustomWeather was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in San Francisco. We have been a leading provider of weather information, focused on providing technical innovations and solutions to decisionmakers. CustomWeather is not a big consumer-facing company, but rather a smaller operation focused on the back end of operations. We like to think of ourselves as the biggest little weather company of the world. We are just as capable as the big weather companies, but we are small enough to offer individual support for our customers. We provide historical, real-time, and high-resolution forecast data, maps, and weather tracking for 80,000 locations in 230 countries and in 80 languages. The backbone of our entire operation is our proprietary high-resolution forecasting model, the CustomWeather 100 or CW100. The model focuses on the lowest levels of the atmosphere with resolution much finer than that of standard forecast models. We believe the CW100 to be the most accurate high-resolution forecast model in existence. Its ability to project near-surface weather with IRRIGATION LEADER
THE INNOVATORS unprecedented resolution and accuracy is revolutionary. The model is able to account for mountainous areas that have widely varying terrain. It performs equally well during nighttime and daytime, and in nonpopulated areas and populated areas. Our goal is to help decisionmakers make critical weather decisions based on our data. Tyler Young: Marco, please tell us about Merced Irrigation District and how the district began working with CustomWeather.
inform the hydrology models that Dewberry provides. It is very important for the Merced Irrigation District to be able to predict things like runoff; evaporation; and most importantly, snowmelt, which all have a major effect on water levels and other parameters the district models. The solution is good compared to others because it is high resolution, and as I mentioned before, it is able to account for a diverse microclimate in the mountains. The CW100 model offers a high degree of accuracy. Evapotranspiration is also important, especially in a world that’s going dry in many respects.
Marco Bell: The irrigation district became an entity in 1919, and its roots go all the way back to the mid 1800s Marco Bell: One of CustomWeather’s advantages is that its with previous canal companies. We began building our employees have a meteorological background, so the inputs reservoir in 1964, and we completed construction in 1967. actually have a meteorological, physical nature to them. It holds over a million acre-feet of water, which we use It is not just based on observed point data or locations to meet our irrigation demands of about 140,000 acres of in the mountains. Instead, CustomWeather can actually irrigated land. extrapolate and use models to give us more precise input Snow and snowmelt in the high mountain elevations data than we could ever come up with on our own. significantly affect our management approach. I decided to make models with a gridded approach to better handle Tom Hauf: The CW100 analyzes six different National our forecasting, especially with snow, snowmelt, and runoff. Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration models and In researching solutions that could help us, I one model from Canada. Then we rate the found that CustomWeather had the perfect performance of each model for initialization "We like product that could provide all the parameters on purposes to determine which model is working to think of best, and that’s the one we use to inform our a gridded basis. We integrated CustomWeather’s solution into our operation, and we could not CW100 model. ourselves be more impressed. I was very excited to have as the the company on board. Now after many years Tyler Young: What are some of the challenges or of working together and further developing our biggest little uphill struggles you have overcome? models, CustomWeather has proven to be the right choice for us. We have expanded the model weather Tom Hauf: As far as the challenges go, mountain and are now developing models down to the is at the top of the list. It is difficult to company of terrain valley, including the four reservoirs at the lower accurately estimate precipitation from radar watersheds in the basin. The models include the the world." because radar cannot see behind the mountain, San Joaquin River and end on the south side of so we supplement the radar data with rain gauge —TOM HAUF the district. observations. There are ways we can fill in where we cannot see precipitation falling, and it has Tom Hauf: In Marco’s business, he has a specific need that worked out quite well. Another challenge is determining a lot of companies are not able to fulfill. He was looking where it is raining and where it is snowing. As you would for a company that could work with him one-on-one. This expect, rain and snow behave differently. Rain runs right took time to develop; it didn’t just happen overnight. After off into the rivers, and snow stays there and melts later. It’s some back and forth, we were able to develop an excellent important to know the precipitation type, which is difficult solution for the district. due to the sparseness of actual observations. Marco Bell: We have been developing this process over time, and it’s in pretty good shape now. Tyler Young: Tom, please describe the service you provide to Merced Irrigation District. Tom Hauf: In essence, we provide high-resolution gridded observations and forecasts for temperature, precipitation, and evapotranspiration. Our forecast data covers everything that falls from the sky. Those inputs are then used to IRRIGATION LEADER
Geoff Flint: It is difficult to pinpoint exact precipitation totals in the mountainous and diverse terrain in the Merced Irrigation District because there are few rain gauges and much of the area is outside the typical radar beam. We’ve had to use a combination of sources to accurately fill in precipitation totals, including elevation-adjusted gauge readings, Doppler radar estimates where available, and modeled data. Our forecast model itself does a nice job of picking up the wide range of rainfall and snowfall totals across the district.
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THE INNOVATORS Marco Bell: One of the major challenges we have is moving away from the way models of the past. For example, a basin may be 10 square miles, and in the mountains within those 10 square miles, everything can change significantly. You have high elevation areas, low elevation areas, high slopes, and low slopes, and the storm can come from any direction. We can easily end up not getting the right solution, so we had to grid the basin into different squares or elements and characterize each individual element in more detail. With the CustomWeather model, we are able to do just that with precipitation and snowmelt. We can now delineate and forecast where the snow falls and where the rain starts with a lot more precision than with the other models. That is important because it can accurately tell us how much water is going into our reservoirs at any given time. There are two major challenges to deal with: dry conditions in which we have almost no water, and periods of time with high water levels. We have been all the way down and all the way up in recent years, but we have managed that successfully. There is a risk that requires us to know what runoff is coming down and to have a handle on snowmelt. The best way to do it in a mountainous area is to do a gridded approach with a physical base model. Our process handles that part of the challenge well. We are better able to conserve our water so that we have a better, more reliable water supply; to reduce the effects of drought; and to better manage reservoir operations to ensure that flood space is available when the flood waters come.
Marco Bell: We do those two things with the model. We operate on a real-time basis, because we need to know what is happening right now, and we forecast for the next week. We use hourly time increments with details of what is going to happen in the future. We manage our operations, including our deliveries, flood control, and environmental requirements, by using this system. We also have a planning version that based on a physical model for analyzing effects such as climate change. For example, we can analyze the climate change effects and start planning the infrastructure we may need to build. Capital projects planning can help ensure that we will be able to meet future operational needs as best as we can. For example, we can prepare climate change scenarios from CustomWeather data to examine what’s going to happen in our basin and plan accordingly. So it is useful not only for real-time operations but also for guiding and planning.
Tyler Young: Where do you see CustomWeather going in the future?
Geoff Flint: We’re able to provide a high-resolution and tailored weather solution to any irrigation district out there. We’re partnered with Dewberry for hydrology modeling, and we have many products tailored to the agricultural side of things, such as evapotranspiration. We can certainly help any irrigation district looking for better flood forecasting, both short and long term.
Tom Hauf: We see a growing need for our high-resolution CW100 modeling techniques, not only to prepare districts for rain events or big precipitation, but also to prepare them for what appears to be lengthening periods of dry weather due to climate change. Geoff Flint: Every year, the forecasts get better, the models get even higher resolution, and the amount of data we process gets more immense. We’ve developed our own system to handle and process terabytes of weather information each day. We’re able to tailor that information to our customers’ exact needs. As a company, we constantly stay on top of the latest technologies so we can bring extra value to our clients. Part of that value is the accuracy of our weather forecasts and the custom solutions that we provide. In the coming years, I foresee big improvements in the weather forecasting 3–4 weeks out, which will be beneficial for planning purposes for irrigation districts everywhere. Tom Hauf: We provide two things: current condition observations and forecasts. Precipitation is tricky because much of the area is outside the radar beam, so we rely on multiradar, multicenter data to adjust for elevation. There are ways we can fill in where we cannot see precipitation falling, and it’s worked out quite well.
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Tyler Young: What advice do you have for districts that may be considering working with CustomWeather? Tom Hauf: Water engineers and irrigation district managers have a growing need for high-resolution forecasts, and CustomWeather is eager to serve. We have worked directly with many different groups to fine tune what we do, and that is the whole idea behind CustomWeather—we are masters of customization.
Marco Bell: From my perspective, water is one of the most valuable resources, and it becomes more valuable as we stress our environment. With climate change, we are seeing sea levels rise, precipitation dynamics changing, and snowmelt seasons shortening. These challenges demand that we have the ability to meet our water supply requirements within our individual mandates. What CustomWeather can do for districts is help them with forecast and parameter analysis to help better manage risks in their specific area. IL Geoff Flint is the president and chief executive officer of CustomWeather, Inc. He can be reached at gflint@customweather.com. Tom Hauf is the senior sales executive at CustomWeather, Inc. He can be reached at tomhauf@customweather.com. Marco Bell is the water engineer for Merced Irrigation District. He can be reached at mbell@mercedid.org. IRRIGATION LEADER
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Upcoming Events June 11–12 Idaho Water Users Association, Summer Water Law & Resources Issues Seminar, Sun Valley, ID June 13–15 Texas Water Conservation Association, Mid-Year Conference, Conroe, TX June 20–22 WESTCAS, Annual Conference, San Diego, CA July 25–27 ACWA, Annual Conference, Bend, Oregon August 1–3 National Water Resources Association, Western Water Seminar, Park City, UT August 20–22 Colorado Water Congress, Summer Conference and Leadership Meeting, Steamboat, CO October 1–3 National Water Resources Association, Infrastructure Fly-In, Washington, DC October 17–19 Huesker, GeoForum, Charlotte, NC October 17–19 Texas Water Conservation Association, Fall Conference, San Antonio TX November 7–9 National Water Resources Association, Annual Conference, Corornado, CA November 27–30 ACWA, Fall Conference & Exhibition, San Diego, CA January 23–24, 2019 Irrigation Leader Operations and Management Workshop, Phoenix, AZ January 10–11, 2019 National Water Resources Association, Leadership Forum, Phoenix, AZ February 23–28, 2019 Irrigation Leader Chile Irrigation Education Tour, Chile
Past issues of Irrigation Leader are archived at waterstrategies.com /IrrigationLeader
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