A Survey of the Irrigation Industry

A Survey of the Irrigation Industry

Volume 9 Issue 10 November/December 2018 Washington State Edition

By Kris Polly

TOM TEBB OF THE OFFICE OF COLUMBIA RIVER

In this last issue of 2018, Irrigation Leader takes a look around the U.S. irrigation industry. Our articles cover river basin management, aquifer recharge, surface water management, agrichemical sales, branding and design, pipeline construction, solar power, pathogen detection, and security. If the U.S. irrigation industry has it, you will probably find it in this issue.

In our cover story, we speak with Tom Tebb, the director of the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Office of Columbia River, which is charged with multiple major water-management projects in eastern and central Washington. Mr. Tebb brings long experience, dedication, and a philosophy of problem solving to this impressive and important task.

We also speak with Aaron Dalling, who succeeded the legendary Dale Swensen as executive director of Idaho’s Fremont Madison Irrigation District in 2018. In addition to providing water to its area’s canal companies, Fremont Madison is responsible for surface water management and aquifer recharge over a significant area.

Cory Greer was just hired as an account representative at UPI. We talk with Mr. Greer about his extensive background in conservation and irrigation and his experience as a former end user of UPI’s chemicals and what he brings to his new position as a result.

Madera Irrigation District of California recently commissioned a new logo and has used it to revamp its image in the broader community. We take a look at the design process and the lessons it can provide to other irrigation districts.

Turning to Nebraska, we interview Tyler Thulin, a civil engineer at Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District, about the pipeline his district is building in conjunction with the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program for the purpose of groundwater recharge.

We also look highlight two tech companies whose products are of interest to irrigators. Michael Shonka of Omaha’s Solar Heat and Electric explains in his interview with Irrigation Leader why solar-panel arrays are an excellent investment for irrigators. And Nisha Sarveswaran and Jamal Zeinalov of Ecoli-Sense tell us about their innovative new system, which can monitor E. coli contamination in real time at one one-hundredth the cost of traditional methods. Finally, Shelbea Voelker of Kennewick Irrigation District takes us on a tour of KID’s new building and its extensive safety features.

2018 has been a rewarding year for Irrigation Leader, and we are grateful for your readership. I hope you find this issue inspiring and informative. 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.