BUSINESS LEADER
RESTORING CONCRETE CANALS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
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quaLastic is a technology that repairs cracked canals and conveyance structures with a elastomeric product that is applied directly to the concrete and, crucially, can expand and contract during winter freezes. The product has been used widely in the western United States on facilities owned by irrigation districts and government entities for more than 20 years with 100 percent success. In this interview, Walter Winder, the exclusive sales representative at Hydro Consulting, speaks with Irrigation Leader Managing Editor Joshua Dill about the advantages of AquaLastic and how it can help irrigation districts with their infrastructure challenges. AquaLastic being used to repair Panicker Drop, near Fallon, Nevada, after an earthquake.
Joshua Dill: Please tell us about your background and how you got into your current position. Walter Winder: I was born and raised in Fallon, Nevada, which takes in the Newlands Reclamation Project. I went to work for Truckee-Carson Irrigation District right out of college in 1979 as a laborer and stayed with the irrigation district for just over 36 years, working as a heavy equipment operator, carpenter, weed control supervisor, truck driver, lead carpenter, operations and maintenance foreman, and deputy manager. After that, I chose to go back to my family farm and my cattle. A little before that, I had been approached by Tom Matheson from Hydro Consulting, who asked if I’d be interested in getting involved with Hydro Consulting and with AquaLastic. I gave it a lot of thought and finally decided that if there were something I could do to help out other
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people who were in the same position that I had been in at various times with the irrigation district, it was worth it. Water and irrigation are a passion for me. I enjoy being involved in the irrigation business, and I like the people that you’re able to work with in it. There are a lot of problems to deal with and solve, and I guess I’ve become fairly good at figuring them out and solving them.
Joshua Dill: Please tell us about Hydro Consulting and AquaLastic. Walter Winder: Twenty years ago, Tom Matheson saw a need that irrigation districts had and set about developing a product to help them. He founded Hydro Consulting in 1996 and developed the AquaLastic elastomeric canal crack and joint sealant. AquaLastic has been successfully used on more than 22 million feet of crack and joint repair and has been chosen for Bureau of Reclamation Water Saver
programs, projects, and studies for the past 18 years. It’s been used extensively in the Northwest. I got involved to try to open up some new areas in the Southwest. We’re looking to broaden our horizons.
Joshua Dill: What is AquaLastic and how does it function? Walter Winder: AquaLastic is a product that deals with cracking in concrete, particularly in water conveyance structures like channels and reservoirs. In areas with big temperature variations, the freeze-thaw cycle is a major problem for structures like these. Water works its way into their substructures, and when winter comes, the water freezes and expands and cracks the channels. That process reoccurs every year and makes the problem worse. It’s a complicated problem and an annually costly one. AquaLastic is an elastomeric product that has been formulated
