Irrigation Leader October 2021

VOLUME 12 ISSUE 9

Jeff Sutton of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority: Progress on the Sites Reservoir Project

october 2021

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CONTENTS OCTOBER 2021 Volume 12 Issue 9

8

Jeff Sutton of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority: Progress on the Sites Reservoir Project

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 Caroline Polly, Production Assistant and Social Media Coordinator Tom Wacker, Advertising Coordinator Cassandra Leonard, Staff Assistant Milo Schmitt, Media Intern 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.

5 A dvancing Construction, Innovation, and Education

By Kris Polly

24 I sotrope: Finalist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge

8 J eff Sutton of the TehamaColusa Canal Authority: Progress on the Sites Reservoir Project

30 W GM Group: Finalist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge

14 H orsefly Irrigation District’s Piping Projects 18 R eclamation’s Prize Competitions Program Is Boosting Innovation

34 T he One World One Water Center: Educating University Students and Water Professionals About the Water Industry 42 JOB LISTINGS

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 us at admin@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.

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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 | October 2021

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COVER PHOTO: Jeff Sutton, General Manager, Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority. Photo courtesy of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TCCA.

20 G reenfields Irrigation District: Finalist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge

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 kris.polly@waterstrategies.com or Tom Wacker at tom.wacker@waterstrategies.com.

Advancing Construction, Innovation, and Education

By Kris Polly

A

cross the irrigation industry, professionals are planning infrastructure improvements, both large and small; promoting innovation; and training and educating staff.

Jeff Sutton is the general manager of the TehamaColusa Canal Authority (TCCA), which delivers water to 17 Central Valley Project water contractors that serve 150,000 acres of agriculture. As a member of the Sites Joint Powers Authority, the TCCA is advancing the construction of the proposed 1.5‑million-acre-foot Sites Reservoir.

Mr. Sutton tells us about progress on this immense project.

Justin Eary, the manager of eastern Oregon’s Horsefly Irrigation District, tells us about the piping projects his district is undertaking to conserve water in its arid environment.

The Bureau of Reclamation is promoting innovation in an unusual manner: It runs contests for new innovations in a number of categories. Jennifer Beardsley of Reclamation introduces the prize competition program, and then we speak to the three finalists in the ongoing Canal Safety Challenge: Erling Juel of Greenfields Irrigation District, who created the Inclined Stepped Ramp; David Maxson of Isotope LLC, who

created the Rescue Deck; and Hunter Morrical of WGM Group, who created the Hydro Scoop.

We also speak with Tom Cech, one of the codirectors of the One World One Water (OWOW) Center at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. The OWOW Center runs an online water studies certificate program that attracts water industry staff and board members and is also interested in communicating with irrigation district managers about personnel and training needs.

Building new reservoirs, promoting new inventions, and educating the next generation of irrigation leaders are all crucial ways of planning for the future of irrigated agriculture. I hope you enjoy reading about them in this issue of Irrigation Leader. 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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Jeff Sutton of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority: Progress on the Sites Reservoir Project Sites Saddle Dams

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Sites Saddle Dams

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TRR Pipeline

Possible Recreation Areas

Dunnigan Pipeline

Inlet/Outlet Works Reservoir Realignment of Sites Lodoga Road - Option 1B New Access Road

An overview of the proposed Sites Reservoir and how it would connect to the TCCA’s existing system.

T

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background.

Jeff Sutton: I grew up right in the middle of the TCCA service area, in the small, rural town of Maxwell, California,

8 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

which has a population of about 800. My great-greatgrandfather and his brother, two pioneers from Missouri, headed west in 1870 to homestead the two original sections of our family ranch. My family has been here for a long time and has always understood the importance of irrigated agriculture in the arid West. My great-great-grandfather chaired the meeting and signed the document that created the organization that became the Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID), one of the oldest and largest water right holders and irrigation systems in California. My greatgrandfather represented our region as a California state senator for over 20 years and chaired the California Senate Agriculture and Water Committee for a significant portion of his tenure. Also, my father served on the GCID board of directors for 25 years. As you can tell, water is in my blood.

I grew up around agriculture, working on the family farm.

After high school, I attended college at the University of irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TCCA.

he Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA), headquartered in Willows, California, is a joint powers authority (JPA) made up of 17 Central Valley Project (CVP) water contractors. The TCCA provides irrigation water to farmers throughout four counties along the west side of the Sacramento Valley, serving 150,000 acres growing a variety of permanent and annual crops. The TCCA is one of nine regional entities represented on the Sites JPA, which is supporting the construction of the proposed 1.5‑million-acre-foot Sites Reservoir. In this interview, TCCA General Manager Jeff Sutton tells Irrigation Leader about his agency and gives us an update on the progress of the Sites Reservoir Project.

The proposed location of the Sites Reservoir.

California, Berkeley, where I studied economics, and then attended the University of San Diego School of Law in pursuit of my JD. I worked for two separate law firms early in my career, with my practice’s primary focus on water law and business and real estate litigation. I also served as the executive director of the Family Water Alliance, a Northern California nonprofit organization focused on the protection and preservation and water and property rights. For the last 14 years, I have had the good fortune to work for the agencies and growers that are served by the TCCA as its general manager.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the TCCA and its services.

Jeff Sutton: The TCCA was established in 1987 by the 17 CVP water contractors it serves. Each of those contractors appoints a member to the TCCA board of directors, which governs the activities and policies of the agency. The TCCA was formed for the primary purpose of assuming responsibility for the administration, operation, and maintenance of the Sacramento Canals Unit of the CVP, which it did via a transfer agreement with the Bureau of Reclamation.

With a staff of 17, the TCCA operates and maintains a 130‑mile-long dual canal water irrigation system, made up of the 110‑mile, concrete-lined Tehama-Colusa Canal and the 20‑mile, earthen Corning Canal; the Red Bluff Fish Passage Improvement Project, which includes a stateof-the-art, quarter-mile-long flat-plate fish screen and a 2,000 cubic-foot-per-second (cfs) pumping plant diversion facility on the Upper Sacramento River; Funks Dam and irrigationleadermagazine.com

Reservoir; and associated water infrastructure. We also serve water to the GCID, a senior water right holder and Sacramento River Settlement contractor, as part of a wildlife refuge water supply conveyance program.

Irrigation Leader: What are the primary methods of irrigation in your service area?

Jeff Sutton: Over the past 25 years, increasing regulatory pressure has steadily eroded the water supply reliability of the CVP. As such, water allocations have become increasingly variable, and our water supply has become increasingly expensive. This dynamic has increased our focus on water use efficiency and conservation. Today, our growers predominantly use ultraefficient drip, buried drip, and microsprinkler irrigation systems, and many use soil sensors to optimize their irrigation patterns. Almost all the water served by the TCCA is conveyed through canal turnouts into our water districts’ closed-pipe systems and is then delivered directly to and metered at the farm gate.

We serve irrigation water to approximately 1,500 family farms, which irrigate 150,000 acres of land. We provide approximately 314,000 acre-feet of total annual contract supply when we receive a full water allocation from Reclamation. In times of prolonged drought and significantly reduced allocations, such as 2014–2015 or 2021—this year, our water districts have received a zero percent allocation—we see the significant fallowing of annual crops, increased groundwater use, and water transfers to sustain permanent crop plantings. Our primary crops are almonds, grapes, olives, pistachios, tomatoes, walnuts, and a variety of other row crops.

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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The Tehama-Colusa Canal.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the TCCA’s involvement in the Sites Reservoir Project.

10 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE TCCA.

Jeff Sutton: In 2010, in an effort to provide local and regional leadership to develop and implement the Sites Reservoir Project, the TCCA, along with four other water agencies (the GCID, Reclamation District 108, Maxwell Irrigation District, and Yolo County Flood Control & Water Conservation District) and Colusa and Glenn Counties, where the reservoir will be located, formed the Sites JPA. Today, the Sites JPA has grown to include 9 member agencies within the region and 21 investor water agencies from throughout the state of California, including agencies from Northern California, the Sacramento region, the Bay Area, Silicon Valley, the San Joaquin Valley, and Southern California. The California Department of Water Resources and Reclamation also participate as ex officio members of the Sites JPA. All the participating water agencies have recognized the critical importance of increasing water storage and diversifying water portfolios, particularly after experiencing significant challenges during the statewide droughts of 2010–2016 and 2020–2021.

The Sites Reservoir is a proposed off-stream reservoir located about 9 miles west of my hometown, Maxwell. It would divert water from the Sacramento River during wet periods, store it, and use it during times of drought. The idea has been studied since the 1950s. Once completed, it would add 1.5 million acre-feet of new water storage in our state, which would make it the seventh-largest reservoir in California. The Sites Project would use existing water

conveyance infrastructure, namely the Tehama-Colusa Canal and the Glenn-Colusa Canal, to fill the reservoir and deliver water back to the Sacramento River. The Sites location was chosen for this reason and because of its benign environmental footprint. As an off-stream reservoir, it will not harm or dam any rivers or fishery resources. Moreover, due to its prime location in the middle of the Sacramento River watershed, downstream of Shasta Reservoir and upstream of the Bay Delta, its operations can be integrated with the operations of both the CVP and the State Water Project. This important feature would significantly enhance the operational flexibility of California’s vast water management system while providing significant environmental and fishery benefits.

The Sites Project fits squarely within the policy of investing in desperately needed new water storage, which was promulgated by the California State Legislature and overwhelmingly supported by state voters in 2014 with the passage of Proposition 1. Proposition 1 authorized a $7.1 billion water bond that included $2.7 billion for enumerated statewide environmental benefits associated with new storage projects. Through a competitive process overseen by the California Water Commission, the Sites Project was awarded $836 million in funding within these statutorily approved categories, the most of any project in the state. This funding will go toward environmental water, regional flood control, and recreational benefits.

Because of its location and its ability to provide integrated operational flexibility, Sites has the potential to provide myriad environmental benefits, including improved

temperature control management on the upper Sacramento River for salmon, increased flood plain connectivity for juvenile salmon rearing, an increase in the fishery food supply, improved habitat conditions in the Bay Delta, and an augmentation of the refuge water supply. Significant federal funding has also been dedicated to the Sites Reservoir Project pursuant to the water storage provisions of the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, which was enacted in 2016.

concept, and due to the performance timeline prescribed by Proposition 1, the Sites JPA has made the determination to focus solely on the water supply component of the project for the time being. However, the potential certainly exists to explore opportunities for pumped storage hydropower generation at this site in the future.

Irrigation Leader: Have there been modifications to the project as it has moved forward?

Jeff Sutton: The Tehama-Colusa Canal is capable of diverting and conveying 2,500 cfs from the Sacramento River and contemplates delivering up to 2,100 cfs via gravity flow to Sites Reservoir, which will be located about 70 miles to the south of our diversion works. Also, we have the ability to dedicate 1,000 cfs of capacity near the terminus of our canal at most times of the year to release water back into the Sacramento River for water supply or environmental purposes. The Glenn-Colusa Canal can serve 1,800 cfs to Sites Reservoir. Combined, the two canals can fill Sites Reservoir at a rate of almost 4,000 cfs, which amounts to approximately 8,000 acre-feet per day.

Jeff Sutton: The Sites JPA recently conducted an intense evaluation and review of the proposed project, resulting in significant changes that we feel greatly improved its environmental and economic feasibility. This effort was undertaken in response to comments and concerns received during the initial circulation of our environmental documents. We also received input as a result of our outreach efforts to local, state, and federal agencies; environmental organizations; community interests; and project participants. The major changes that came out of this effort include operational adjustments in the pattern, amount, and timing of diversions to address environmental considerations; changes in operations to optimize environmental, water supply, and systemwide operational flexibility benefits; a reduction in the size of the reservoir from 1.8 to 1.5 million acre-feet to reduce the reservoir’s footprint and right-size it based on economic factors and the operational adjustments; the elimination of the planned Delevan pipeline in favor of relying on existing canals and infrastructure for diversions and return flows; and the elimination of hydropower generation from the project as currently configured.

In my view, this thoughtful exercise was a resounding success. It lowered the cost estimate of the project from $5.2 billion to $3.9 billion, reducing the estimated per-acre-foot cost and greatly improving the economic viability of the project. It also improved the operational benefits and reduced the environmental concerns associated with the project. This effort will continue with the recirculation of the draft environmental impact statement/environmental impact review (EIS/EIR) that will be released in the near future.

Irrigation Leader: So there will not be a hydropower component to the Sites Project?

Jeff Sutton: Initially, a pumped storage hydropower generation component was contemplated as part of the project. This would allow the reservoir to serve as a battery, working in conjunction with green energy generated by solar and wind power. However, in light of the fact that pumped storage is still in the maturation stage as an industry irrigationleadermagazine.com

Irrigation Leader: How big are the canals that would supply the reservoir?

Irrigation Leader: How would you characterize the status of the project right now?

Jeff Sutton: Right now, our focus is on the preparation and recirculation of the EIS/EIR; the finalization of the feasibility studies required by Proposition 1 and the federal process; the completion of the process of operational optimization and integration with our local, state, and federal partners; and the procuring of the necessary state and federal permits. The goal is to have most of these items completed or well underway over the next 2 years. Then, we will work on the permitting and finalization of the project engineering, with a desired construction start date of 2024.

The ultimate goal is to have the Sites Reservoir constructed and operational by 2030.

Irrigation Leader: Is there anything you would like to add?

Jeff Sutton: It is my unmitigated opinion that Sites Reservoir is a project whose time has come and that its completion is critical to the future of water management in our arid state. Sites Reservoir is a 21st-century solution to California’s water supply reliability challenges that will provide statewide benefits to our environment, our cities, and our farms. IL Jeff Sutton is the general manager of the Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority. He can be contacted at jsutton@tccanal.com or (530) 934‑2125.

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Horsefly Irrigation District’s Piping Projects said yes. They said, “Okay, thanks. That’ll help.” When I met them the next week at the office, I walked into an interview.

They wound up hiring me as the assistant manager. That was a few years ago. Now, I’ve been the manager for almost 2 years. That started a new journey for me.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about HID.

A section of HID’s canal being converted into pipe.

T

he Horsefly Irrigation District (HID) in arid eastern Oregon provides water to 11,600 irrigated acres. To address limited supplies and evaporation, it has started piping its 25 miles of canals. In this interview, HID Manager Justin Eary tells us more about the district’s current projects.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

14 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HID.

Justin Eary: I grew up around agriculture and have a background in irrigation, equipment operation, and maintenance. My grandpa had a dairy farm and a hay farm.

I irrigated for my grandfather on his farm and worked for a couple of large ranches. At one point, I flood irrigated about 1,000 acres by myself.

At one point, I was working for myself as a contractor, and one of the HID board members whom I knew approached me and said, “Irrigation season is coming up, and we’re way behind in converting a canal to a pipeline. Could you help us out?” I said that I could make time to come in the following week. Then they called me back and asked, “You know how to run an excavator and a bulldozer and you can weld, right?” I

Justin Eary: HID was officially started in 1911, although it was running as early as 1906. We have a 1905 water right.

The district boundaries enclose almost 22,000 acres, of which 10,200 are irrigated with our water right. Another 1,400 acres are related to what we call the Bowne water right. Francis Bowne was the landowner who built the first phase of our original dam on the Lost River. The Bowne water right dates back to 1902, predating HID’s. Including the Bowne right, we irrigate a total of 11,600 acres. Our operations staff consists of two ditch riders, the secretary, and me.

HID has about 25 miles of canals. All its water is pumped out of the Lost River. We lift all the water out of the Lost River onto various hills, and then it enters into a gravity-fed canal system. We have four coffer-style dams on the Lost River. We use those to impound water and maintain the two different elevations of the upper and lower pools.

In downtown Bonanza, Oregon, right on the edge of the Lost River, is the Bonanza Big Springs Park. There are over 150 springs in the park. We have to maintain those water levels to provide safe drinking water for the town of Bonanza, which does not have a municipal water system.

Each house has its own domestic well, and all the wells are tied directly to the springs. The springs slow down every year during the summertime and risk being contaminated by the Lost River. HID works closely with the town to regulate the water level in the river and the springs to maintain a safe distance so that the springs flow clear and there is no risk of reverse flow or the contamination of wells. We also have a water right on the springs; we can use any of the flows from those springs as part of our water right.

Our location on the east side of the Klamath basin is pretty arid. Today, with changing weather patterns and environmental regulations, we don’t have the water that we used to have. Some students from the Oregon Institute of Technology did some studies for us two summers ago and found that we’re losing 40 percent of our water to evaporation and subbing. Our water right is for 2 acre-feet of water per acre of land, but to deliver those 2 acre-feet to a customer, we would have to pump 314 just because of transmission loss.

Most of the Klamath basin gets its water from Upper Klamath Lake, but we don’t. HID and our neighboring district, Langell Valley Irrigation District (LVID), get our water from Clearlake and Gerber Reservoirs, which are basically between Klamath Falls and Lakeview. Those two

reservoirs are on the edge of the Oregon high desert, and they refill slowly. After they’ve been drawn down during a drought, it might take several years for them to refill. We try to make sure that there is water left in those reservoirs for the next year, because there’s no guarantee that they will refill. HID and LVID work together closely to maintain carryover storage in those reservoirs for the coming years.

One way we reduce the amount of water we’ve got to bring down is through piping projects.

Irrigation Leader: What is the relationship between HID and the Bureau of Reclamation?

Justin Eary: When Reclamation was building the Klamath Project and dividing it up into districts, it levied a construction cost and an operations and maintenance cost. HID thought that those costs were much too expensive and that it could do these tasks less expensively on its own. It opted out of that arrangement, and Reclamation honored the decision. We are part of Reclamation’s Klamath Project and have a contract with Reclamation, but we privately own our dams and all our infrastructure.

pipe, which is black plastic pipe that is corrugated on the outside and smooth on the inside. It was chosen because it was inexpensive. We’ve mostly continued using that same style, because it’s what we had and could easily attach to existing pipe to continue the project down the canal line.

However, in some places, we do use heavy-wall PVC. In a couple places, we’ve gotten the owner of the land that the canal goes through to agree to exchange plans for a right of way, and instead of sending the canal around the property in a big, half-mile horseshoe shape, we can use a straight line of 1,200 feet of pipe. If there is enough head pressure to push water through that, we use heavy-wall PVC to make siphons. We’ve done that in a couple of spots, and it’s really worked out well, because then the landowner can reclaim

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your piping projects.

Justin Eary: Around 2007, HID began a few small piping projects to fix some leaks in the canals. Staff soon realized that the Sections of high-density polyethylene pipe are transported by truck. piping projects made a huge difference. In some cases, the leaks were so severe that there were cattails growing in the fields below the canal. that land. We fill in the old ditch with the ditch bank that Those went away when they piped those little sections. They was there and level everything out, and then they can farm started thinking, “Hey, I wonder how much we’re losing in over that. It works out well for both parties. other places. I wonder whether we could save more water by piping more canals.” HID started piping heavily around Irrigation Leader: What other plans do you have?

2014, and about 11 of our 25 miles of main canal are now piped. We will also eventually pipe a couple miles of laterals. Justin Eary: We’re working on updating some of our pumps.

The pipe is amazing because it doesn’t have aquatic weeds or We put in a new well 2 years ago and put it on a variable moss. It really cuts back on the maintenance and labor required frequency drive. We’re looking at adding more of those, to run water, and it saves water. We bought most of this pipe because they allow you to pump what you need instead of using funds from Reclamation’s WaterSMART grant program. always running the pump at full capacity. We’d also like to We used the grant funds to purchase the pipe and, as our part use technology to be able to control our system remotely, of the cost share, used our equipment and manpower to install which will reduce labor needs. IL the pipe, control structures, and concrete boxes.

Irrigation Leader: What factors went into selecting the type of pipe you were going to use?

Justin Eary is the manager of the Horsefly Irrigation District. He can be contacted at justin.horsefly@gmail.com.

Justin Eary: As I mentioned, the piping project began by fixing leaky spots in the canals, sometimes only a couple hundred feet long. At that time, HID selected high-density polyethylene irrigationleadermagazine.com

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Reclamation’s Prize Competitions Program Is Boosting Innovation

T

he Bureau of Reclamation’s Research and Development Office is taking a unique tack to boost innovation: It has established a program of prize competitions on various topics, seeking to harness private citizens’ competitive instincts to advance the state of the industry. It has run competitions on topics including atmospheric forecasting, quagga mussel eradication, and canal safety, and pays out prizes adding up to as much as $800,000 in larger-scale contests.

In this interview, Jennifer Beardsley, the office’s prize competition program administrator, tells us about the aims and results of this unusual program.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Jennifer Beardsley: I started with Reclamation in 1992 as a student in our Columbia–Pacific Northwest Region. I have worked in multiple Reclamation offices and gained experience in environmental compliance, resource and technical services, coordination, and special projects. I also served as a liaison in the commissioner’s office in Washington, DC. These varied experiences led me to my current position in our Research and Development Office, where I lead the creative, problem-solving prize competitions program.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about Reclamation and the Research and Development Office.

Irrigation Leader: How long has Reclamation’s prize competitions program been in operation?

Jennifer Beardsley: Our prize competitions really took off when we were approached by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which was seeking our partnership on a desalination prize. Our advanced water treatment research

18 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

coordinator realized that this was an opportunity for Reclamation to tap into a community of problem solvers to work on areas we’ve struggled with for a long time.

Reclamation received its first appropriations for the program in 2014. With that initial funding, we were able to stand up the program; introduce an online water prize page, which highlights all our competitions; and create the business practices to ensure that we are adequately planning and funding our competitions and that they are aligned with our mission. We first launched a competition of our own in 2015, and since then, we’ve launched about 30 competitions and awarded over $3.5 million in prizes.

Irrigation Leader: How are the prizes for your competitions paid out?

Jennifer Beardsley: The prizes are paid directly to the top eligible solutions as determined by an evaluation based on competition criteria and subject-matter-expert input. They are prizes, not grants or loans. We gained some attention at the beginning by doing some short competitions that only involved the submission of a paper. The winners of those got no-strings-attached prizes. Now, the program has grown quite a bit, and many of the prize competitions have multiple phases. Often, they begin with a paper submission; then, we will select 3 or 5 finalists out of the 30 or so applicants and ask them to develop their ideas into prototypes that can be demonstrated and tested; and then we will choose an overall winner. We may award prizes at multiple stages of those competitions. There is no requirement that the prize money be used to advance the applicants’ ideas, but often, irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

Jennifer Beardsley: Reclamation, established in 1902, operates and maintains water and power projects in the 17 western states. Reclamation is the largest wholesaler of water in the country and the second-largest hydropower producer. The Research and Development Office advances Reclamation’s mission through investments in science and technology activities to more effectively address challenges in water and power related to environmental issues, operations and planning, the development of water supplies, and maintenance. These investments occur in three programs: desalination and water purification (research), science and technology (research, prizes, and technology transfer), and open water data. Prizes came into the mix for Reclamation in 2014 with the America COMPETES Act.

In November 2021, prototypes developed by the Canal Safety Challenge finalists will be demonstrated and tested at Reclamation’s Hydraulics Laboratory in Denver, Colorado.

the winners want to do so in order to either commercialize or implement them. We still only award prizes to ideas that meet or outperform the criteria we set.

Irrigation Leader: Who owns those ideas? Does Reclamation take over ownership of the ideas that get to the finalist stage?

Jennifer Beardsley: In our competitions, the ownership always stays with the solver. However, in many of our competitions, one of the conditions of the prize is to give Reclamation a license to use the solution or the intellectual property. Even with that license, the solver still owns the idea and can do what they want with it. Reclamation is not set up to be in the business of commercializing these ideas.

Our interest is in advancing the solution to the point at which we can develop it and put it to work for us, with the solver still owning it. It’s of even greater interest to us for solvers to develop and commercialize their ideas; eventually, we can become a consumer.

Irrigation Leader: In the case of the Canal Safety Challenge you’re currently running, how are the prizes distributed?

Jennifer Beardsley: The Canal Safety Challenge has two phases. Our three phase 1 finalists each won $50,000 and have received part of that amount. When they meet a further milestone, they will get the balance of the $50,000.

We divided up that preliminary prize to keep solvers in the mix of the competition. The solvers can choose to use that prize money to create prototypes for the demonstration.

At the conclusion of the second phase, there will be a demonstration and a final prize. The top performer, based on the criteria that we have set and on subject-matter-expert input, stands to win an additional award of $100,000.

Generally, we try to size them to incentivize solvers to take part while also staying proportionate to the amount of effort that would go into the competition. We also carefully structure the competitions, in some cases with different phases, as is the case with the Canal Safety Challenge.

Our Subseasonal Climate Forecast Rodeo, which involved competing with the state-of-art practice benchmarks to predict precipitation and temperature patterns 3–4 weeks out and 5–6 weeks out, had a bigger prize purse that added up to over $800,000. Competitors were running their methods and submitting forecasts every 2 weeks. We paid out smaller prizes at that 2‑week frequency as well as awarding quarterly and overall prizes. That competition involved big data science, and it required a year of commitment to be eligible for the larger quarterly and overall prizes.

Irrigation Leader: Are there any limits on how many competitors can take part?

Jennifer Beardsley: We haven’t run into a situation in which we’re overwhelmed with submissions. The closest we came was when we ran a competition for the eradication of quagga mussels in open water and got over 100 submissions.

Generally, the eligibility criteria and submission requirements by themselves limit the number of solvers willing to participate. A vendor helps administer our competitions, which helps when we have large numbers of competitors.

Irrigation Leader: How many groups participated in your recent Canal Safety Challenge?

Jennifer Beardsley: After the submissions were reviewed to ensure they met minimum requirements, our evaluation panel looked at around 17–19 proposals.

Irrigation Leader: What was the impetus behind the prize competitions program?

Irrigation Leader: What is Reclamation’s vision for the future of this program?

Jennifer Beardsley: The impetus was spurring innovation.

In some cases, we want to spur what is called disruptive innovation: providing a whole new way to do something.

Often, we’ll do challenges for areas in which progress has stalled. That allows us to crowdsource ideas from the wider solver community and reach beyond our normal network of great minds. It’s a great opportunity to tap into the creativity that exists across disciplines. We’ve had great ideas come from people from all kinds of backgrounds.

Jennifer Beardsley: It will continue to be one of several tools that Reclamation uses to try to resolve long-standing issues, get fresh research, and advance technologies and methods for potential implementation. We will continue to explore topics for future competitions and work with our communities to understand where we need innovation and how the prize competitions can be used to promote that.

We need to all prepare to meet the challenges of the future, and as long as there’s a need to do things faster, cheaper, and better, prize competitions will have a role. IL

Irrigation Leader: Do the sizes of the prizes vary depending on the scale of the competitions?

Jennifer Beardsley: We give a lot of consideration to the size of the prizes and the structures of the competitions. Our competitions are all different. In some, the total prize pool is as small as $15,000–$25,000; in others, it’s over $800,000. irrigationleadermagazine.com

Jennifer Beardsley is the Bureau of Reclamation’s prize competition program administrator. She can be contacted at jbeardsley@usbr.gov.

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Greenfields Irrigation District: Finalist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge

A concept drawing of GID’s Inclined Stepped Ramp concept, as seen from the side.

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reenfields Irrigation District (GID), based in Fairfield, Montana, serves 750 customers on more than 130,000 acres of land. With 600 miles of canals, many in locations that are difficult to fully close off from trespassers, canal safety is a serious concern. Recently, GID participated in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge, and its proposal landed it as a finalist in the competition. In this interview, District Manager Erling Juel tells us about GID and its participation in the canal safety competition.

of main canals and laterals, including drains. The district is 100 years old, and our water rights date back to 1905. Our main crops are malting barley for cattle feed and beer. Another big portion of our production is hay and irrigated pasture for livestock production, and we also have a lot of winter wheat.

We have 750 individual landowners and water users.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Erling Juel: Yes. Our largest canal runs at 1,700 cubic feet per second (cfs). Most of our canals are one-bank contour earthen canals. We also have a good share of concrete ditches. The smallest canals run about 5 cfs.

Our canals are not like those in Arizona and California. Ours are in a more rural and natural setting and have earthen side slopes, making them easier to get in and out of. But because of our mountainous terrain, we have numerous siphons and drops.

Our main safety concerns are focused on our siphons, drop structures, pipelines, and tunnels, which are dangerous. A lot of people think it would be fun to raft over a drop structure, but at the terminus of a drop structure is a plunge pool, but people drown in these because the violent nature of energy dissipation prevents them from escaping.

Erling Juel: I worked in the private sector as a geotechnical engineer and was the president and CEO of a large, regional engineering firm before retiring in 2015. As an encore career, I have been working for GID for the last 6 years. It’s been both an honor and a challenge. While I have worked for many irrigation districts in the past as an engineering consultant, managing one is quite different.

Erling Juel: GID is a Reclamation project located in northcentral Montana. Our district covers about 133,000 acres, about 83,000 of which are irrigated. We have about 500–600 miles

20 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

Irrigation Leader: Can these canals be fenced off? irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF GID.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about GID.

Irrigation Leader: Are there a lot of safety concerns associated with your canals?

Erling Juel: It is not practical to fence off 500 miles of canals.

Also, the majority of our canals are on private ground on which we have an easement. Sometimes, the easements are fenced off because the landowner is trying to keep cows from getting in the canal, but they’re not fenced off from the public. A fence is like signage. People can purposely ignore or circumvent it. The fences are more for cows and horses. If a farm animal falls in, our ditch riders work to get it out safely.

Irrigation Leader: How did you learn about Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge competition?

Erling Juel: Since we are a Reclamation project, we get its notices, updates, public announcements, and press releases.

This one caught my eye, I read a little deeper, and I thought I could develop a competitive idea. GID has had several people drown in our canals over our 100 years of operation. The last incident was in 2017, when a 40‑year-old woman drowned in one of our canals. We tell people that the canals are not safe and that they need to keep out and respect the dangers of the moving water. But we can’t put up barriers to keep them out.

Reclamation put the notice out last fall, but the competition did not officially get started until January 1, 2021. We started working around December 2020 and submitted a proposal in February 2021.

Irrigation Leader: How did you come up with your idea for the competition?

moving parts, does not require electricity, and works in all weather conditions.

Irrigation Leader: Did you build a prototype, or was your proposal on paper?

Erling Juel: Presently, it is only a concept on paper. GID’s submittal included drawings as well as a descriptive narrative talking about the device’s adaptability, construction costs, and maintenance.

GID and two other finalists were each awarded a $50,000 prize. We received half of the $50,000 to build a prototype; the second $25,000 is awarded when you produce the prototype at the competition. We are now building a 1:4 scaled prototype for the competition. There is a prize of $100,000 for the winner.

Irrigation Leader: Where are you building your prototype?

Erling Juel: We must build our prototypes independently, on our own turf. Reclamation has indicated that it is up to each team to get its prototype to Denver, Colorado, for the competition, which is scheduled the week before Thanksgiving. We are fortunate to be only about a day’s drive from Denver. The $50,000 prize will pay for materials, fabrication, travel, and lodging. Ultimately, we hope to have a good idea that other irrigation districts and water authorities can adopt and implement in their systems.

Erling Juel: Finding possible solutions involves brainstorming about methods that do not work and why.

Fencing and signage do not work for animals, and people can simply bypass them. Signage is only good for people who want to obey the rules; if people want to swim in the canal, they’re going to ignore the signs. The challenge was to come up with a solution beyond signage and fencing that could not only prevent drownings but also facilitate rescue and self-egress. The solution ought to allow a person to get themself out of a canal and prevent them from being sucked into one of those dangerous structures. It also ought to be adaptable to many different situations and locations, whether in Montana or Arizona, and ought to be inexpensive and relatively maintenance free.

Irrigation Leader: Were you aware of anybody else’s submissions before you saw the press release announcing the finalists?

Irrigation Leader: Please describe your proposal.

Erling Juel: Yes. There are several good concepts that could be implemented at GID, as well as a couple that would not be applicable to our specific operations. IL

Erling Juel: GID’s proposed structure consists of a series of inclined, stepped ramps placed in the canal that use the force of the flowing water to lift, push, or otherwise propel people or animals up and out of the water. The individual treads would be pervious to water flow, and the angle of the ramps would facilitate self-egress while avoiding an impinging force. This safety device would be best applied at the entrances to drop structures and siphons that represent a point of no return. The safety device has no irrigationleadermagazine.com

Erling Juel: Each team had to submit a detailed design report and produce a 90‑second video to be posted on YouTube. If you search for the Canal Safety Challenge on YouTube, you can find several 90‑second videos. We did not know who was going to be named a finalist, because it took Reclamation several months to do its ranking and scoring, but the videos gave us a sense what the competition looked like.

Irrigation Leader: Are there any that you think you could use in addition to your own?

Erling Juel is the district manager of the Greenfields Irrigation District. He can be contacted at erling@gid-mt.com or (406) 467‑2533.

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

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Isotrope: Finalist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ISOTROPE.

An artist's conception of the Rescue Deck.

24 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

irrigationleadermagazine.com

I

sotrope LLC is a radio engineering and broadcast communications firm based in Medfield, Massachusetts.

Isotrope’s CEO David Maxson recently took park in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge. Mr. Maxson’s proposal earned him a position as a finalist in the competition.

In this interview, Mr. Maxson tells us about his interest in canal safety and how he came up with his concept.

and has experience with water infrastructure. He and I did a little brainstorming. It turns out that in addition to being a professional engineer, he has a lot of experience in whitewater rafting and kayaking and was trained in swift water rescue. We expanded my concept, put together a proposal, and submitted it. To our great surprise, we were named one of the three finalists.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Irrigation Leader: Would you describe your concept and how it functions?

David Maxson: My office and home are in Medfield, Massachusetts. My company, Isotrope LLC, does radiocommunications and engineering work. We are involved in broadcasting and wireless facilities, we design radio networks, and we build radio towers. We also consult with government entities that are reviewing telecom projects.

I have an affinity for water. I’ve spent many happy hours on the British canals as a vacationer. Those canals are not irrigation canals; they’re 19th-century transport canals that have been resurrected for recreational use and operation.

They’re small in scale, so people can operate the locks themselves. Safety is the key to enjoying them. I’m also a former scuba instructor. With that background, when I found out about the canal safety program, I had to take part.

David Maxson: The Canal Safety Challenge application included a request for a 25‑word description. We described it this way: “The canal contains a partially submerged grate that lets victims walk, crawl, or be rescued from the current, like a virtual beach.” We are calling it the Rescue Deck.

Irrigation Leader: Prior to hearing about the program, did you have an interest in canal safety?

David Maxson: I did know generally about the issue of canal safety. One of the things we’re trained in as scuba instructors is rescue. We learn to deal with currents and people in trouble. Over the years, I’ve seen my share of tragedies resulting from people caught in floodwaters, drainage canals, or irrigation canals. With irrigation canals, there are situations in which a person is able to stay afloat, but there’s nothing they can grab onto to get out of the flow. My own canal rescue experience is limited to an unlucky lamb. We were in Stratford‑upon‑Avon, England, and noticed the lamb trying to escape the canal we were cruising. I maneuvered our boat over to the bank. My wife and daughter jumped onto to the bank, which was retained by vertical sheet pilings no sheep or human could escape.

They hauled the poor sheep out of the water and watched it amble away.

When I saw the challenge, I started thinking about this aspect of canal safety and rummaging around for ideas on the internet. There are trash traps used on creeks, and after finding a video of trash trap operation and reading up on it, I thought that we might be able to modify this concept to capture humans and other creatures in canals. I enlisted the aid of a friend and colleague I have worked with over the years, Jim Fitzgerald. He is a professional engineer who started his career doing contract work for the Navy irrigationleadermagazine.com

Irrigation Leader: You will now use the finalist reward money of $50,000 to build a prototype of your concept, correct?

David Maxson: Yes. We have to do some assessment of the engineering requirements of building the prototype. There are several competing interests in the design. First, we do not want to obstruct the flow of the canal too much; second, the device needs to work well enough to aid in the selfrescue of victims; third, it needs to be cost effective. We have to balance those factors and come up with a design that we can fabricate and bring to the challenge in November.

Irrigation Leader: Will you build your prototype at home and then take it to Denver?

David Maxson: Yes. We have already had some computer modeling done and have put in many hours in the shop getting the design just right. We’ll deliver our prototype to Lakewood, where Reclamation has its test facility. The test facility is setting up a one-sixth-scale model of a canal, so our prototype will be built to that scale.

Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the future, whether you win or lose?

David Maxson: Whether we win or lose the final competition, all three competitors have ideas that can contribute to canal safety. Whether or not we win, we may still have developed something to the point at which it can be put to use. We don’t have to win in order to succeed. IL David Maxson is the CEO of Isotrope LLC. He can be contacted at (508) 359‑8833.

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 25

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McCrometer Designs a Unique Telemetry Solution for Colorado Water District The History Behind CCWCD Since 1965, Central Colorado has been working closely with irrigators to protect and preserve the natural resources provided by the Platte. Each of these groundwater users is considered junior to the surface water rights holders known as seniors. When drilling wells became popular in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, the surface water seniors noticed a decrease in the river’s water flow. The recognized hydrological connection between the groundwater being pumped by the wells and the surface water of the river led to water court rulings and associated legislative action to pass laws mandating the groundwater users to meter and augment their water usage.

The McPropeller Meters

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he Platte River System is a lifeline of natural resources that flows through Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.

The Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (CCWCD) is home to a 100mile stretch of the South Platte River and represents 700 farm and ranch families who are well owners within this 475,000acre area. Over 1,000 wells are included in CCWCD’s augmentation plans located in the South Platte basin alluvial aquifer. The pumping of these irrigation wells impacts the resources of the senior surface water rights holders.

McCrometer provided McPropeller® meters and a custom telemetry solution for CCWCD to comply with the strict Colorado Water Court decreed plans for operation.

CCWCD install of McPropeller Meters with FlowConnect

CCWCD had over 1,000 McPropeller meters installed on its wells. This meter was the ideal choice for Central Colorado because of its design and easy installation process.

The stainless-steel body has a ±2% accuracy rate with a pre-calibrated, corrosion-resistant polymer impeller. These meters have been serving agricultural users since 1955, and because 95% of Central Colorado’s users are irrigators, the McPropeller was a perfect choice.

Telemetry in Colorado

For years, CCWCD was metering its member wells without telemetry; this made data acquisition very time-consuming and expensive. However, finding an electronic data collection device with a reliable telemetry option for CCWCD proved difficult. A requirement was established by state officials laying out particular telemetry guidelines. The totalizer number on the meter is required to match the totalizer num-

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ber on the website. In addition, the meter register needs to be nonprogrammable, meaning there is no allowance for physical tampering. These regulations created a dilemma for both CCWCD and McCrometer, so together, they designed a solution that would comply with the legislation.

McCrometer’s Market Development Manager, Ken Quandt, and CCWCD’s Executive Director, Contracts Manager, and Meter Program Administrator, Randy Ray, Lynn Kramer, and Chris French, teamed up with the McCrometer engineering and Research and development (R&D) teams to create a unique solution for their needs.

The McPropeller’s FlowConnect™ package enables a feature called ExactRead™. This technology allows for an exact match from meter to the website by sampling the digital register directly for its totalizer value. FlowConnect offers a wide variety of customization options, including communication options of satellite or cellular and power options of battery-only or rechargeable by solar power. CCWCD selected the satellite option with an internal lithium battery for its power supply. After they made these selections, engineering and R&D put together the Colorado Package to comply with the nonprogrammable law.

The Technology Behind the Colorado Package McPropeller’s FlowConnect uses a digital flow calculator and display called FlowCom. Generally, FlowCom has magnetic

read switches that enable user interface programming, but for the Colorado Package, McCrometer designed an internal switch that disables any ability for external programming.

This design eliminated the potential for tampering with the meter and allowed CCWCD to implement telemetry into its wells by retrofitting the FlowConnect unit onto the existing McPropeller meters.

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Throughout CCWCD’s existence, they have written multiple grants to receive meter funding for the district. Ken helped Central Colorado with the grant writing process for the implementation of telemetry. Together, they secured enough funding through the US Bureau of Reclamation for 125 FlowConnect units in 2019. They plan on submitting another grant in 2022 for additional funding to install more FlowConnect units. “We have been really happy with the product development and research that McCrometer has done to make our data available for each well via satellite connection. Furthermore, helping offset some of our costs with grant dollars.”

- Randy Ray of CCWCD. As time and technology continue, McCrometer and CCWCD will progress with the times to design and implement new ways of preserving and protecting valuable natural resources for decades to come.

For more information about the McPropeller and FlowConnect, or to receive a quote on your upcoming flow project, visit www.mccrometer.com/ag

WGM Group: Finalist in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge

The original prototype of the Hydro Scoop device. The WGM team will build a larger-scale prototype for the second phase of the Canal Safety Challenge.

H

unter Morrical, a project engineer at the Bozeman, Montana–based planning and design firm WGM Group, took interest in the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canal Safety Challenge and entered the competition. WGM’s design, the Hydro Scoop, earned it a spot as one of the three finalists that have each been awarded $50,000 to build a prototype. In this interview, Mr. Morrical tells us about the design and his hopes for its development.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

30 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

Hunter Morrical: Our firm has a broad scope. We cover a lot of disciplines, including environmental engineering, transportation engineering, civil engineering, land planning and landscape architecture, as well as water resources. Some environmental scientists work at WGM, and we also have a surveying department. We do stream restoration projects, environmental assessments, wastewater management, and straightforward civil infrastructure design for various development types. We mostly work within our state, but we also have had projects in neighboring states. We have about 100 employees, and we have 4 office locations throughout Montana.

Irrigation Leader: How did the firm get involved with canal safety?

Hunter Morrical: That was an interest I had developed over the last few years before I started working for WGM. I was working for another firm, and a couple of my projects involved streams and irrigation diversions. I also had a little experience with canals from growing up in Bozeman. As a kid, I would play in irrigation ditches, and I almost lost a dog to an underground culvert. I have always been conscious of the need for safety around irrigation structures and canals because I know how they are attractive to the public. irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF WGM.

Hunter Morrical: I’m a project engineer for WGM Group in Bozeman, Montana. My responsibilities include construction management, civil and hydraulic design, drone surveying, pipe and pump analysis, and project management.

My family was in the concrete construction industry when I was growing up, so I gravitated toward civil engineering when choosing a career to pursue. I received a degree in civil engineering from Montana State University. I have 6 years of professional experience in the civil engineering industry. Growing up in Bozeman, my life revolved around water in the form of fishing, boating, camping, and skiing, so naturally, I’ve been drawn toward engineering projects involving water and the environment. I’m a big whitewater rafter, so I like hydraulics, and I’ve been pursuing a career with an emphasis on hydraulics and water resources.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the engineering design activities your firm is involved in.

Irrigation Leader: How did you find out about Reclamation’s Canal Safety Competition?

Hunter Morrical: I was scrolling around on LinkedIn and saw an article on it. I read through the competition guidelines and immediately thought of the idea I’ve been working on for the last couple of years. I thought it was a good fit and would be a good opportunity to try to get some money to implement my idea. I entered the competition under the company name, but it is primarily me who is running the prototyping, with the support of a few staff members.

Irrigation Leader: Did you just submit a proposal on paper, or have you already developed a prototype?

Hunter Morrical: I probably could have gone with a paper submission, since the first phase of the competition didn’t require any sort of prototype. However, I did end up building and testing a rough-scale prototype as part of my submission. I also included some footage in my submission video to outline the principle of my idea and explain why I thought it would work. Building the original prototype was helpful for me. I learned a lot, and it gave me the confidence to pursue this idea, because once I was able to look at it on a small scale, I started thinking it was definitely feasible.

Irrigation Leader: Did you take the prototype to a canal to test it?

Hunter Morrical: Yes. We have a family friend who has property in Manhattan, Montana. A spring creek with some culverts runs through their property, and they gave me permission to test my prototype on those culverts. Being able to test the prototype in the creek was an important piece of the puzzle.

Irrigation Leader: Will you be using your $50,000 prize to rebuild your prototype on a larger scale?

Hunter Morrical: Yes. That prototype will be tested at Reclamation’s hydraulics lab in Denver during the week of November 15. Reclamation will have a trapezoidal channel constructed for us to test our prototypes with varying flows and other testing conditions. We’ll be spending the entirety of the prize money on research, testing, modeling, and then building prototypes to fit that scale.

Irrigation Leader: Would you tell us about your concept?

Hunter Morrical: The idea is called the Hydro Scoop. It’s a basket-type device that sits on a culvert entrance or within a normal canal section, slows the water profile, and creates a headpressure buildup similar to that created by a small hydroelectric dam. It creates a slow pool at the entrance of the culvert with a graded-off bottom. By building up a little head pressure on that irrigationleadermagazine.com

device, you can push water underneath it at a greater velocity so that you can maintain your relative flow amounts. The slow, slack water pool is a good point of rescue, and a good point to allow animals or people to rescue themselves.

Irrigation Leader: How large will the device be?

Hunter Morrical: The one we’re prototyping will be based on the channel dimensions that we’ve been given. It’ll probably be about 10 feet wide. From the standpoint of a real-world application, I think these could be modified to fit in small irrigation channels that are 5–6 feet wide, canals that are 20–30 feet wide, and everything in between.

The engineering principles are similar for each scenario.

There are some complications once you get to a larger scale; there are some structural design components that would need to be considered. The idea is based around a flexible design that could be implemented in a variety of different scenarios.

Irrigation Leader: Whether or not you win the competition, is this something you and the company see yourselves manufacturing?

Hunter Morrical: I’m not sure how this project will develop or whether it will get to the scale where mass manufacturing makes sense. We could also do designs on a case-by-case basis and have the structures be built by a contractor. I’d love for it to turn into something that we could manufacture, but a lot of testing would need to be done before we could produce a device that could be installed in different scenarios without specific design research for each implementation.

Irrigation Leader: What is your vision for the outcome of this competition?

Hunter Morrical: It’s a great opportunity to work with Reclamation and be involved in some applied research. It’s not something we get to do every day, so I’m grateful for the opportunity. We don’t often get money to do a project where the outcome is unknown. The overall goal is to design one of these devices, prove it works, and implement one in an area where there is high animal or human traffic.

Hopefully, it will have a good effect and will save somebody or something from drowning in the future. My overall goal is to get something out there that works for the greater good of our communities. IL Hunter Morrical is a project engineer at WGM Group. He can be contacted at hmorrical@wgmgroup.com or on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/huntermorrical.

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 31

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The One World One Water Center: Educating University Students and Water Professionals About the Water Industry

The Auraria campus, home of MSU Denver.

T

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.

Tom Cech: I grew up on a nonirrigated farm near Clarkson, Nebraska, and then attended Kearney State College. I taught

34 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

high school math for a few years in Wilber, Nebraska; then moved to Salt Lake City to work at a consulting firm; and then went back to Nebraska to work on a master’s degree in community and regional planning at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. I was then hired by the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District (CCWCD), a threecounty organization along the Front Range of Colorado. We worked with groundwater users, irrigators, municipalities, and surface water users and were immersed in surface and groundwater law in Colorado. I worked there for about 30 years as the district manager. We also lobbied at the state and federal levels. We’d go to Washington, DC, a couple of times a year to lobby on various water issues, and with federal funds, we developed some of the earliest nonmunicipal groundwater quality programs along the Front Range. We were also one of the first in the country to develop water education materials for students from irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MSU DENVER.

he One World One Water (OWOW) Center was created at Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver) in Colorado to offer classes on water law, water history, global water concerns, and other water-related issues to university students who have a passion for water. It soon became clear that many water industry professionals were also interested in these classes. In response, the OWOW Center established a selfpaced online certificate course open to professionals from across the nation. In this interview, OWOW Center Codirector Tom Cech tells us about the center’s mission, its in-person and online courses, and how it is helping educate a wide range of people about water.

kindergarten through 12th grade. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded us a variety of grants to work with the University of Northern Colorado to develop the K–12 water curriculum.

Concurrently, I taught evening undergraduate- and graduate-level water resources classes at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley as an adjunct and an undergraduate-level course at Colorado State University in Fort Collins as an adjunct. Interestingly, at the time, there were no basic water textbooks for university students that covered basic water issues such as water and the environment, water law, water policy, water politics, and water resource policy issues. I was fortunate enough to work with the publishing company John Wiley & Sons of New York to author a water resources textbook titled Principles of Water Resources. We finished the fourth edition last year. I also worked with Cambridge University Press and Dr. Karrie Pennington to develop a water resources textbook that focuses more on the environmental aspects of water worldwide. Both the Wiley and Cambridge textbooks are used at universities around the world and have been translated into Arabic in Saudi Arabia and Portuguese in Brazil. I have lots of water pen pals around the world because of these books. Andy Jones, a colleague and water attorney, and I wrote Colorado Water Law for Non-Lawyers a few years back and published it with the University Press of Colorado. That book has been popular and is used in classrooms and libraries around the world.

I retired in 2011 and then started an encore career with MSU Denver to help create the OWOW Center. The university received a grant of $1 million over 5 years to create a water curriculum for any academic major at the university and to promote water awareness and stewardship.

It was one of the first centers of its kind in the world at the time of its establishment. The OWOW Center supports an academic minor and certificate in water resources for all students. Our students include individuals who are majoring in education, English, engineering, environmental science, mathematics, theater, and many other fields of study, since the topic of water is of great interest to many. These students are interested in learning about water in their community, in Colorado, in the West, and around the world. Most MSU Denver students are older students, with an average age of 26; most have families; and most have part-time jobs.

Irrigation Leader: At the CCWCD, were you a traditional irrigation district manager with personnel who helped deliver water?

Tom Cech: We were a traditional water conservancy district, which is a bit different from an irrigation district. We were actively involved in augmenting irrigation wells. If anyone had an alluvial well that was drilled in the last 100 years or so, they had to acquire surface water so that they didn’t injure the senior water rights downstream. We had a portfolio of irrigationleadermagazine.com

Students viewing a Colorado River irrigation diversion structure at Palisade, Colorado.

surface water that we actively monitored and released to the South Platte River to protect those senior water rights and allow our junior well owners to pump out of priority. We had a staff of about 15, including office and field staff, telemetry technicians, water laboratory staff, and education personnel.

Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the OWOW Center.

Tom Cech: The OWOW Center started at MSU Denver in 2011 and has three main goals. The first is to create a water studies minor and a certificate that can be pursued by undergraduate students in any academic major. The second is to create water stewards on and beyond campus.

That outreach program involves conferences, seminars, and field trips for students. The third is to provide experiential opportunities for students that will help them find internships and ultimately jobs in water-related fields.

We’ve had about 80 graduates since we started; now, they are working all over the world. One graduate is in Seattle, working as a water conservation specialist, and another is in Sweden, working on water issues with the European Union.

Some go on to graduate school, while others work at local water engineering firms or other agencies in Colorado.

However, we kept attracting the interest of people who were not students but wanted to take the water classes October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 35

because they were interested in the topic and perhaps worked at a water agency. They were looking for a way to take these courses without sitting in a classroom with younger students. We worked with Terry Bower and her Innovative and Lifelong Learning program to create an online water studies certificate program that consists of the three core water courses offered on campus for the water studies minor and certificate. In 2018, we launched the online program for non-degree-seeking students. We’ve had people from all over Colorado and the United States sign up for the classes.

Tom Cech: Absolutely. One of my challenges and frustrations when I was the CCWCD manager was finding appropriate training opportunities for staff. One time, I sent staff to a water law conference taught by a water lawyer with an audience made up of water engineers and water attorneys. The topic was just too advanced for someone who wanted to begin with the basics of Colorado water law. The conference delved into particular water court cases at a far-too-intricate level of detail. The same problem arises with many opportunities to learn about water history: how irrigation systems came to be, who was involved in creating them, and the challenges of keeping them running today. Too often, seminars on these topics are geared toward water attorneys and engineers, not less-experienced staff. The reason I’m excited about these online water classes at MSU Denver is that you don’t have to spend a ton of money on travel or on a hotel room. Our self-paced online courses are taught by highly competent faculty who love to teach about water resources and whom you can ask questions.

Irrigation Leader: Would you and your colleagues at MSU Denver be open to reaching out to irrigation districts regarding possible collaboration on training topics and education ideas?

Tom Cech and students along the South Platte River in Denver.

Irrigation Leader: Who is interested in these water courses?

Irrigation Leader: Do you think the certificate program would be helpful to irrigation district managers with personnel and training needs?

36 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

Irrigation Leader: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Tom Cech: It’s beneficial for the entire staff of a water agency to know the basics of water law; water history; and the issues related to local, national, and global water concerns. These are really important topics for every staff member, including front-desk staff, engineers, and field personnel. Members of the public may start asking about a particular local water issue, and it’s good public relations for water agency staff to know some of the basics of the water situation in their area and beyond. IL Tom Cech is one of the codirectors of the One World One Water Center at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

He can be contacted at tcech@msudenver.edu.

irrigationleadermagazine.com

PHOTOS COURTESY OF MSU DENVER.

Tom Cech: I believe there are three main groups of people who want to take these classes: water industry staff, water industry board members, and the general public. The Special Districts Association of Colorado has been my template.

It hosts an annual conference for the board members of special districts. Around 1,000 board and staff members attend and take part in sessions for fire department, parks and recreation, and water agency staff and board members.

There are sessions on how to follow Robert’s Rules of Order, how to decipher a budget, how to lobby effectively at the state and federal levels, and so on. While the focuses of board members vary by organization, some of their needs overlap. The market for online classes for board members is untapped and presents an opportunity, not just for MSU Denver but for organizations around the country that want to create goodwill, public buy-in, and support. The board members who take the classes often encourage water agency managers to allow staff to take them as well.

Tom Cech: Yes, we definitely want to do that. The challenge and opportunity will be connecting our MSU Denver faculty with the new water-related topics that are requested by water agencies. We need to connect faculty who can use their specific expertise in the essential areas of training. The challenge in academia, I’ve learned, is connecting appropriate faculty members with the offcampus water community. Online courses seem to be the perfect solution.

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JOB LISTINGS

Does your organization have a job listing you would like to advertise in our pages? Irrigation Leader provides this service to irrigation districts, water agencies, and hydropower facilities free of charge. For more information, please email Kris Polly at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.

MANAGER/SECRETARY Location: East Wenatchee, WA Deadline: Open until filled Salary: $100,000–$145,000 plus a full benefits package.

RESPONSIBILITIES: The Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District (GWID) provides irrigation water to approximately 10,000 acres of cropland and residential lots with a fully pressurized and metered system. The district is spread over a large area, and some portions are remote. GWID maintains its own powerlines and substations. It has a robust and reliable SCADA system that monitors and operates its system. The GWID manager will be a well-rounded leader with experience leading a small crew. The position covers a wide range of skills and could be very rewarding for the right person. Customer service should be the number one priority. Also thinking outside of the box to solve issues will be paramount to being a successful district manager.

REQUIREMENTS: +C ollege degree in finance, business, engineering or equivalent experience preferred +U nderstanding of electrical and mechanical engineering and financial and business management. +U nderstanding of business laws, contracts, and regulations. +E xperience working around large equipment and managing large projects. +W illingness to work extended hours and be available in emergency situations 24/7. +W illingness to work outdoors in inclement weather conditions ranging from 0 to over 100 degrees. +V alid Washington driver’s license or the ability to get one.

For More Information: go to www.gwid.org/employment To apply: submit a cover letter, resume, and three references to: office@gwid.org or mail to: Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District, 3300 SE 8th St., East Wenatchee, WA 98802,

LEAN MANUFACTURING & SAFETY COORDINATOR Location: St. George, UT Deadline: Open until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: +L ead safety program to ensure employee safety and compliance with OSHA standards. +C onduct weekly safety meetings with the team. + I nspect the facility and property on a regular basis to identify safety, health, and environmental risks and ensure those items are mitigated in an appropriate time basis.

42 | IRRIGATION LEADER | October 2021

REQUIREMENTS: + I ndustrial safety or a technical discipline is desired. +M inimum 3 years business operations, plant engineering, or manufacturing experience, including 1‑2 years of proven success with process improvement programs. +E xperience delivering OSHA-compliant Safety programs in a manufacturing environment.

For more information: contact Nick Hidalgo, talent acquisition,, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com, or go to www.nwpipe.com/careers.

ESTIMATOR Location: Remote (Parkersburg, WV) Deadline: Open until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: +R eviews data to determine material and labor requirements and prepares cost estimates of steel pipe and fittings for competitive bids. +A nalyzes data to determine manufacturing capabilities at individual facilities. +M anages estimates for multiple projects simultaneously. +C omputes cost factors and prepares estimates used for management purposes such as planning, organizing, and scheduling work, preparing bids, selecting vendors or subcontractors, and determining cost effectiveness. +C onsults with Sales and provides Sales with detailed scopes of work for competitive bids. +P rovides information and guidance to Project Managers on all details of an estimate once the project has been awarded.

REQUIREMENTS: +F our-year undergraduate degree preferred, or minimum of 2 years of experience in related field.

For more information: contact Nick Hidalgo, talent acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com, or go to www.nwpipe.com/careers.

PROJECT MANAGER Location: Tracy, CA Deadline: Open until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: +D efine specifications and prepare drawings and other submittals as required for projects. +D irect, review, and check work performed by Project Designers. +M anage project files to ensure they are organized and provide current information. irrigationleadermagazine.com

JOB LISTINGS +D esign project to minimize manufacturing/shipping costs. +R eview and assess vendor proposals. +C oordinate manufacturing and delivery with shop personnel and customer/engineer. +M onitor production & customer schedules. Modify schedules or plans as required.

REQUIREMENTS: +C ollege degree in civil engineering, mechanical engineering, or construction management. +M inimum of three years’ work-related experience in project management or equivalent combination of education and experience.

For more information: contact Nick Hidalgo, talent acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com, or go to www.nwpipe.com/careers.

PROJECT MANAGER Location: Saginaw, TX Deadline: Open until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: +D esign, development, and delivery of effective water transmission applications. +L ead design sessions and review sessions with engineering, operations, production control team members, and other members of the organization including all levels of management. +R eview and assess vendor proposals. +M anage multiple, parallel projects using formal project planning techniques. +M anage application design through the various life cycle stages from business needs through design and delivery.

REQUIREMENTS: +D emonstrated ability to manage multiple, parallel projects. +M ust have excellent computer skills including MS Word, Excel, CADS, and other project management programs. +E xcellent oral and written communication, advanced mathematics, and analytical and problem solving skills.

For more information: contact Nick Hidalgo, talent acquisition, at nhidalgo@nwpipe.com,

Labor Coating Technician Location: Atlanta, GA, and Denver, CO Deadline: Open until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: +S urface preparation of the area in which epoxy will be applied. +S andblast to remove debris from metal. +O perate electric and hand tools; operate a high-PSI pressure washer and spray gun.

REQUIREMENTS: +M ust be willing to travel in and out of state when needed. +M ust feel comfortable working in a confined space for long periods; must be able to stand for long periods. +W illing to complete a field training in Massachusetts. +M ust be able to work overtime. +A ble to complete a confined space training (provided

by A&W); able to complete OSHA 10 and other safety training (provided by A&W); able to travel to Massachusetts for ongoing field training. irrigationleadermagazine.com

For more information: For Atlanta position, contact Cherry L. Martinez, senior recruiter, at (407) 287‑8790 or cmartinez@ garney.com; For Denver position, contact Ariana Craft, recruiter, at (407) 287‑8808 or abehler@garney.com.

Project Engineer Location: Denver, CO Deadline: Open until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: +N egotiate and purchase materials +C reate submittals, RFIs, and change orders +C oordinate projects from start to finish: assist with estimating; project setup & closeout; support field operations; maintain detailed job costs +A ssist in scheduling projects and crews +B e willing to fill in on crew when needed REQUIREMENTS: +D egree in civil engineering, construction management, or other related field +0 –3 years experience +M ust be willing to travel 1–4 weeks at a time to support projects.

For more information: contact Josh

.

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Location: Remote Deadline: Until filled Salary: Based on qualifications RESPONSIBILITIES: + Execute market, resource, analytical, strategic, transmission and policy assessments for project development. +Q uantify risk and rewards to prioritize commercial activity and drive development and sales. +P roactively manage customer and partner deliverables to ensure excellence and consistency. +A nalyze and evaluate data, creating innovative advanced analytics and data visualizations. +C ommunicate value proposition and financial performance to drive site agreements, unit sales, and PPAs. +D evelop project portfolio through site identification, permitting, and negotiating transactional documents. +W ork closely with engineering and technical sales team to prepare project proposals in a timely manner.

REQUIREMENTS: +B BA/BA/BS in business, finance, accounting, or engineering or equivalent experience. +E xperience in renewable energy project development, market analysis, transmission interconnection, land acquisition, permitting and system organization & implementation. + I ntermediate proficiency with Excel and PowerPoint for financial modeling and presentations. +E xcellent written, analytical, and organizational skills, including the proven ability to manage multiple projects. +E xperience in energy, particularly renewable energy, is preferred. +A bility to travel up 25%.

For more information: go to https://emrgy.com/careers/ or send cover letter and resume to HR@emergy.com

October 2021 | IRRIGATION LEADER

| 43

Upcoming Events October 6–7 Oregon Water Resources Congress, 2021 Golf Tournament and Water Law Seminar, Sisters, OR October 12 Utah Water Users Association, Utah Water Summit, Provo, UT October 12–13 Nevada Water Resources Association, Minerals and Mine Water Management Symposium, Sparks, NV October 13–15 National Association of Counties, Western Interstate Region Conference, Salt Lake County, UT October 18–21 The California-Nevada Section of the American Water Works Association, Annual Fall Conference, virtual October 20 Texas Water Conservation Association, Fall Conference, San Antonio, TX October 29 Agribusiness & Water Council of Arizona, H2Open Golf Tournament, Casa Grande, AZ November 3–5 National Conference of State Legislatures, Legislative Summit, Tampa, FL November 8–10 National Water Resources Association, 90th Annual Conference, Phoenix, AZ November 17–18 Kansas Governor’s Water Conference, Manhattan, KS November 22–23 Nebraska Water Resources Association and Nebraska State Irrigation Association, Joint Convention, Kearney, NE November 30–December 3 Association of California Water Agencies, Fall Conference and Exhibition, Pasadena, CA December 6–10 Irrigation Association, 2021 Irrigation Show and Education Week, San Diego, CA December 7–10 North Dakota Water Users Association, 58th Annual Joint North Dakota and Upper Missouri Water Convention and Irrigation Workshop, Bismarck, ND December 14–16 Colorado River Water Users Association, Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV December 14–16 National Ground Water Association, 2021 Groundwater Week, Nashville, TN, and virtual

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