Irrigation Leader September 2014

Volume 5 Issue 8

September 2014

Long-Term Vision: A Conversation With Scott Revell

The Importance of Long-Term Vision

By Kris Polly

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rrigation projects, like well-paved highways, are important infrastructure that provides benefits for the long term. However, just like highways, irrigation projects need to be maintained and upgraded from time to time for continued service. District managers and their respective boards of directors understand this and are constantly thinking about where their limited resources will provide the most long-term value to their projects. Such planning is especially evident in Washington State. In this issue of Irrigation Leader, Scott Revell, general manager of Roza Irrigation District (RID), tells our readers about his district’s 30-plus year effort to improve their water supply and efficiency. The project was begun under the leadership and vision of Ron Van Gundy, former RID general manager, and carried forth by Ron’s successor, Tom Monroe. What is most interesting about this project is that the previous managers are still involved. The RID board saw the wisdom of retaining Ron Van Gundy to work part time on the project, and Tom Monroe is often consulted as well. As I pointed out in the interview, it is hard to retire from RID. Now the baton is in the hand of Scott Revell, and RID is moving forward at an accelerated pace.

Another example of long-term vision in Washington State is the Columbia Basin Project and its efforts to bring water to the Odessa. Though it was part of the original project, construction of surface water delivery was never completed. Now with aquifer levels dropping, efforts have been ongoing for the completion of the Odessa Ground Water Replacement Program (OGWRP). Mike Schwisow explains the plumbing of the OGWRP and how this modern day irrigation project will be completed.

Mike Miller, general manager for the Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District, is one of those wonderful, down-to-earth characters who seem to populate irrigation

ProductS & ServiceS Guide

Volume 1 Issue 2

Fall 2014

districts through out the West. Mike tells us about his district and the importance of building long-term relationships with the other local government entities. A Navy veteran with a knack for a succinct statement, I love Mike’s answer to the most important thing he has learned as district manager, “We work for the water users. Period.”

Another Navy veteran, and a relatively new addition to the Pacific Northwest Region, is Coleman Smith. Coleman is Reclamation’s new power manager at Grand Coulee Dam and, by all accounts, is exactly the long-term man for the new job. He has attended the board meetings of each of the Columbia Basin irrigation districts and personally provided his cell phone number to each manager. The boys like him, and that is the best start any new power manager can have. Reclamation Regional Director Lori Lee is to be commended for her ability to find the right people her long-term vision.

Finally, I would like to reference our interview with Mr. James Burke of Senniger Irrigation. Senniger has been making sprinklers, spray nozzles, and other irrigation components for over 50 years. Throughout the interview, Mr. Burke references “generations” of workers and a “generation of ideas” from farmers. In describing Senniger’s workers, he says, “They come to work every day and pull off things that would not happen without a strong element of teamwork and our other core values—honesty, loyalty, trust, and respect.” Such qualities are so important and the foundation for anything long-term.

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.

ProductS & Services Guide Since our debut issue of Irrigation Leader magazine in October 2010, we have followed a simple rule with regard to advertising: We only advertise those projects and service that are already being used by an irrigation district or water-providing entity. Our readers appreciate this standard, and our advertisers have greatly benefited. We have learned that it is important for irrigation districts and water-providing entities to know that others are using a product or service they are considering purchasing.

Keith Denos: Provo Irrigators Benefit from Canal Enclosure Project Targeting Challenges of Urbanization

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The Irrigation Leader Products & Services Guide provides an easily accessible, visual listing of those products and services that are used by irrigation districts and water-providing entities today.

Irrigation Leader

SEPTEMBER 2014

C O N T E N T S 2 The Importance of Long-Term Vision

Volume 5

Issue 8

Irrigation Leader is published 10 times a year with combined issues for July/August and November/December by: Water Strategies LLC P.O. Box 100576 Arlington, VA 22210 Staff: Kris Polly, Editor-in-Chief John Crotty, Senior Writer Robin Pursley, Graphic Designer Capital Copyediting LLC, Copyeditor SUBMISSIONS: Irrigation Leader welcomes manuscript, photography, and art submissions. However, the right to edit or deny publishing submissions is reserved. Submissions are returned only upon request.

ADVERTISING: Irrigation Leader accepts one-quarter, half-page, and full-page ads. For more information on rates and placement, please contact Kris Polly at (703) 517-3962 or Irrigation.Leader@waterstrategies.com.

CIRCULATION: Irrigation Leader is distributed to irrigation district managers and boards of directors in the 17 western states, Bureau of Reclamation officials, members of Congress and committee staff, and advertising sponsors. For address corrections or additions, please contact our office at Irrigation.Leader@waterstrategies.com.

Copyright © 2014 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.

COVER PHOTO: Scott Revell, general manager of Roza Irrigation District.

Irrigation Leader

By Kris Polly

4 Long-Term Vision: A Conversation With Scott Revell

10 The Washington State Tree Fruit Association

12 Baseline Considerations for Project Development

By Mike Schwisow

MANAGER'S PROFILE 16 Mike Miller RECLAMATION PROFILE 20 Coleman Smith IRRIGATED CROPS 24 Grapes 26 Marijuana–The Growing Trade WATER LAW 30 Through the Lens of Legal History—

The Forest Service and Water Rights

By Anthony Francois

BUSINESS LEADER 34 James Burks, President of Senninger Irrigation

39 Classifieds

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Long-Term Vision: A Conversation With Scott Revell

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nfrastructure projects that span decades require a clear and unified vision, workable financing and implementation plans, and a succession of good leaders.

Roza Irrigation District (RID), situated in the Yakima Valley, has been blessed with all three. RID has been successfully and effectively upgrading its water efficiency capabilities for over 30 years under a single plan.

RID serves 72,000 acres in the valley; 27,000 of those acres are located above Roza’s main canal and are served by 18 pumping plants and 57 pumps. The region, which was once wholly rill irrigated, is now one of world’s leading producers of apples and hops. In addition, the region is a big producer of wine grapes, concord juice grapes, pears, peaches, blueberries, and silage corn. RID also supports a vibrant dairy industry and winery in the Yakima Valley.

District infrastructure is supported by hydropower. Water is diverted at Roza Dam in the Yakima River Canyon between Ellensburg and Yakima, travelling 11 miles in a combined power/irrigation canal to the bifurcation works, where the diverted water goes to either the Roza main canal or is used 4

to generate electricity at the Roza power plant, a Bureau of Reclamation facility. RID uses a certain amount of reserved power to power its pumps.

RID’s current general manager, Scott Revell, has been at the helm since September 2013. Prior to his current position, he was the planning manager at Kennewick Irrigation District.

He oversees RID’s 53 employees and is working to complete RID’s rehabilitation and betterment plan. Irrigation Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, spoke to Scott about overseeing the placement of hundreds of miles of lateral into pipe, leading effectively, and seeing a vision through to the end.

Kris Polly: Please tell us about your reregulation project.

Scott Revell: The project had its origins in the early 1970s. The district was looking at building a 33,000+ acrefoot reservoir—and that was before the 1977 drought. At the time, the proposed reservoir was deemed to be too expensive because it would have had to have been lined.

Irrigation Leader

Later, in 1982, Roza adopted a plan to modernize the Roza system and to address changing cropping patterns and future farmer needs to help them with on-farm conservation and to improve water quality when water left the project.

The district rehabilitation and betterment program set forth a plan to fully automate the main canal, in conjunction with reregulation reservoirs, and replace open lateral canals with enclosed conduit delivery systems with flow meters. Roza started funding the improvements in 1983, and for over 30 years, the district has methodically invested a total of over $40 million.

Originally scheduled on a 40-year timeline, there is about $38 million left to go to finish the plan over the next 16 years.

The district built a very small reregulation reservoir at the end of the system and a mediumsize one slightly upstream over 20 years ago. The “rereg” reservoir now under construction will be 1,600 acre-feet and will be filled by August 2016.

The lined reservoir will be the integral piece of the 30 years worth of piping and flow control gate installation that will make the conservation plan work. The project will help conserve 8,800 acrefeet of water from the Yakima River every full water season. About 5,500 acre-feet of that will be dedicated to in-stream flows in accordance with the federal/state/local funding formula.

Roza Board President Ric Valicoff explaining high-efficiency microspray irrigation systems in a trellised apple planting to a group from American Rivers.

Kris Polly: What percentage of the reregulation reservoir is complete?

Scott Revell: We are $10 million into a $26 million project at this point, with a major portion of the cost toward the end for pump installations. They are starting to build the embankment now for what will be a 70-foot deep, 39-acre surface area reservoir. It’s a big hole in the ground.

Kris Polly: It is also my understanding that that your farmers have on-farm ponds.

Scott Revell: Yes. One of the untold stories of irrigation efficiency is the on-farm segment.

Beyond the switch to crops that require less water, you have irrigation delivery methods involving on-farm sprinklers that are far more efficient than the old rill (furrow) irrigation systems. Many Roza farmers have a series of ponds, so they can take water continuously from the canal and use drip systems or micro sprinklers. The canals were

Irrigation Leader

Mike Roy (of Roy Farms) explaining the hop business to a camera crew in a hop kiln.

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designed to deliver water on a 24-hour basis, and with modern methods, much of the irrigation cycle is less than 24 hours a day and 7 days per week. That gives growers on-farm flexibility. Those ponds total tens of millions of dollars in total investments across the district.

In fact, I was speaking with one of our farmers recently [from Roy Farms, which dates back 105 years], and he related that he was easily $1 million into a lined reservoir, which includes fencing, SCADA remote control, advanced filtration, and variable frequency drive pumps. The average person doesn’t know that money is being spent by the private sector to improve irrigation efficiency. That particular grower has 4,000 acres of hops just west of Yakima that are now entirely drip irrigated.

Kris Polly: The implementation of Roza’s water conservation plan has spanned three managers. The baton of this project has now been passed to you. Can you talk about the involvement of the previous managers?

Scott Revell: Ron Van Gundy set all of this in motion by obtaining the board’s approval of the betterment plan—

it really helps having him around. Around the same time, the United States Congress enacted the Yakima River Water Enhancement Program, a federal law that was oriented toward fish screens on irrigation diversions and was supported by the irrigation districts. Ron spent a great deal of time in the state legislature and in Washington, DC. At that time, Tom Monroe was the assistant manager.

After Ron retired, the board asked him to stay on and handle water policy issues on a part time basis. Tom was the operations manager for 11 years, handling dayto-day operations—he retired in February of last year.

Under Tom’s leadership, tremendous progress was made in continuing to implement the betterment plan.

This year, the board was interested in accelerating the remaining work, which requires spending an additional $1 million a year to finish the plan within 16 years. That translates to about 10 miles of pipe a year. This year, we are getting into 42-inch pipe, which is a big deal for us because we are using all-district crews. Handling the bigger pipe and getting it into place is a lot more labor intensive than 12- to 24-inch pipe.

Lined reservoir at Roy Farms. Photo by Clay Bohlke.

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Kris Polly: It sounds like it is hard to retire from Roza.

Scott Revell: It is a really good place to work. The running joke is that to leave you either retire or you die.

This is a great job, and it is made a lot easier by having a solid staff who knows what they are doing as well as a forward-looking board of directors. A few weeks ago, we had a problem with one of the lateral canals over the weekend. They didn’t call me, which tells me they knew exactly what to do—shut down the canal and fix it. That is exactly what they did. I was incredibly pleased; that culture is the product of the prior managers’ leadership.

I spent about four months overlapping with Tom. It really helped to speed up the orientation process. And we continue to talk once in a while. Ron, who still works for the district on water policy issues on a part-time basis, fills me in on the historical issues, and that has been invaluable—particularly because the district has a junior water right in the basin with an ongoing adjudication and Endangered Species Act fish listings. Context is so critical in these complex basin-wide issues that we are working

on through the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan, because we have decades of work still to go to solidify the water supply for our growers. It also helps to have good working relationships at Reclamation and at the Washington State Department of Ecology.

Kris Polly: What is the most important thing you have learned about being a manager?

Scott Revell: Be aware that people watch you when you react to bad news. They watch very closely how you react to things you don’t want to hear. If you react adversely, they will quit bringing things you don’t want to hear. And those are the things that you absolutely must hear.

Wasteway 5 of the reregulation project under construction.

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The Washington State Tree Fruit Association

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t the beginning of this September, four organizations that represent the interests of fruit tree growers, packers, producers, and retailers in Washington State began to work as one under the auspices of the new Washington State Tree Fruit Association (WSTFA).

The boards of directors of the Yakima Valley GrowersShippers Association (YVGSA), the Wenatchee Valley Traffic Association (WVTA), the Washington State Horticultural Association (WSHA), and the Washington Growers Clearing House Association (WGCHA) agreed to merge at the end of August. While the WSTFA is active and operating as of September 1, the full merger process will not be complete until the new year. With the WSHA working diligently toward its annual conference in December, it has decided to postpone its merger until after the conference.

A Growing Idea

While the WSTFA is the product of two years of work by the Tree Fruit Consolidation Task Force, the idea to merge has been percolating in the tree fruit industry for at least 20 years. According to WSTFA President Jon DeVaney, with overlapping membership and missions among the entities, many in the industry thought there should be a way to merge interests to create a clearer message to those in government and to reduce overhead and operating costs.

Throughout their history, the four entities shared missions and jurisdictions. The YVGSA and WVTA represented Washington State tree fruit packers, collecting statistics and doing state government affairs work. The difference between the two entities was geographic: one represented firms north of I-90 and the other represented firms south of I-90. The WGCHA also did government affairs work and tracked statistics, but its membership was primarily growers. The WSHA ran education and government affairs programs.

Two major factors converged to facilitate merger talks. Producers and packers began to consolidate across growing districts, which pushed groups to think beyond their localities to the state level. Also, three of the four association executives were within a few years of retirement. Mr. DeVaney noted that the impending changes “made it easier to talk about the right way to structure these organizations and have staff working constructively on that process.”

Starting in December 2012, the industry-led Tree Fruit Consolidation Task Force began investigating ways to streamline operations of the four associations. It quickly emerged that a majority of the task force wanted to move

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forward with a merger of organizations. After conducting its due diligence, the following year the task force delivered a merger proposal to the tree fruit industry for comment and to member organizations for feedback. All four organizations endorsed the merger proposal.

What the WSTFA Brings to the Table

The WSTFA’s mission is to add value to the various sectors of the tree fruit industry by continuing to deliver the services of all four merged organizations in a more efficient and effective manner. The WSTFA will run educational programs and conferences, deliver statistics to enable growers and packers to plan for market opportunities, and engage in Washington State government affairs to help address the market uncertainty driven by government policy. The merged organization will also be a member of the Northwest Horticultural Council, a regional group that represents the interests of all three northwestern states at the federal and international level.

Mr. DeVaney, who served as executive director of the YVGSA for the last five years, has taken the reins of the

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The WSTFA wants to make sure we are adequately represented in that discussion because it is such a critical concern for us.”

The Food Safety Modernization Act is also a concern to the association, so educating growers about safety requirements is paramount. Mr. DeVaney related that the tree fruit industry is very familiar with food safety as a concern—it has been required by their retailer customers for years. Industry groups have invested heavily in certifications under various private audit schemes. But, as Mr. DeVaney notes, “a private audit scheme required by a customer is very different from a legal requirement with potential criminal liability.”

A History of Service new association and is off and running. “Our first goal is to get staff organized and tie up loose ends to complete the merger. From there, we will get ready for our state legislative session beginning in January.” Mr. DeVaney expressed concern that state efforts to address fiscal issues through additional regulatory and state taxes may harm the international competitiveness of the tree fruit industry.

Key Issues

Perennial crops like tree fruit require a reliable source of water. To shore up that reliability, especially in a time of diminished snowpack, there are efforts in the Yakima basin to increase storage capacity to improve the reliability of water delivery to existing water right’s holders. Mr. DeVaney noted that “there are many [tree fruit] stakeholders with an interest in securing water.

The merged associations had long histories—in fact, the WSHA was founded in 1904. Mr. DeVaney acknowledged that with “members, their parents, and their grandparents on those boards,” there was a strong emotional attachment to the premerger associations.

However, he also noted that the fruit tree industry is changing, and that the associations “are in the business of providing a service to agriculture at the best possible price.

And our members are incredibly good at finding ways to remain profitable in competitive markets.” So by merging the four associations together, “we are doing the same.”

For more information on the WSTFA or the tree fruit industry in Washington State, please contact Jon DeVaney at (509) 452-8555.

The orchards of Matson Fruit Company.

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Baseline Considerations for Project Development

By Mike Schwisow

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he suite of activities occurring on the Columbia Basin Project since early 2005 has been primarily the result of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Washington State Department of Ecology, and the three Columbia Basin Project Irrigation Districts. Each entity used existing discretionary statutory authority in developing and implementing the MOU. Any of the parties could choose to dissolve the MOU and withdraw from participation. But, they use the MOU as the basis to stay at the table, keep on task, and stay focused.

The state of Washington has become deeply invested in the success of MOU actions and has devoted significant resources toward progress. The 2006 Washington State legislature identified “finding solutions for the Odessa aquifer issue” as a high priority for the then newly created Columbia River Water Management Program and provided for special treatment for conserved water on the Columbia Basin Project. The Department of Ecology's Office of Columbia River investment in projects since 2005 exceeds $50 million, and while the agency has a significant investment and stake in success, Ecology does not have statutory operational authority or responsibilities on the project itself. Ecology’s relationship to the project water right is to ensure that Reclamation exercises the right consistent with terms and to review and act on Reclamation applications for new secondary permits for withdrawals.

The federal Columbia Basin Project currently provides water supplies to over one-third of the irrigated agricultural acreage in the state of Washington (673,000 acres). Reclamation and the three irrigation districts will not take actions that have the potential to reduce the reliability of water deliveries or modify existing contractual relationships for lands currently served by the project.

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MOU AT WORK

Within the Columbia Basin Project in Central Washington State, East Columbia Basin Irrigation District is gearing up for the second construction season expansion of East Low Canal to implement the Odessa Ground Water Replacement Program (OGWRP). The OGWRP is the effort by local, state, and federal agencies, as well as landowners and other stakeholders, to move irrigators off deep wells, which pulled from a nonrechargeable aquifer, onto surface water provided through the Columbia Basin Project.

The effort has been slow, painstaking, onerous, expensive, and a formula that stands as a shining example for starting a project that involves both public and private interests. As the partners learned in the OGWRP effort, when gathered for a singular and identified purpose, each brings demands and something unique to the table. And, each has to start with an understanding of what the other can and cannot do.

Each level of government involved in this program has its own set of statute and administrative rules. Each also has a range of discretionary authority it can exercise, but still within and under specific statutes and rules: Reclamation owns the infrastructure and the water rights, Washington Department of Ecology administers funding programs and state water law, and East Columbia Basin Irrigation District is responsible for system operation and maintenance and landowner interactions.

In this case, each level of government has an extensive set of statutes and regulations all underlain by the fact that Reclamation holds title to all Columbia Basin Project facilities and water rights and, not surprisingly, operates them in a manner consistent with federal law.

Water rights for the Columbia Basin Project have a May 1938 priority date and were issued under the provisions of Washington State law. The water right certificate authorized the storage of 6.4 million acre-feet of water in the reservoir behind Grand Coulee Dam (Lake Roosevelt). Washington law also requires a secondary

Irrigation Leader

use permit to actually divert the water from the river for irrigation purposes on the Columbia Basin Project.

Secondary use permits are now in place to provide up to 3.1 million acre-feet for irrigation, although the acreage limit in those permits has been reached. Accordingly, any irrigation expansion will require new permits. Farmers and municipal and industrial water users on the Columbia Basin Project do not hold a water right certificate issued by the state of Washington.

A major challenge of the OGWRP has been to secure additional secondary use permits to hydrate the effort.

Reclamation received the first secondary permit from the state in late 2008, which was enough to irrigate 10,000 acres. That permit was challenged and required a two-year journey up to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to be confirmed. A second, larger permit for 70,000 acres was issued in March 2014, following completion of the project environmental impact statement and Endangered Species Act section 7 consultation.

Following Washington State and federal Reclamation law, the Bureau of Reclamation has ultimate authority regarding applications for secondary permits and the use of the water right. Reclamation would not apply for additional secondary permits without a positive record of decision through the Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Land Resource Implementation Studies—National Environmental Policy Act study process. The state Department of Ecology does not have unilateral authority to make water allocations, or to issue permits, from the Columbia Basin Project water right.

Any proposal to expand or continue a federal irrigation project, including the Odessa Subarea Special Study, must have a detailed evaluation and analysis that strictly adheres to the provisions of the state Environmental Policy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Office of Management and Budget’s Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Land Resource Implementation Studies. This process is used to determine the environmental impact of alternatives and the feasibility of the projects consistent with the benefit/cost analysis requirements of the Principles and Guidelines.

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GETTING WATER TO USERS

Water deliveries to farms in the project service area are made on the basis of repayment contracts. Reclamation gets repaid for project costs through contracts with three irrigation districts (which are organized under Washington law). Reclamation contracts with those three irrigation districts to operate and maintain most federal project facilities except for those designated as “reserved works or special reserved works,” which includes Grand Coulee Dam, Banks Lake (and equalizing reservoir), the Main Canal to the bifurcation works, Potholes Reservoir, and a few other facilities.

Irrigation districts are governed by elected directors who have statutory authority to oversee operations, set acreage assessment rates to pay for operations and maintenance, and make decisions on development and water delivery. Directors can also establish local improvement districts to finance the infrastructure necessary for distribution of new water supplies, as they become available, in their district.

MODEL FOR DEVELOPMENT

The OGWRP can serve as a model for future water development projects in the western United States.

An important starting point is to develop a thorough understanding of each partner’s authorities and constraints.

Each has a unique skill set. Each partner has to be willing to find the elements in the project that meet its respective policy goals, which in turn allows the partners to use their discretionary authority to move the project forward.

Mike Schwisow, Schwisow and Associates. He may be contacted at (360) 705-1975 or mschwisow@aol.com.

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The landowners and stakeholders of the Columbia Basin Development League Thank these companies for their support!

THANK YOU JR Simplot Co Conagra Foods/Lamb Weston Lindsay Corporation Big Bend Electric Cooperative Connell 76 LLC Valley Irrigation key Bank McCain Foods USa Inc McGregor Company Wells Fargo Insurance Services USa Inc ag World Support Systems Bank of america Merrill Lynch Inland Power & Light Co nelson Irrigation Corp Ritzville Warehouse Co./ Odessa Trading Company Twin City Foods Inc Washington Trust Bank

Since 1964, the League has supported Washington state’s Columbia Basin Project and its future development. The League is the only group representing stakeholders to protect Project water rights and educate the public on the renewable resource and multiple-purpose benefits of the Project.

You can help. Join today: www.cbdl.org/join Columbia Basin Development League PO Box 745, Cashmere, WA 98815 PhOne: 509-782-9442 FAx: 509-782-1203

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Manager’s Profile

Mike Miller

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he Greater Wenatchee Irrigation District (GWID) serves 4,000 municipal and agricultural water users covering 10,000 acres in central Washington State. Constructed in 1962, GWID’s water delivery system is underground and pressurized, facilitating efficient deliveries to residential homes and highly productive orchards alike. Mike Miller, GWID’s jack-of-all-trades, has been with the district for 24 years, the last 7 as general manager. Irrigation Leader’s senior writer, John Crotty, spoke with Mike about his career, his management philosophy, and the value of communication.

John Crotty: How did you get your start with the Greater Wenatchee?

Mike Miller: Prior to working for the district, I had thought a lot about what my ideal job would be.

It would involve trouble shooting pumps, motors, and controls. I liked working around water; I liked doing electrical work; and I generally work well in emergency situations.

When GWID posted an ad for an electrician position in the paper, I jumped at the chance. Once I was hired here, I knew I was in the right place.

I am very lucky to be surrounded by some of the best district managers who are willing to help guide me through the daily nuances of being an irrigation manager. Without the guidance and leadership of those managers in the WSWRA [Washington State Water Resources Association] and the NWRA [National Water Resources Association], I would not be able to operate the district at the level we currently operate.

John Crotty: What impact has your prior work experience had on your work as a manager?

Mike in front of GWID's 45 million gallon re-regulating reservoir. He is leaning on a 400 HP pump that, when run 24/7, can drain the reservoir in 4 days.

Mike Miller: I was raised on a ranch and around farmers, so I generally understand farmers and believe in their mission. Also, I have had a varied career.

As an electrician in the Navy, I developed both a good technical background and a good leadership background.

When I got out of the Navy, I worked on an oil rig and got to use large moving equipment. I gained a greater understanding of physics—how to harness forces effectively and to address physical outcomes that

A view of orchards looking southwest from GWID's north reservoir.

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Irrigation Leader

were not so good. In addition, working on an oil rig was very similar to playing sports in that I relied heavily on teamwork and problem solving.

Just prior to starting at GWID, I was running the heating and air-conditioning portion of an electrical company. I was involved at all levels of that industry, from customers and suppliers to county, state, and federal officials.

are always a top issue for irrigation district managers.

In East Wenatchee, we have had ongoing land divisions all through the economic downturn. Working with Reclamation and the local government entities, we have been able to come up with methods to protect district easements and infrastructure. We have implemented

John Crotty: Describe what it takes to have a successful relationship with a board of directors.

Mike Miller: Our board is made up of four full-time farmers and a builder/newspaperman/orchardist. All five board members are very good businessmen and leaders in the community and in their respective fields. They are very good at sharing their vision for the district. It’s very easy for me to relate to them the challenges of the district operations and my vision for future operations and policies. I am lucky to have such leaders to help direct the district in future endeavors.

John Crotty: What have been your biggest challenges as a manager?

Mike Miller: The human resources part of the job has been the most rewarding and the most challenging. It is challenge to working so closely people in such a small district, so we meet daily to come up with plans for the week.

We try to make sure everyone gets time off, but it doesn’t always work. That is tough because each one of us has to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, throughout the year. What we do is a 4-day, 10-hour schedule in which the guys get 3-day weekends. When our guys are working on call—whereby they are on call on the weekends—we do a week of 5 9-hour days one week and then a week of 3 9-hour days and 1 8-hour day. This setup really reduced the burnout factor.

Subdivisions, property divisions, and building permits Apple harvest.

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policies to streamline subdivision processes and to stop encroachments generally prior to their becoming an issue.

Maintaining effective programmatic relationships with the Bureau of Reclamation is an important part of my job. That includes trying to make [Bureau of Reclamation] WaterSmart grants work for GWID. We are also finding that a lot of the original contracts— power wheeling, power line, maintenance, special water services—that Reclamation had in place are nearing the end of their life. We have to work closely with them to be able to continue to provide the level of service that we do now.

In an effort to make funding and governmental assistance more advantageous, the GWID board has decided to try to help us function better in the political arena. I am extremely honored to represent our water users and the district at the federal level. We are currently using the expertise of Kris Polly and Water Strategies to maneuver the intricacies of expanding our district boundaries. The United States Congress originally set the district’s boundaries, so expansion will require a bill from our congressional representative. This is a new and very interesting and exciting challenge.

John Crotty: What are you most proud of as a manager?

Mike Miller: One of the things I am proud of at GWID is our employees and the level of expertise at which we now function.

GWID is spread across a large area in three separate units, each with five field personnel. Each unit is approximately 30 miles away from the other. Our

SCADA system makes it easy for each operator to move about and still have real-time information on all three areas. In the event of an emergency, we can respond quickly and make informed decisions on where key personnel need to be.

Most of our operators function very well on computers and in electrical and mechanical repair. We have ongoing training with all required skills. And in a small district, it is critical that field employees are skilled in multiple disciplines. Our field employees would be considered top employees in most organizations. I consider myself lucky to have competent employees who can function with little or no daily supervision in complex situations.

John Crotty: What advice would you give about fostering good relationships in the community?

Mike Miller: Working with local entities and other government officials has been a blessing for me. I am currently a member of a local government leadership group that meets once a month. I get the benefit of asking questions and getting guidance from other governmental managers and political leaders. I have found that being involved with this group has helped to solve some very large issues with very little effort. It has made all the member entities function at a higher level and provide better services to our customers.

John Crotty: What is the most important thing that you have learned as a district manager?

Mike Miller: We work for the water users. Period.

GWID provides water to the irrigated area on the eastern bank of the Columbia River.

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R E C L A M A T I O N

P R O F I L E

Coleman Smith

G

rand Coulee Dam is known as the “Nation’s Powerhouse”—its four power plants have a generating capacity of 6,809 megawatts and produce 2 billion kilowatt-hours of power a year.

Grand Coulee Dam provides water to irrigate 670,000 acres in the Columbia Basin Project.

The newly installed power manager at the helm of the 550‑foot-high, 5,200‑foot-long structure is Coleman Smith.

Prior to accepting the power manager position, Smith served as the Bureau of Reclamation’s Wyoming Office Area manager for two and a half years. Prior to that, he was the deputy manager, Power Operations and Maintenance, for the Pacific Northwest Region in Boise, Idaho. Smith started his career with Reclamation in 2007 as the operations, maintenance and technical services manager for Reclamation facilities in southwestern Idaho and eastern Oregon in the Snake River Area Office. Irrigation Leader’s editor-inchief, Kris Polly, spoke to Coleman about his career prior to joining Reclamation, his management philosophy, and the ongoing work at Grand Coulee Dam.

Irrigation Leader

Kris Polly: Please tell us about your career prior to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Coleman Smith: I served for 19 years in the Navy and Air Force as a field engineer and project manager. The military helped focus my career and gave me the experience to do what I am doing now. The experience taught me dedication and focus on the mission, as well as commitment to what you are doing. My military experience gave me a good start for my work with Reclamation. I am impressed that we have a lot of veterans here at the project.

Kris Polly: I realize that you have only been on the job for two weeks, but can you tell us what you have going on right now?

Coleman Smith: We are coming to a point here at Coulee when all of the equipment is going to be up for replacement or least an overhaul. We have hundreds of millions of dollars in overhauls planned or underway. That is taking a large part of our time. Right now we are preparing for major renovations in the John Keys pumping plant. As we speak, we are overhauling the largest generating units in the world in what is known as the Third Power Plant.

Certainly, we continue the normal operations and maintenance that keep the generators spinning and the pumps pumping. And we are replacing transformers and gates and renovating cranes. Right now, we are in a 10- to 20­­­-year upgrade to the facility that keeps us busy and challenged.

Kris Polly: What about staff levels? How are you making the repairs personnel wise?

Coleman Smith: We’ve recently increased our staff, and we are in the middle of increasing our staff levels again to address the new work coming up. A lot of the upgrades are being done by contract, but just because that is the case doesn’t mean we turn everything over to the contractor.

We still have to support the contractor. Because of that, we have to increase staff at the power plant—engineering and administrative staff. We expect to have 550 at full staff; I believe that we were in the high three hundreds on staff two years ago.

Kris Polly: What kind of outreach are you conducting with your power and irrigation stakeholders?

Coleman Smith: I have already been to meetings with the Bonneville Power Administration. I have sat in on meetings with the boards of directors of the three Columbia Basin irrigation districts. We’ve also had a couple of meetings with local tribes, and we continue to maintain strong ties with our Native American partners.

Other outreach I am looking to carry forward is working with local school districts to inform students about Irrigation Leader

opportunities here at Coulee. One of our challenges with personnel is maintaining staff. Some folks think we are in a remote location. Recruiting from the local area will pay big dividends down the road.

Kris Polly: What should the Columbia Basin Project districts know about you and how you work?

Coleman Smith: I want to make sure everyone is heard.

In my opinion, everybody has a seat at the table. The best way to move a project forward is through collaboration and partnership. I hope people will bring ideas, concerns, and solutions to me.

In my experience, the closer to the problem the decision is made, the better the decision will be. The people closest to the problem generally have the most information needed to come up with a solution. If there are issues, I hope people will bring them to our attention and work with us to come to an equitable solution for all.

Collaboration is what I am trying to achieve with our partners and external entities. If people want to meet with me in person, I am available 24/7—that is my job. Any opportunity to get me out from behind my desk is quite welcome. Call me at (509) 633-9507 or send me an e-mail at cwsmith@usbr.gov. I would be happy to talk to any group or individual about issues or about Coulee itself. I am fascinated by the structure and its history.

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Irrigated Crops

Grapes

T

he impact of grapes and wine on the Washington State economy is significant.

According to a 2012 Washington State Wine Commission report, in 2011 the total economic impact of Washington’s wine industry within the state was nearly $8.6 billion, with the industry directly and indirectly providing 30,000 full-time-equivalent jobs.

Giving life to that industry are the irrigation systems that traverse the high desert east of the Cascades.

Wine grape growers have no choice but to irrigate in central Washington’s arid climes, placing them at the forefront of precision irrigation. Fruit quality is correlated with exposure of the fruit to sunlight, which translates to overall canopy size on the vine.

Growers employ drip irrigation to specifically tailor canopy sizes—smaller canopies for higher-tier wines and larger canopies to grow more fruit for lower-tier wines.

Precision Irrigation at Ste. Michelle Dr. Russell Smithyman, director of viticulture at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, ensures the quality of the fruit used to produce Ste. Michelle’s wines. “What makes wine grapes different than other crops is that

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we farm more for quality instead of quantity. We focus on how to make a better product—stylizing wines in the vineyards.”

When he was a graduate student at Washington State University (WSU), Dr. Smithyman participated in research that indicated that it was possible to control canopy size through early season reductions in the amount of water applied to the vines.

Ste. Michelle has applied that research to many of its vineyards, saving water use and cost. “The last 20 years, we have been fine-tuning this idea that a nexus of water, canopy size, and soil develops styles of wine. Our winemakers also have their preferences, such as how much exposure they like for their chardonnay.”

For Dr. Smithyman, the two most important questions to answer when irrigating grapes are (1) when to apply irrigation and (2) how much water to apply. His team uses different streams of information to make those determinations: data from soil moisture sensors and weather stations, evapotranspiration (ET) models, and visual observations.

In addition to using WSU weather stations around the state, Ste. Michelle also employs its own site-

Irrigation Leader

specific stations to gather real-time data on precipitation.

ET models indicate how much water a vine has used throughout the week, and visual observations help growers identify the progression of plant stress. Ste. Michelle trains its crews and growers to observe signs of stress in the vine and adjust irrigation scheduling accordingly.

Ste. Michelle has benefitted from technological improvements in measurement tools. Dr. Smithyman noted that “soil moisture monitoring has improved immensely, so that now instead of point-in-time measurements, we are able to see ongoing soil moisture reactions from irrigation continually.” Ste. Michelle is also using aerial imaging to map its vineyards to monitor the Normalized Difference Vegetative Index, which identifies variability in canopy size. “With that information, [Ste. Michelle] can harvest areas separately to produce different styles of wine.”

Working With Growers Across the State While Ste. Michelle has 4,000 acres of vineyards across the state of Washington, roughly two-thirds of its fruit comes from independent growers. Dr. Smithyman’s staff primarily works with those growers and ranch managers to make irrigation, vine, and canopy management decisions. Ste. Michelle’s level of involvement with those independent growers depends on the tier of wine the company wishes to produce.

A Typical Irrigation Season Typically, Ste. Michelle will start the year looking at weather conditions and soil moisture and profile from winter rains. “We’ll try to irrigate, based on past history, at a level that correlates to a certain canopy size for a tier of wine.” When the fruit sets, Ste. Michelle growers reduce water applications to put the vine into a stress period to slow canopy growth. They use visual indicators—looking at the conditions of tendrils and shoot tips—to hold off irrigation until the vine shows symptoms that correlate to a particular style of wine.

The Ste. Michelle growers stress the fruit until the berries soften and turn color. “When we have the features we are looking for, then we will start to apply irrigation. We’ll go through this process weekly.” With an understanding of the vine’s ET curve, growers replace the amount of water that the vine is using.

According to Dr. Smithyman, “Mid-season, we are looking for balance between the vegetative and fruit component of the vine. We know we get flavors that are off—green bean, green pepper, or asparagus—when the fruit is overly shaded.” Smaller berries contain more phenolic compounds—impacting flavor and aroma—and Irrigation Leader

a higher skin-to-juice ratio. Also, for a higher-tier wine, winemakers may only want 3 tons of fruit per acre as opposed to 7 tons per acre for a lower-tier wine.

Quality and Consistency From Dr. Smithyman’s perspective, “this year’s crop has been phenomenal and the quality of fruit exceptional.” He noted that this year has been Washington’s warmest year on record over the last 50 years. Heat usually means earlier and enhanced ripening for wine grapes.

Washington’s climate enables its wines to be consistent in quality. “We know that from July 1 to the end of August, we are going to have cloudless, rainless days. If we grow that same size canopy every year, and do not have major fluctuations in temperature we are going to have consistent quality from one year to the next.”

Dr. Russell Smithyman is the director of viticulture at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (http://www.smwe. com). Ste. Michelle is a collection of distinctive wine estates that produce wines throughout the Pacific Northwest and California. They collaborate with partners from around the world, such as Tuscany’s Marchesi Piero Antinori to produce Col Solare at the Red Mountain winery, and German vintner Dr. Ernest Loosen to produce the Eroica Reisling produced in Washington State.

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Irrigated Crops

Marijuana–The Growing Trade

E

d Sherman has farmed all his life. Back in the 1930s, his grandfather moved to eastern Washington from Eureka, Kansas, to farm.

Ed’s dad farmed in East Wenatchee. Farming is in Ed Sherman’s blood, but “never in my imagination did I think I would be growing marijuana.”

Mr. Sherman stated that he lost all of his apples and cherries in 2013, prompting him “to look for a new crop that you can’t lose.” At that time, Washington’s Initiative 502 (I­-502) had been on the books for more than a year. When an investor approached him about growing marijuana, Mr. Sherman consulted with his family about the legal and ethical implications and decided to move forward with the application process.

Requirements Under the Law I-502 addresses the legalization of the production, possession, and distribution of marijuana as well as the regulation of marijuana sales in Washington State. On November 6, 2012, the ballot initiative was approved with 56 percent of the popular vote. The initiative soon went into effect, creating a regulated market for recreational marijuana in the state.

The law creates a three-tiered structure to regulate and tax marijuana producers, processors, and retailers through the Washington State Liquor Control Board (LCB) much the same as the liquor license application process is regulated and taxed. I-502 imposes a $250 application fee and a $1,000 annual renewal fee. It also imposes a variety of requirements on licensees, including the tracking of marijuana from seed to sale and strict security measures. There is also an in-depth 26

background check accounting for criminal history, prior administrative violations, and fingerprints.

The LCB controls the amount of marijuana that producers can grow. I­-502 limits the maximum amount of space for marijuana production to 46 acres and the maximum amount of marijuana plant canopy cover to less than ¾ acre. So the canopy determines the number of plants. Mr. Sherman has fenced in less than 2 acres—and, due to the regulations, is not using the entire area. He has two more gardens in the works.

To comply with I­-502, Mr. Sherman has erected an 8-foot visual barrier and fence to prevent operations from being seen by the public. There are cameras placed throughout his facilities—no one can get within 10 feet of the fence without being seen. The growing facilities are on a live feed to the LCB. The security system uses lasers to detect any intruders within the bounds of the fence.

Learning on the Job Growing marijuana is a labor-intensive process.

With no marijuana-specific machinery available, everything is done by hand. And, as part of I-502’s traceability requirements, each marijuana plant is bar coded, and everything harvested off a plant has to be identified under that plant’s code. So Mr. Sherman has staffed up. He has 26 people involved with growing, trimming, and tying the plants, as well as building and maintaining the trellis systems.

Mr. Sherman started planting 30 varieties of clones in the ground this past July. “You baby them like crazy and they start growing, but they require lots of Irrigation Leader

Getting to the Market Producers must measure the wet weight of the plant at harvest and the dry weight after a curing process much like the drying of tobacco. From there, Mr. Sherman and his investors, who have a processing license, will process the buds onsite. The remnants of processing, called shake, will be collected and packed in larger packages for shipping. The buds will be sold to state-licensed dispensaries, and the shake will be sold to labs for oils or medical use.

The big mystery is how much return growers will get on their investments. The LCB’s Office of Financial Management estimates the average price for medicinal marijuana at $12 per gram.

But on this issue, Mr. Sherman is at a loss. “The projected numbers are changing constantly. One of the biggest problems is that I am not a user, so I don’t have a clue as to what prices will look like.”

There is also the issue of the existing black market and its effort to undercut legal markets. Mr. Sherman has learned that the black market has cut its prices to make marijuana sales cheaper than the state taxes on it.

Nonetheless, economic forces may push buyers into the legal market. “If [legal marijuana producers and retailers] get full support from the community and state for open growth, our way will be the cheapest way to grow the plants because the black market relies on energy-intensive greenhouses.”

Being on the Vanguard

Ed Sherman next to the privacy fence and gate. The state prohibits photos inside the fence.

trimming. We are all learning about how plant canopy— some plants are rather small and some have grown like a tree.” His crew is currently pruning to reduce canopy and maximize energy to plant buds. Mr. Sherman has learned that as the plant grows, it is necessary to encourage the growth of the leaves until the buds come in, at which point the trimming regiment must shift to concentrate on the buds.

He has also learned that marijuana is not a very thirsty crop once established, using less water than grapes. “It is a half-hour on a drip line just to keep it moist every day or two.” Mr. Sherman drip irrigates his crops with two 5,000-gallon tanks filled with domestic groundwater under the jurisdiction of Washington State.

Irrigation Leader

Ed Sherman’s move to marijuana growth is not done without care and continued concern. I-502 does not preempt federal law, and producers are still subject to the whims of federal prosecution, including the confiscation of production assets. And irrigators using Reclamationcontracted water cannot use that water to grow marijuana.

Mr. Sherman reports that the farming community in the Columbia Basin generally has been supportive of his efforts. While some of the basin’s older generation of farmers have questioned his transition to marijuana growth, it only took some informational literature about the real medical benefits of the plant to help change viewpoints.

Ultimately, Mr. Sherman, like any good farmer, is striving for a way to diversify his crop portfolio, pay his bills, and help his farm thrive. Beyond the strict regulations and preconceived notions of what it means to grow marijuana, for Ed Sherman it has been a process of getting back to the basics of farming. “It is really a learning process. I haven’t been this challenged in years. I am like a kid in the candy store learning all this stuff.”

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Water Law Through the Lens of Legal History– The Forest Service and Water Rights

By Anthony François

T

he U.S. Forest Service recently proposed two new rules imposing federal controls over private water rights. Last year, the Forest Service announced its intent to require any permitted operator of a ski area on a national forest to surrender its private water rights as a condition of issuance or renewal of its permit. This summer, the Forest Service modified the proposal to require only that ski areas forsake the right to transfer their water rights to third parties. Pacific Legal Foundation, a public interest law foundation that defends private property rights, analyzed this policy and concluded that it violates the constitutional prohibition against demanding transfers of property from permit applicants where the government would otherwise have to compensate the owner. The revised proposal has also been criticized by members of Congress, with Representative Scott Tipton (R-CO) calling it “insufficient to protect water users from agency abuses.”

Then, in May of this year the Forest Service announced its intention to embark on regulation of groundwater on and adjacent to national forests.

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The proposed new chapter 2560 of the Forest Service Manual would create a comprehensive program to control the use of groundwater wherever it would affect forest resources. It sets broad and vague criteria, which the Forest Service will use to regulate groundwater use, and directs staff to acquire existing and new groundwater rights from permit applicants as well as those who own preexisting private groundwater rights. The policy will also impose rigorous construction, operation, and reporting standards for wells and water pipelines that many smaller groundwater users will have difficulty meeting.

The American Farm Bureau Federation and the Colorado Farm Bureau have characterized the proposed groundwater policy as a violation of constitutional protections that “would circumvent state water rights and give the agency unprecedented control over water use in the West.” The National Ground Water Association, which represents groundwater equipment makers and suppliers as well as consultants and scientists, expressed cautious support for the Forest Service policy, but warned that the proposed policy improperly defines several terms: groundwater (no small error), aquifer, groundwater Irrigation Leader

resources, recharge, and sustainable use. The National Ground Water Association also questions the Forest Service’s intent to apply the policy outside the boundaries of forest units, as well as the implications of the policy for state water law.

The Forest Service’s recent actions to control private water rights contrast with the history and purpose of the agency’s founding. For decades prior to the first federal forest preserves, most public land in the United States was open for homesteading, and acts of Congress clarified that private citizens could also establish water rights under state law on federal lands. When the United States began establishing national forests at the dawn of the Progressive Era at the end of the nineteenth century, most of the valuable water supplies within those forests had already been privately appropriated and developed. Thousands of small towns, settlements, and homesteads existed within the boundaries of declared national forests, as well as adjacent to and downstream from them. The federal laws establishing national forests recognized the senior rights of all of these private property owners to their land and water.

Congress clearly had this situation in mind when it enacted what is now known as the Forest Service Organic Act in 1897. Under 16 U.S.C. section 475, there are only two purposes for creating national forests: “furnish[ing] a continuous supply of timber for the use and necessities of citizens of the United States” and “securing favorable conditions of water flows[.]” This second expression may be ambiguous to the modern reader, but in reading the debates in Congress, the meaning is very clear. At the turn of the twentieth century, people were indiscriminately cutting down forests in the western United States. This was a particular problem when forests were clear cut above the snow line. This practice lead to rapid melt of the winter snows, catastrophic floods, and inadequate water for irrigation during the hotter months of the year.

This history shows two important facts about the national forests and the Forest Service. First, the establishment of the national forests came after private settlement of the land that was valuable for farming, as well as the private development of most of the useful water resources. Second, one of Forest Service’s principal purposes is to ensure that those water resources can be effectively used by those settlers. For decades, the Forest Service’s approach to the lands it managed was to support those who had established prior rights and to administer a robust timber supply for a growing nation.

Forest Service policy toward water rights has changed radically and is now the subject of several decades of conflict over privately held water resources in and near the national forests. In general stream adjudications throughout the western states, the Forest Service claims Irrigation Leader

federal reserved water rights for Forest Service purposes under the Winters Doctrine, as well as ownership of privately held stockwater rights that were perfected before the forests were established under federal law. The United States Supreme Court rebuffed the Forest Service’s water rights aspirations in the 1978 case of United States v.

New Mexico. That case holds that the purposes for which national forests are created do not support awarding water rights to the Forest Service. And both state and federal courts have held that the citizens who actually use water on national forests own the water rights, not the Forest Service by mere virtue of owning the land.

Despite these court decisions foreclosing Forest Service acquisition of privately held water rights, the agency persists in demanding that permit holders surrender their property rights in water and in claiming these rights in stream adjudications. Chapter 2540 of the Forest Service Manual directs staff to require a permit applicant to surrender water rights to the agency as a condition of issuance or renewal and to claim federal ownership of these private water rights whenever they are subject to general stream adjudications.

The proposed ski area permit clause for water rights subjects ski area operators to this regime whenever their permits are up for renewal, when they are transferring their permits in connection with sale of the facility, and any time the permit requires modification for other reasons. The new groundwater proposal also subjects well owners to these demands. The groundwater policy takes the further step of directing the Forest Service to claim federal reserved water rights in groundwater in pending water rights adjudications. This novel expansion of the Winters Doctrine promises years of resource conflicts to come if the policy is adopted.

Tony François is a staff attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation’s (PLF) National Litigation Center in Sacramento, California. Prior to his work with PLF, Tony practiced privately in water and environmental law, assisting in the litigation of numerous water right claims before the Nevada State Engineer and in the Snake River Basin Adjudication.

He also worked in government relations for the California Farm Bureau Federation and KP Public Affairs on water and natural resources issues. Tony was an Infantry Lieutenant in the United States Army. He graduated cum laude from the University of California Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco. You can reach Tony at (916) 419­-7111.

The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s and not necessarily those of PLF. 31

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Business Leader

James Burks, President of Senninger Irrigation

F

or more than 50 years, Senninger Irrigation has engineered and produced water- and energy-efficient sprinklers, spray nozzles, pressure regulators and other irrigation solutions for agriculture. Senninger knows agriculture— company founder Joe Senninger was himself a citrus grower, and many a Senninger employee has an agricultural engineering background. With more than 2,000 dealers worldwide, Senninger products are part and parcel of the irrigation industry.

Senninger’s current president, James Burks, has been with the company for 18 years. He has served as the domestic sales manager and vice president of sales and marketing for 11 years, and as president for the last 7 years. Prior to his career at Senninger, James worked for Waterman Industries for 13 years.

Senninger headquarters in He has a bachelor of science in agriculture from the Clermont, Florida.

University of Nebraska. Irrigation Leader’s editorin-chief, Kris Polly, spoke with James Burks about Senninger’s history, its technological innovations, and its global to leave real jobs impact. to work in the sprinkler business, Kris Polly: Please tell us about the company’s rich 280 employees today family history. are indebted to the courage the brothers James Burks: Senninger Irrigation started as a familyexhibited in heeding owned business. Our founder, Joe Senninger, was a citrus their uncle’s call to grower in central Florida and a very creative inventor. build the Senninger James Burks He was always looking for different solutions to solve business. common problems.

We lost Joe Senninger in 1970, but Andy and Mark In the early 1960s, Joe was utilizing impact sprinklers have carried the torch. Using sound business practices and on 20- to 24-foot risers over his citrus crop. What would a family-oriented approach, they built the business into happen is that mud dauber wasps would build their homes what it is today. Fifty years later, in an extended way, the in the nozzles of the sprinklers when the systems were company remains a family affair. down. As you know, when you pack a nozzle full of mud, We have had multiple generations of families working it is not good for the irrigator. here at the same time; from a grandmother and grandson Joe knew he was not the only grower with this to fathers and their children. We have people who’ve problem, but at the time, there really wasn’t any easy worked for the company for more than 30 years. We give solution. Using his engineering background, he developed those who celebrate their 25-year anniversary with us a the first insect-proof sprinkler, which used a hydraulically special parking spot—you’ll see several of those if you activated plunger to keep the nozzle closed. When the walk around our lot. system was pressurized, the nozzle would retract and the system would operate normally. That was the invention Kris Polly: Describe some of the science behind your that got the company off the ground. product lines.

Shortly after starting the company, Joe called upon his nephew, Andy Healy, to help get things going. One James Burks: Joe Senninger got us thinking about year later, Andy’s brother Mark also joined the operation. two things: (1) the problems in the field and (2) finding While the Healy wives joked that their husbands had a way to use our expertise, engineering knowledge, and 34

Irrigation Leader

we then realized that we could, within our laboratory conditions, define the performance parameters of those sprinklers. We took that data and incorporated it into a proprietary software system called WinSIPP. With that system, we better communicate to the end user and designer how to best apply our sprinkler.

Kris Polly: Describe the research you do in the field.

Brothers Andy (left) and Mark (right) Healy.

manufacturing core competencies to meet grower’s needs and provide energy or water conservation opportunities.

One of our business's greatest achievements is the introduction of inline pressure regulators to our industry.

Through pressure regulation, we have given irrigation designers new opportunities to really control the uniformity and distribution of irrigation systems.

We also introduced the Wobbler in 1978, which was the first of several generations and renovations of a family of products that transitioned from solid-set irrigation systems into mechanized systems. To date, it is still considered the most uniform head for low-pressure operations, operating most effectively between 10 pounds per square inch (psi) and 15 psi. When the product line was first introduced, most irrigation systems required 30 psi at the nozzle of the sprinkler heads, so the Wobbler significantly reduced energy requirements.

The Wobbler product instantly produces a rain-like pattern when you turn it on, so you also have a low application intensity. The low intensity helps to reduce surface soil degradation and its attendant issues of lowered infiltration rates and heighted runoff. Compare that to an impact nozzle, where 100 percent of the flow is going into one isolated area of the overall wetted pattern. When you look at a Wobbler-type product, it is putting water in a rain-like pattern over 100 percent of the overall wetted pattern.

With Wobblers, growers get larger droplet sizes that are less susceptible to wind drift and evaporative loss. That also translates to water efficiency—more water gets through the nozzle and to the roots of the plant, where it’s intended to go. That efficiency really comes from the integrity of the droplet, which can combat wind velocities.

As we reduced energy requirements and maintained pattern integrity on irrigation sprinklers like the Wobbler, Irrigation Leader

James Burks: We do not sell directly to the end user or the farmer, but the relationships we have with them are extremely important for streamlined information. From them, we learn how our product is doing in the field, what types of issues farmers continue to deal with, and what keeps them awake at night. They are the ones who bring ideas to our research and development team. A lot of the salespeople’s work involves contact with end users. Our engineers do the same. They take field trips a few times a year to get some hands-on experience with the utilization of the product.

Kris Polly: Please tell us about Senninger’s global reach.

James Burks: Our base manufacturing facility is here in Claremont, Florida. About 25 to 30 percent of the product shipped off of our dock is destined for locations outside of the lower 48 states. Beyond that, we have several multinational OEM [original equipment manufacturer] accounts, or master distributer accounts, that are domestically located. They ship an additional 20 to 25 percent out of the country. The pivot manufacturers are a good example of that. At the end of the day, roughly

Joe Senninger’s Insect-Proof Impact Sprinkler is the invention that started Senninger Irrigation Inc. 35

50Â percent of our products do end up outside U.S. borders.

We work with all of the pivot manufacturers. Some have come to us with a specific need or request to create brand label products for them, but the Senninger product label is open to all manufacturers.

Kris Polly: What would you say your company is most proud of?

James Burks: Our people. We are very proud of our products and the legacy of practices and philosophies imparted to us by Joe, Mark, and Andy. But I would say it ultimately is our people. They come to work every day and pull off things that would not happen without a strong element of teamwork and our other core values—honesty, loyalty, trust, and respect. Adhering to those values helps

us to meet impossible demands, even if we have to make adjustments during downtimes in demand. We have a great team of people.

Kris Polly: What should every irrigating farmer and every irrigation district manager know about Senninger?

James Burks: Our products are the direct result of a generation of ideas that they themselves have given us.

We are very eager to understand what they like about us and what they think are shortcomings with respect to the specific needs they have. With that same eagerness, we are willing to take that knowledge and apply it in a way that will bring them new or improved products to solve their problems.

The i-Wob is designed for peak performance at ultra-low pressures of 10 to 20 psi. Lower operating pressures offer irrigators a tremendous opportunity to lower total pumping costs.

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Irrigation Leader

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CLASSIFIED LISTINGS Chief Engineer - CEO The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (the “MRGCD”) is soliciting applications for the position of Chief Engineer/Chief Executive Officer, a position established by state law (NMSA 1978, § 73-14-35) that serves at the pleasure of an elected Board of Directors. Under the direction of the Board of Directors, this professional position is responsible for implementing the MRGCD’s strategic objectives by planning, organizing, directing and overseeing the day-to-day activities and operations of the MRGCD, which provides irrigation, drainage for high water table areas and river flood control for the Middle Rio Grande Valley. The MRGCD also addresses environmental concerns and endangered species protection in collaboration with other agencies while recognizing the recreational benefits and opportunities of the MRGCD facilities and the Rio Grande Bosque.

Minimum qualifications include a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering and ten years of progressively more responsible management experience in the operation and maintenance of water delivery, flood control or other public works infrastructure. Candidates must have a current registration as a New Mexico Professional Engineer or the ability to obtain same within one year.

Qualified applicants must submit a completed MRGCD application to Christie Griego at cgriego@wwwlaw.us or at 1803 Rio Grande Blvd. NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87104. In addition, applicants are encouraged to submit a resume describing their experience and qualifications. Applications and a detailed job description are available at http://mrgcd.com/Job_Opportunities.aspx or at 1931 Second Street SW, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102.

Interested candidates must apply no later than November 7, 2014.

The MRGCD is an equal opportunity employer and all applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, disability or veteran’s status. All qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. The MRGCD offers excellent benefits. The starting salary range for this position is $148,000 to $204,000, depending upon experience.

2014 CALENDAR October 14–16 October 15–17 October 28 October 28–30

November 6 November 6–7 November 12–14 November 17–21 November 23–25

December 2–5 December 3–5 December 3–5 January 6–8 January 13–14

Nevada Water Resources Assn., Fall Symposium, Reno, NV Texas Water Conservation League, Fall Meeting, San Antonio, TX Utah Water Users Assn., 21st Annual Water Summit, Provo, UT Montana Water Resources Assn. & Upper Missouri Water Assn., Joint Annual Conference and Educational Seminar, Billings, MT Columbia Basin Development League, 50th Annual Meeting, Moses Lake, WA Idaho Water Users Assn., Water Law and Resource Issues Seminar, Boise, ID National Water Resources Assn., Annual Conference, Coronado, California Irrigation Assn., Irrigation Show and Education Conference, Phoenix, AZ Nebraska Water Resources Assn & Nebraska State Irrigation Association, Joint Convention, Kearney, NE Assn. of California Water Agencies, Fall Conference & Exhibition, San Diego, CA North Dakota Water Convention and Irrigation Workshop, Bismarck, ND Washington State Water Resources Assn., Annual Conference, Spokane, WA Groundwater Management District Assn., Annual Meeting, Scottsdale, AZ National Water Resources Assn., Leadership Forum, Las Vegas, NV

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