Governor Inslee in Sunnyside for Roza Dedication

Officials with the Roza Irrigation District will dedicate the Re-regulation reservoir in Washout Canyon Thursday morning.  Governor Jay Inslee will make the trip from Olympia for the dedication.  Roza Irrigation District Manager Scott Revell told the Washington Ag Network it’s appropriate that Governor Inslee be on hand for Thursday’s dedication of the $31 million project.

“The Governor acutally sponsored the federal legislation when he was in Congress back in 1994, that helped make this project happen.  It was an innovative bill that that helped emphasize water conservation and helped keep water in the river, in the Yakima River for fish and came up with a new way to fund projects.”

Revell noted the project is an example of good working relationships, with the Irrigation district paying $5 million, the state paying another $5 million and $20 million coming from the federal level.  He said this new reservoir will benefit the entire district in the event a canal shutdown needs to take place during the irrigation season.

“We’ll have a block of water 55 miles down the canal so we’ll be able to restart the system in about half the time, so that should save about two days.  And that will move those two days to the end of September, which is really helpful to our growers.”

Revell notes shutting down the system in late September could cost growers tens of thousands of dollars, while shutting it down in early September could cost millions.

Thursday’s dedication in Washout Canyon outside of Sunnyside starts at 10:30 a.m.

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