NRCS Looks To Upgrade Pumps, Pipelines In Northcentral Washington

The Natural Resources Conservation Service has launched the watershed planning phase of a modernization project for the Oroville-Tonasket Irrigation District in north-central Washington.

NRCS said the proposal would upgrade aging pumps and pipelines to reduce costly breakdowns, improve public safety, and provide more reliable irrigation water for area farmers. Plans also include evaluating improvements to fish screens throughout the district.

Currently, NRCS said, sediment laden water pumped out of the Okanogan River by the Cordell and Crater pumping plants operated by the District, is causing frequent and costly failures of pumps and motors at these locations. As part of the current plan, the pumping plants will be retrofitted with sediment basins fed by durable low-pressure pumps, this will remove the bulk of sand and silt causing these issues for high pressure pumps and their motors. This methodology has been proven very successful at both the Bonaparte and Tonasket pumping plants, which are also operated by OTID. Reduction of sediment in the system will also benefit local farmers, by lessening wear on their irrigation systems.

The plan also seeks to modernize about 10 miles of pipeline, which has been degraded overtime due to internal erosion caused by sediments. Repairs to the decades old techite pipeline has proven difficult, time consuming, and increasingly expensive. One such failure at Tonasket resulted in damage to private property, washout of a public roadway, and flooding of a nearby cemetery. Beyond life and property concerns, pipeline failures halt irrigation water delivery until they can be found and repaired.

A public meeting on the project is scheduled for Thursday August 13th at 1:30 p.m. at the Oroville-Tonasket Irrigation District office in Oroville, where residents can learn more and provide input.

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-9791, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com