Washington Tour and Dinner Show Support for Irrigated Ag

Over 180 Local Producers Show Up for Fundraising Event

Alliance Leadership Team in Washington State: Mark Limbaugh (D.C. Advocate), Charlie Lyall (WA Director), Norm Semanko (General Counsel), Dan Keppen (Exec. Director), Mark Hansen (WA Director), Pat O'Toole (President), Urban Eberhart (Chair, Advisory Committee). 

This article was written and distributed by the Family Farm Alliance. A link to the original article can be found below.

(Yakima, Washington) – Family Farm Alliance Directors Mark Hansen and Charlie Lyall spearheaded a three-day tour of Central Washington farms and irrigation districts that was highlighted by a fundraising dinner attended by over 180 local producers.
 
“The tour and the reception were both home runs,” said Mr. Lyall.
 
The tour was an eye-opening experience for those who traveled to the Columbia River Basin and Yakima River watersheds from out of the state.
 
“This region is almost overwhelming,” said Alliance President Patrick O’Toole, who made the trip to Washington with his wife, Sharon, from Wyoming. “The diversity of the cropping, the marketing and the community that has built up around all of this agricultural water is stunning to me.” 
 
Columbia Basin Project 
The Bureau of Reclamation’s Columbia Basin Project serves about 671,000 acres in east central Washington. The crown jewel of the project is Grand Coulee Dam, one of the largest concrete structures in the world.
 
The four counties in which the Columbia Basin Project lies generate roughly $3 billion dollars in agricultural production value. Farms in the Project employ over 13,000 people, which equates to one-in-five employees in the region’s total workforce. 
 
Agriculture here powers a multi-billion-dollar processing industry. When you add in the number of employees who work in food processing as well as agricultural services, the employment number doubles or triples. 
 
Food processing in the region is also highly specialized. Over two-thirds of Washington’s potatoes are grown in the Columbia Basin. Washington State is the fourth largest exporting state in the nation. A significant portion of these exports are derived from the Columbia Basin.

Pat O'Toole stands by as thousands of apples are processed and packed at the Washington Fruit & Produce Company.

Yakima Project 
Reclamation’s Yakima Project provides irrigation water for a comparatively narrow strip of fertile land that covers over 460,000 acres and extends for 175 miles on both sides of the Yakima River in south-central Washington. 
 
Yakima County is home to one of Washington’s most diverse agricultural systems, with vast fields of hops, fruit trees, grapes and sweet corn. Agriculture contributes a whopping $1.6 billion to the local economy. It is the leading county in the nation in apple production with more than 50,000 acres of apple orchards. 
 
In adjacent Kittitas County, timothy hay is a major cash crop. Timothy hay is grown primarily for the export market and is the single-largest agricultural product produced there. Roughly 90 percent of the timothy hay crop is exported overseas to Japan, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and other Pacific Rim countries, with Japan being the single-largest export customer.

South Columbia Basin Irrigation District Director JJ Danz, Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District Secretary-Manager Roger Sonnichsen, and Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District Director Mike LaPlant

Tour Highlights
The first stop on the tour was the Lamb Weston food processing plant in Richland. Lamb Weston is a leading supplier of frozen potato, sweet potato, appetizer and vegetable products to restaurants and retailers around the world. From there, the tour wound through the Columbia Basin Project and Yakima Project, where the group met with local producers of cherries, hay, alfalfa, grapes and apples.
 
The three-day tour also included meetings with Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District, South Columbia Basin Irrigation District, Roza Irrigation District, Kittitas Reclamation District and Sunnyside Irrigation District staff and board members.

The tour had lunch at a ranch in the Wenas foothills, where participants were briefed by representatives of the U.S. Forest Service, Washington Department of Water Resources, and Washington Department of Fish and Game. 
 
“The collaborative efforts of local water users, the Yakama Nation, conservation groups and state and federal agencies to proactively address fisheries challenges and drought resiliency are seen by many as a model for the West,” said Alliance Executive Director Dan Keppen. 

Brad Haberman with Hay Number 9 Processing explains the fine details of processing timothy hay and alfalfa for transport.

“An Amazing Community” Shows its Support
 Alliance Directors Hansen and Lyall worked with a team of local volunteers to host a tri-tip and lamb barbecue at the Black Rock Arena near Moxee on Wednesday evening. Mr. O’Toole, D.C. advocate Mark Limbaugh, General Counsel Norm Semanko and Mr. Dan Keppen all delivered remarks at the 2-hour event, touching on a variety of Western water issues, including water infrastructure spending, the political climate on Capitol Hill, recent Supreme Court water decisions, and nationwide food security.
 
Alliance representatives were appreciative of the large audience and community support. 
 
“It’s an amazing community,” said Mr. O’Toole. “The amount of food production coming out of this area is astounding. It all depends on reliable water supplies. The people of this region are planning not only for today but for the long term.” 
 
“It’s what we’re all about,” he added. “Families are the centerpiece of this area and are at the core of our organization.”

LINK: Family Farm Alliance

2024 Water Season

The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District announces the 2024 water season start dates…

The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District will begin filling the Potholes Canal on March 1, 2024. Deliveries from the Potholes Canal will begin on March 13, 2024 to the Mattawa area, the Potholes Canal service area of Franklin County, and Blocks 2 and 3. Deliveries to Block 18 and other lands served from the East Low Canal system will begin as water becomes available from East Columbia Basin Irrigation District.

Irrigation deliveries will be dependent on demand in the individual lateral systems. In locations where pumping plants are required for irrigation deliveries, startup dates will depend on adequate orders to start the pumping plants.

Landowners will need to contact their Watermaster office for specific delivery dates and water availability.

The End of the 2023 Water Season Nears

South Columbia Basin Irrigation District Announces 2023 Water Shutoff Dates…

As the end of the 2023 irrigation season approaches, the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District will soon scale back ditchrider service from 6 days to 5 days per week.  This is done annually as irrigation water demand declines.  Full Saturday service will be provided through September 16th.  After that date, ditchrider service will be available Monday through Friday. 

 The final day to order water delivery changes will be Friday, October 20.  On Monday, October 23, ditchriders will close all farm unit and water service contract turnouts as they begin to drain the canal system. 

 Questions pertaining to the water shutoff dates and Saturday ditch rides may be answered by calling John O’Callaghan at the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District, (509) 547-1735.  For emergencies that arise outside of our normal business hours, you may also call this number and wait for the appropriate prompts to reach your watermaster office. 

2023 Water Start-up Dates

The 2023 Irrigation Season Begins…

The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District will begin filling the Potholes Canal on March 1, 2023. Deliveries from the Potholes Canal will begin on March 15, 2023, to the Mattawa area, the Potholes Canal service area of Franklin County, and Blocks 2 and 3.   Deliveries to Block 18 and other lands served from the East Low Canal system will begin as water becomes available from East Columbia Basin Irrigation District. 

 Irrigation deliveries will be dependent on demand in the individual lateral systems. In locations where pumping plants are required for irrigation deliveries, startup dates will depend on adequate orders to start the pumping plants.

 Landowners will need to contact their Watermaster office for specific delivery dates and water availability.

Columbia Basin Hydropower & Avista

Partner on New Clean Energy Contract

New agreement brings zero-carbon energy to Avista electric customers

SPOKANE Wash. – Dec. 7, 2022 – Avista and Columbia Basin Hydropower (CBHP) finalized a contract recently for renewable hydropower from hydroelectric facilities owned by the three Columbia Basin Irrigation Districts. The contract increases Avista’s carbon-free resources in its energy portfolio, helping achieve the company’s clean electricity goals and supporting Washington state’s adoption of the Clean Energy Transformation Act that increases utilities’ supply of clean energy through 2045.

 CBHP’s projects represent approximately 145 MWs of hydroelectric capacity from seven facilities throughout the Columbia Basin Project in central Washington. The agreement is a 23-year supply deal in total with projects beginning deliveries to Avista as prior contracts expire through 2030. The generation is provided during spring, summer, and fall based on irrigation water demand throughout the Columbia Basin.

 The contract is the result of Avista’s participation in CBHP’s Request for Offers in November 2021. The projects contribute to goals in Avista’s 2021 IRP which identified both renewable and summer energy needs.

 Hydropower generation on Columbia Basin Project (CBP) canals began in 1982 with the commissioning of the Russell D. Smith plant located in Franklin County, soon followed by an additional six hydropower facilities within Grant and Franklin Counties.  Over the past 40 years hydrogeneration has proven to be a good investment and a sound source of revenue to offset costs and invest in improvements for the CBP landowners.  “Moving into this new contract, CBHP believes Avista will be a great partner as our new power purchaser,” said Darvin Fales, CBHP’s Manager.  “With our largest powerplants located within Avista’s service area and directly connected to its transmission grid, it makes sense to partner with a local likeminded company and neighbor.”   

 “Avista was founded on renewable hydropower more than 130 years ago. We are proud to work with Columbia Basin Hydropower to bring even more clean, reliable power to our customers,” said Scott Kinney, Avista’s vice president of energy resources. “This brings us closer to our goal to serve customers with 100% clean electricity by 2045 and 100% carbon neutral resources by 2027.”

 Looking forward, Avista is continuing to negotiate proposals that may result in additional energy contracts.  These potential future contracts are in response to Avista’s 2022 All Source Request for Proposals.

 About Columbia Basin Hydropower

CBHP was created and organized by the Columbia Basin Irrigation Districts (East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District, and South Columbia Basin Irrigation District) in 1982 as a separate legal entity authorized by the Washington state legislature.

 CBHP presently performs operation, maintenance, and administrative functions for five of the seven hydropower projects owned by the Districts - Main Canal Headworks, Summer Falls, Russell D. Smith, Eltopia Branch Canal (E.B.C.) 4.6, and Potholes East Canal (P.E.C.) 66.0. The five hydropower developments operated and maintained by CBHP were developed through forty-year power purchase agreements with the Cities of Seattle and Tacoma. The remaining two hydropower projects owned by the Districts, Quincy Chute and P.E.C. Headworks, are currently operated by Grant PUD as the power purchaser. CBHP will take over operation and maintenance of these projects upon contract expiration in 2025 and 2030, respectively. The generation produced by the projects benefits the local economy and the farmers of the Columbia Basin Project by providing an additional source of revenue to offset costs of operation and capital investments.

About Avista Utilities

Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is our operating division that provides electric service to 408,000 customers and natural gas to 375,000 customers. Our service territory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern and parts of southern Idaho and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million. AERC is an Avista subsidiary that, through its subsidiary AEL&P, provides retail electric service to 17,000 customers in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska. Our stock is traded under the ticker symbol “AVA”. For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com.

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding the company’s current expectations. Forward-looking statements are all statements other than historical facts. Such statements speak only as of the date of the news release and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the company’s control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, in addition to those discussed herein, all of the factors discussed in the company’s and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2022, and its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2021.

Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation.

 SOURCE: Avista Corporation For more information, press only:

Casey Fielder, Avista, casey.fielder@avistacorp.com

Avista 24/7 Media Access (509) 495-4174

SCBID Announces 2022 Water Shutoff Dates

As the end of the 2022 irrigation season approaches, the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District will soon scale back ditchrider service from 6 days to 5 days per week. This is done annually as irrigation water demand declines. Full Saturday service will be provided through September 17th. After that date, ditchrider service will be available Monday through Friday.

The final day to order water delivery changes will be Friday, October 21. On Monday, October 24, ditchriders will close all farm unit and water service contract turnouts as they begin to drain the canal system.

Questions pertaining to the water shutoff dates and Saturday ditch rides may be answered by calling John O’Callaghan at the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District, (509) 547-1735. For emergencies that arise outside of our normal business hours, you may also call this number and wait for the appropriate prompts to reach your watermaster office.

Report: $2.66 Billion Annual Crop Value of Columbia Basin Project

by Matthew Weaver, Capital Press

Crops in the Columbia Basin Project are valued at $2.66 billion each year, or roughly $3,800 per acre, according to a recent study from the three irrigation districts within the federal project.

The report estimates an additional $2.671 billion as the estimated value of animal and food processing production reliant on project crops.

The new report updates a 2010 study on the economic value of the project, said John O'Callaghan, secretary-manager of the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District in Pasco, Wash.

"The (project) is an economic engine, churning away producing things that society requires at a fundamental level — food, fiber, economic opportunities, social opportunities, recreational opportunities, and fish and wildlife habitat — and will continue to do so well into the future," O'Callaghan told the Capital Press.

The South, East and Quincy Columbia Basin irrigation districts commissioned the study.

"The asset that is the Columbia Basin Project is taken for granted — from the food we eat to the jobs we hold, to the places we call home or our playground," said Sara Higgins, executive director of the Columbia Basin Development League, which advocates for project completion. "These things wouldn't exist without the (project). That's significant enough to pay attention to, understand, support, maintain and grow."

The project was authorized by Congress to irrigate 1,029,000 acres, but to date, the infrastructure of reservoirs and canals irrigates about 700,000 acres in portions of Grant, Adams, Franklin and Walla Walla counties, with some land in Lincoln County authorized but not yet receiving water, according to the league.

Funding is the biggest need to complete the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Program, reinvest in aging infrastructure and overall completion of the project, Higgins said.

"The value of the (project) is compromised if a declining aquifer prevents continued production at current rates," she said. "Completion of the (project) will increase the value of its contributions, not only economically, but also in areas like food security and sustainability."

The project is not directly dependent on the Snake River dams compared to inland agriculture, O'Callaghan said. But transportation, energy and agribusiness systems are complex and inter-related, he said, "in ways that are hard to understand until they stop functioning."

"For example, it is tempting to say that because CBP wheat may not be barged through the dams, that we don’t rely on those dams for transporting wheat from the project," he said. "But if that barging capacity were to go away suddenly, I suspect we would witness a large adverse ripple effect throughout other means of transporting commodities from the project. All of us have seen some of these kinds of counterintuitive disruptions to the larger supply chain over the last couple of years."

The irrigation districts and league will share the updated data with stakeholders and policy makers, Higgins said.

View the article here:

https://www.capitalpress.com/ag_sectors/water/report-2-66-billion-annual-crop-value-of-columbia-basin-project/article_97a28226-02f4-11ed-b806-afa3e9d05bb7.html

View the Economic Contribution of Irrigated Agriculture Supported by the Columbia Basin Project here