Newsletter - April 2009

Irrigation and Operation
By State law, irrigation season may begin April 15th and last through September 30th. The irrigation crew has already begun to assess soil moisture levels throughout the District to better determine when specific area soils will require irrigation water. District Manager Mike Kleinsmith will decide when to officially turn in irrigation water for use this season.

Projects
In early Summer 2008, Kerr Contractors began construction of our multi-phase Lower District Pressurization Project (LDPP), which is the last large area of the District remaining to be piped for pressure water delivery. The project started with the High School Line and will end early this Summer with the installation of pressure pipe on Eliot and Eby roads. When water is turned into this line, it will mark the near completion of a 40-year old vision to pipe the entire Farmers Irrigation District. Due to the professionalism and maturity of Kerr Contractors, combined with low-interest loan dollars from the Oregon DEQ’s State Revolving Fund and payments from the Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) and Energy Trust of Oregon (ETO) programs, the District was able to accelerate the project, thus bringing long-awaited pressurized water to many anxious users two seasons earlier than anticipated. Once the LDPP is complete, using anticipated Stimulus dollars along with funds from OWEB, ETO, and BETC, the District anticipates completing the Indian Creek Corridor (ICC) Project this Fall. The ICC consists of the Country Club, Markham, DeBorde, and Methodist lines. The ICC projects are fully engineered, and the environmental permits are nearly complete. In preparation for the completion of the Country Club and Markham projects, short spur lines are being installed this Spring so as to expedite the projects this Fall.

Future Projects
The Lowline Canal Pipe Project, Farmers Canal Pipe System, Kingsley Reservoir Rehabilitation Project, and North Green Point Mainline Enhancement Project will be the next major projects to be completed following the full pressurization of the District’s service laterals. These projects are vitally important to the District’s continued cash flow and overall fiscal well-being, thus allowing annual bills to be kept as low as possible, but the District has made the delivery of pressurized water a priority. As construction of the pressure water lines nears completion, project emphasis will return to the piping of the District’s major conveyance canals.

Conservation Message
Please make sure that you know how much water flows through your sprinkler system. Outdated models of sprinklers like the “butterfly” and other models with a large orifice are prime examples of wasteful sprinklers. With the availability of micro-sprinklers through the District’s sprinkler exchange program and in irrigation supply stores in our area, low flow sprinkler heads are readily available. The average butterfly sprinkler can use 7 gallons per minute or more. A parcel would have to have 1.25 acres of water rights in order to use just one of these sprinklers. A single butterfly sprinkler can be replaced with at least 5 micro-sprinklers and cover at least 5 times the area. To learn more about micro-sprinklers, click here.

As always, please feel free to contact us at 541.387.5261 if you have any questions or comments. We welcome your calls.