News and Press Releases

Reprinted from the Hood River News
Article by Hood River News staff writer Adam Lapierre

SALEM - Representative Suzanne VanOrman (D-Hood River) voted last week for a bill to expand qualification for the Renewable Portfolio Standard to older hydroelectric facilities. The bill, HB 3649, will give an important economic boost to Hood River. "Times are tough, especially in Hood River," said Rep. VanOrman. "This bill gives the Farmers Irrigation District eligibility for the hydropower sales premiums they need to continue to support farms and fish in the Hood River basin."

HB 3649 allows small, green, non-utility hydroelectric projects built before 1995 to qualify for Renewable Energy Credits (RECs).

"With the passage of this bill, we can generate renewable hydroelectric power and meet the highest environmental standards," said Mike Kleinsmith, District Manager of the Farms Irrigation District in Hood River. "That's good for our workforce, good for our orchardists, and good for the Hood River basin at large."

"People generally don't appreciate the full importance of agriculture in Hood River," stated Farmers Irrigation District Board Chair, Steve Benton, "but the entire economy of Hood River depends on the well being of its orchardists. This bill ensures that Farmers Irrigation District will continue to complete its water conservation projects, directly benefiting District irrigators."

HB 3649 now moves to the House floor for a vote of the full House.

Reprinted from the Hood River News
Article by Hood River News staff writer Adam Lapierre

While government stimulus dollars - now referred to as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) - are hard at work across the country, a project in Hood River acts as a prime example of how the funds are not only keeping people on the job, but how they're contributing to improvements that have long-term economic and environmental benefits.

Hood River Farmers Irrigation District started the Indian Creek Corridor Irrigation Improvement Project December 1, thanks in large part to about $4 million in ARRA funds provided to the district through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality State Revolving Fund. The project, expected to be completed by mid April, is one of the most dramatic improvements made to irrigation systems in the county. When completed and on-line, it will mark the end of a comprehensive water pressurization venture FID started in the late 1970s.

In short, the project is replacing irrigation canals in the upper-west side of Hood River with four major pipelines; in the Markham, Country Club, Deborde and Methodist road areas. When completed, underground, pressurized pipelines will take the place of old, open irrigation canals that serviced farmers and landowners throughout much of Hood River.

"We will have the new system complete and on-line by the start of the 2010 irrigation season," said Jerry Bryan, FID project manager. "Although this is an extremely expensive project, the long-term benefits far outweigh the costs, which makes this an excellent example of the effectiveness of ARRA funds."

With the old system, irrigation water for FID was diverted from the Hood River at river-mile 11.4 several miles upstream of Tucker Bridge. the water was carried down the valley through a series of pipes and open canals, and, to serve property owners along its pathway. water was diverted into Indian Creek, where farmers used their own pumps to access it for irrigation.

With the new system, water will be diverted at the same point, but its transportation and delivery will be dramatically improved. Water from the diversion will travel about 6 miles down a main pipeline to a FID plant on Peters Drive. From there the line will split; one will go to the district's hydroelectric generators and the other to serve the roughly 5,800 acres of land FID serves.

The pipeline will be pressurized by one of two ways: where possible, gravity will do the work; and when that's not an option, FID will use its centralized high-efficiency pump station, also located at Peters Drive. Among its many advantages, the new system will mean vast improvements to the ecology of Indian Creek. For decades high-sediment water diverted into the creek from the Hood River has had its affect on water quality and fish habitat. With the pressurized pipeline, water will no longer need to be diverted into Indian Creek for irrigation purposes.

"This is probably the most significant project that has been done on Indian Creek, in terms of specifically enhancing water quality, fish passage and fish habitat," said Steve Stampfli, Hood River Watershed coordinator. "It ties in really well with the Indian Creek Stewards' efforts to improve the quality of the creek."

Replacing open canals with closed pipelines will also mean a far more efficient system. Bryan explained that the new system will save about 4.5 cubic feet per second of water. To put that number in perspective, that's enough water to irrigate about 360 acres of land for a season.

"That adds up to a whole lot of water that will be save." Bryan said. "The significance, and the real benefit of that, is it translates to more water we can leave in the river."

Since it will be pressurized, the new pipeline will eliminate the need for farmers and landowners to operate, maintain and pay to power their own pumps, as has been the case until this season.

A more efficient system will also mean increased hydroelectric production at the district's two small plants. According to FID, money from the sale of the district's hydroelectricity, which has recently been certified as Low Impact Hydropower by the Low Impact Hydropower Institute, is dedicated to projects that enhance the common good of Hood River County with attention to ecology, economy and social equity.

Bryan also explained that with the new system, FID will have the ability to divert selective amounts of water from the Hood River, depending on water levels.

With the help of Mike Kleinsmith, FID manager, the district worked with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon DEQ to agree on minimum flow levels for the Hood River; at which FID will cease diversion from the river for hydroelectric purposes until water levels are back up.

"Mike (Kleinsmith) really deserves the credit for getting this project done," Bryan said. "Property owners like Chris and Betsy Berrens also deserve a lot of credit for their cooperation and for being so community minded."

In addition to ARRA funds, the project was made possible through Energy Trust of Oregon and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit Program incentives.

Article by News staff writer Adam Lapierre
Reprinted from the Hood River News website

Hood River County’s irrigation systems and practices are at the forefront of some fairly drastic improvements being made in the industry, due in large part to a progressive and proactive watershed management community. Among the many changes, a project completed this month on Coe Creek showcases a simple but highly effective new technology, designed and patented in Hood River County, which is proving valuable to watersheds across the Northwest.

Of the roughly 70,000 diversions in Oregon’s creeks, rivers and lakes, less than 10 percent have screening structures to help keep fish, debris and sediment where it belongs. At a cost to both farmers and fish, the 50,000 or so unscreened irrigation diversions in the state take in more than just water. Silt, rocks and debris play havoc on irrigation systems, from the point of intake all the way down the line to pumps, valves and sprinkler systems.

Fish are also sucked into unscreened diversions indiscriminately, and are often crushed or killed by older, vertical screening systems.

Since flooding and a massive debris flow in 2006, Middle Fork Irrigation District has been working hard to repair and upgrade parts of its roughly 100 miles of pipelines, ditches, hydro plants and diversions in the county. On Coe Creek, not far upstream from where the creek runs under Laurance Lake Road, MFID recently completed a $1.6 million project to remove an old diversion and dam and add a new, higher-efficiency and lower-maintenance diversion system.

Utilizing a new screening system developed locally and patented under the valley’s Farmers Conservation Alliance, the new diversion will not only allow fish to pass freely up and downstream without danger; in the long run, it will also save the district, and farmers, a lot of money.

“The Farmers Screen” was designed by members of the Farmers Irrigation District after flooding in 1996 took its toll on the district’s infrastructure. After several years of design work, the district came up with a simple but highly effective screening system that is essentially 100-percent effective in keeping fish and debris out of intakes. In addition, to its great benefit, the Farmers Screen has no moving parts and is self-cleaning.

“The best aspect of the Farmers Screen is that it both protects fish and benefits the agricultural community through dramatically decreased operation and maintenance costs,” said Les Perkins, FCA business development director. “With over 150,000 unscreened diversions in the Pacific Northwest alone, screening is one of the biggest existing opportunities to protect fish.”

According to MFID Manager Craig DeHart, the new diversion is much more “fish and water quality friendly than the old one, with inclusion of engineered fish channels to provide fish the ability to migrate both upstream and downstream.”

The basic mechanics of the Farmers Screen are fairly simple: Water is diverted into an off-stream channel, where it runs over a long horizontal screen. With a hole pattern only large enough to let a small amount of water through, fish, debris and a cleaning water run across the screen and are redirected back into the water body. Water that makes it through the screen is then directed into the irrigation system.

“When the Coe Branch Diversion was originally installed in 1988, no provisions were made to protect bull trout that inhabit the waters,” explained Steve Stampfli, Hood River Watershed Group coordinator. “Subsequent to federal protection of this species, Middle Fork Irrigation District installed a temporary fish screen and ladder at the diversion in 2006 as a temporary protection measure.”

Coe Creek, which flows down the north side of Mount Hood starting above Laurance Lake, is thought to hold the Mount Hood National Forest’s only population of native bull trout.

In addition to the Coe Branch Project, MFID is finishing a 6,000-foot Emil Creek Pipeline project in Parkdale. According to Stampfli, when completed, the roughly $150,000 project will improve water delivery in the northeast areas of the district, and also restore water quality in Emil Creek and the East Fork Hood River.

“Though the cost of the projects are high, the watershed partnership is confident that both projects will result in winning outcomes for everyone interested in stewarding the waters of the Hood River valley,” Stampfli said.

For both projects, several agencies helped to fund and complete the work, including Middle Fork Irrigation District, Hood River Watershed Group, Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Hood River County Title II, U.S. Forest Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Farmers Conservation Alliance.

For more information on watershed projects occurring in the Hood River valley, contact MFID at 541-352-6468 or the HRWG at 541-386-6063. For information on the Farmers Conservation Alliance, visit www.fcasolutions.com.

Hood River, Ore. – December 17, 2009 – For 40 years, the nonprofit Farmers Irrigation District has had a vision to replace its leaking, gravity-fed, open canals with below-ground pressurized pipe. That vision is rapidly becoming a reality thanks to a recent project that not only contained the last of the lower district’s open ditches, but is saving 185 local orchardists and landowners an estimated $35,000 per year in energy costs. In addition, the project is generating renewable energy valued at an estimated $34,000 per year and boosting in-stream water flows that will benefit fish in the Hood River. Read complete article (PDF file)

The Indian Creek Corridor Project (the ICC Project) officially began on December 1st, 2009 with a planned completion date of April 15th, 2010. The project consists of four major pipelines -- Markham, Country Club, Deborde, and Methodist. Service laterals extend off of these major lines to provide water to users on Hays, Douglas Fir, and Sunset. Anderson Perry Engineering designed the project, Crestline Construction will perform the construction work, and Coburn Electric will complete the central pump station wiring.

The Indian Creek Corridor Project is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which provided $4 million to complete the work. The funds are made available to the District through the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality State Revolving Fund.The ICC Project will conserve over 1,000 acre-feet of water. Individual irrigation pumps will no longer be necessary, thus substantially reducing power consumption, and the conserved water will pass through the District hydroelectric facilities, thus increasing power production into the Bonneville Grid. During low-flow periods of the Summer, the District will cease diversion of hydroelectric water as needed to provide more in-stream water for fish.

In addition to the ARRA funds, the ICC Project is made possible through Energy Trust of Oregon and Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit program incentives, without which the project could not be completed.

The completion of the ICC Project in March will mark the end of the comprehensive Farmers Irrigation District water pressurization project. This project started in the late 1970s when the District began researching and installing small-scale hydroelectric generation facilities. Money from the sale of high-value renewable energy has been used over the years to help pay for all of the District’s pipe installation projects .The District’s hydroelectric facilities were recently certified as Low Impact Hydropower by the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI), and all future revenue premiums from the sale of the District’s certified low impact hydroelectricity are dedicated to projects that enhance the common good of Hood River County with attention to ecology, economy, and social equity.

Click here to go to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) website and read about the LIHI Governing Board's unanimous decision to certify Farmers Irrigation District's hydroelectric project.

This funding is dedicated to the Indian Creek Corridor Project, the last of the major pressurization projects for the district. When this project is complete, 99.5 percent of all Farmers ID water users will receive fully pressurized water without the need for individual pumps. The project allows for more precise delivery of irrigation water and will also result in increased flows in the Hood River during the summer months. Finally, district hydroelectric revenue will increase, thus continuing to keep water costs as low as possible. Click here to read more from the OregonLive website.

The Farmers Irrigation District (District) has submitted an application to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) for certification of its small-scale hydroelectric project. The Low Impact Hydropower Institute (LIHI) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to reducing the impacts of hydropower generation through the certification of hydropower projects that have avoided or reduced their environmental impacts pursuant to the Low Impact Hydropower Institute’s criteria. LIHI’s mission is to reduce the impacts of hydropower dams through market incentives. LIHI does this through its Hydropower Certification Program, a voluntary certification program designed to help identify and reward hydropower dams that are minimizing their environmental impacts. Read more about FID on the Low Impact Hydropower Institute website. To read the confirmation letter to FID from LIHI, click here (PDF).

2008 - The Story of the Farmers Screen (updated from the July 2004, Hydro and Sustainable aritcle below)

December 19, 2008 - Approve Funding for Farmers Irrigation District Pressurization Project

September 24, 2008 - 52 Faces - Mike Kleinsmith of Farmers Irrigation District

August 19, 2008 - DEQ, Farmers Irrigation District Agree on $3 Million Loan for Pipeline Work in Hood River Watershed

August 14, 2008 - Oregon Farmers Design a Breakthrough for Fish, Growers Alike

August 12, 2008 - Lacomb Irrigation District Fish Screen Nets Acclaim

June 8, 2005 - Farmers Irrigation Receives Stewardship Honor

May 31, 2005 - Farmers Irrigation Small-Scale Hydroelectric Project

April 2005 - Reclamation, Managing Water in the West, Draft Environmental Assessment, Lower Distribution Pressurization Project, Phase II, Tucker Road Project, Hood River, Oregon (3.6 MB)

October 20, 2004 - FID Recognized With a Water 2025 Grand Award

July 2004 - Hydro and Sustainable: An Example From the Pacific Northwest, U.S.A.