Future planning
Water district focuses on the future
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Sunday, December 14, 2008 1:08 AM PST
| |
| Ted J. Fink | Special to the Argus Observer Bill Ford (above), chairman of Canyon II drainage district stands in a catch basin designed to catch sediment before it goes into the Snake River.
|
PAYETTE —Members of the Payette Soil and Water Conservation District are passionate about improving water use by the agriculture industry, and that concern includes protecting the quality of water as it is used and then delivered for additional uses or into area streams.
Since 2004, the Payette Soil and Water Conservation District has made strides in the effort to trap sediments before they are carried by the runoff into area rivers. Some of the water quality projects spearheaded by the Payette Soil and Water Conservation District include the creation of attach basin or sediment ponds, installation of new irrigation systems which reduce the amount of runoff from fields and installation of fences along streams to keep cattle away to protect the water and riparian areas.
The Middle Snake -Payette Clean Water Project is another example of work by the local district to improve water use. The project, according to Payette Soil and Water Conservation District Chairman Claude Bruce, is a success. In 2004, the $390,000 project was put together, with $260,000 provided by the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality and $159,000 provided as a local match. The DEQ later provided another $31,000.
“We have 12 different land owners,” Bruce said. “Our goal was to build at least two or three sediment ponds. We now have a total of 14 sediment ponds.”
In addition, about 4,000 feet of 12-inch pipeline has replaced open ditch, and 5,000 feet of fence has been installed along the Snake River to keep cattle away from the water and the riparian areas.
Some of the money was also used to install a wheel-line sprinkler and a new septic system. Besides stopping sediments from leaving the drainage district and going into the Snake River, the project has eliminated sections of a drain ditch that was continually breaking and has allowed water to reach users who had trouble getting it before. Among the major leaders in the project are Bill Ford, chair of the drainage district, who has a small farm on the Washington-Payette County line, and Jo Anne Smith, who serves on the water conservation district board and the drainage district board.
“We feel pretty good about the things we’ve done,” Bruce said, during a luncheon in Weiser of three soil and water conservation district’s.
“It’s a lot of work,” he said. Having started at the border of the two counties, Bruce said the conservation district was working south toward Payette and Fruitland.
Looking for more local news? Go online to www.argusobserver.com
