Repairing Irrigation Trouble Spots

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By Molly Kelleher

Summary

Irrigation water gets turned on next month. And crews are already patching up problem spots.

Story Published: Mar 1, 2010 at 10:48 PM PST

Repairing Irrigation Trouble Spots
KENNEWICK -- Irrigation water gets turned on next month. And crews are already patching up problem spots.

Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) workers have been at it all winter long, but now the deadline looms. The water turns on in a month. A mild winter has been a blessing this year because there's a lot of work on tap.

"Canals through town, we've been doing a lot of work reshaping there," said Beth Smith with KID.

They're the canals you see driving through town, just looking at them you can tell a difference. It's not just cleaning -- they're reshaping, then adding a layer of new rock. It's the kind of work that hasn't been done in about 15 years.

"Water is going to flow better and let us run canals better," said Smith.

Another problem spot is up behind Southridge High School. The canal used to flood so crews are out to fix that.

The canal is going underground in what's called "piping" a canal. There, workers are prepping the walls to pour concrete the next day.

Action News asked KID if they're still on budget with all of this work.

"We are on budget. All the repairs are paid for through the capital budget," said Smith.

But it doesn't mean the unexpected won't pop up once the water turns on.
In fact, crews tell me that's the busiest time to see how the water runs with all the new repairs.

Besides work being done on in-town canals and out by Southridge, there's also work being done on the notoriously troublesome Badger Mountain area. KID crews are working on lining the Badger east canal to control seepage.