© 2024 KLCC

KLCC
136 W 8th Ave
Eugene OR 97401
541-463-6000
klcc@klcc.org

Contact Us

FCC Applications
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Irrigators Struggle To Secure Fish Screens And Water In Time

Irrigation pumps and pipes no longer reach the Columbia River to water valuable fruit orchards in Washington State.
Anna King
/
Northwest News Network
Irrigation pumps and pipes no longer reach the Columbia River to water valuable fruit orchards in Washington State.

Dozens of central Washington fruit farmers are still high-and-dry without water for their valuable fruit trees.

Many irrigation pipes don’t reach the lowered Columbia River behind the cracked Wanapum Dam. But it turns out, the farmers’ rush for water is now being slowed because of concerns over endangered salmon.

Farmers only have days before access to irrigation water becomes critical. State Fish and Wildlife officials are on the scene issuing verbal permits to extend irrigation pipes so they can reach the lowered river.

But it’s tiny juvenile salmon that are the real hold up. The extensions must have a specific fish screen with with the right surface area -- otherwise they will not be allowed to pump water. Bad screens can suck up tiny fry or get them stuck.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife's Jim Brown says only a handful of fabrication companies design or modify these types of screens.

“All that takes time," he says. "And so time has been our real enemy in trying to get these irrigators back connected to the water and still protect fish life.”

The small baby salmon have just begun emerging from the Columbia riverbed.

Copyright 2014 Northwest News Network

Anna King
Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.