Northwest News Network

Washington Fruit Farmers Scramble To Irrigate From Lowered Columbia River

NWNews | By Anna King

Published March 20, 2014 at 6:07 PM PDT

Dam engineers are continuing to keep the pool behind the ailing structure drawn down to relieve pressure.

So far, they don’t know how bad the crack in the dam’s spillway is, but they are still investigating. But the dam’sdrawdownis having very real consequences for the region’s farmers, tourism hubs and Northwest tribes.

Out of reach

Frosty Hansen, 74, tends 900-acres of cherry orchards and beef cattle on land that runs from high rocky bluffs, right down to the Columbia River shore. That’s where he pumps out irrigation water for his valuable trees.

But now, his and possibly thousands of other acres of Washington’s fruit trees are in trouble.

Down by the river, it’s clear from the left-over muck, where the water used to be -- before the dam cracked and the water had to be lowered about 25 feet.

Hansen has two big pumps that still reach the water. But his neighbors -- their pipes stop short. Hansen’s plan is to pump irrigation water for them until Wanapum Dam is fixed.

“I am thankful that I have the facilities to help everyone," says Hansen. "My neighbors helped me when my ferret barn and hog barn burnt down, now it’s my turn to help them now.”

Some farmers must lay hundreds of feet of new pipe to reach water again. They have to get state and federal permits, and time is running out.

Workers are already in the orchards and farmers already need large amounts of water to spray chemicals and protect delicate blossoms from frost.

And soon, hot, dry weather will mean they’ll need even more water for irrigation.

Hit to tourism

Charlotte Gonzales helps run the Texaco right off Interstate 90 in Vantage. This highway and Columbia River intersection is usually a popular break spot for travelers and tourists looking to cool off in the river. So far, the low water has meant increased business from gawkers who haven’t seen such low water levels since the 1960s.

Gonzales is seeing about 40 percent more sales than typical for this time of year. But come summer, she says there won't no any boating access to the Wanapum reservoir.

"It will affect the people who come down to play on the shoreline," Gonzales says. "They won’t be able to do that either.”

Just downriver from Vantage, on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Columbia River near the Wanapum Dam, the scope of the problem snaps into focus. The ailing dam’s drawdown has exposed miles of sandy beaches and rocky shoals.

The low water has even revealed two gravesites so far. And a small band of Native Americans and government employees are working overtime to protect those and more that might surface.

Teams of engineers say they are doing all they can at the Wanapum Dam. They’re drilling concrete core samples to find out how bad the crack is. But it could take months to fix. And farmers, tourist spots and Northwest tribes are worried they can’t last that long with low, low water.

The Wanapum Dam on the Columbia River in Washington state has a cracked spillway. Teams of engineers are trying to figure out how to fix it, but until then water above the dam is drawn down.

Along the Columbia River in Washington state there are thousands of acres of valuable cherry, apple and pear orchards. These pears are damaged, and destined for cattle feed.

Because of the drawdown of the river pool behind the damaged Wanapum Dam in Washington state, the rivershore has been closed. Several people have sunk up to thier hips in unstable mud now that water levels are about 25 feet lower than normal.

Irrigation pumps and pipes no longer reach the Columbia River to water valuable fruit orchards in Washington State.

Frosty Hansen, of Wenatchee, Wash., shows off his irrigation pipe that still reaches the river. Unfortunately, it's cracked from the pressure of the river current. He says with a few welding repairs, it should hold through summer.

Glenn Bennett, 32, of Wenatchee, Wash., says he and his grandfather are worried about not reaching irrigation water this spring and summer.

Frosty Hansen is 74 years old. But he drives his Kawasaki mule farm vehicle like a 15 year old with nothing to lose. Hansen farms near Wenatchee, Wash., on the Columbia River.

Miles of sandy shore have been exposed where the Columbia River used to be in Washington state. The river has been dropped because of the cracked Wanapum Dam.

A bluff overlooking the Columbia River near Vantage, Wash. Native Americans in Washington state are deeply concerned about the more than 80 miles of sandy shore that has been exposed. Already two very old skeletons have been found.