Lynne Lynch/Columbia Basin Herald
Weber Siphon project part of Ag Tour
Jim Blanchard, of the Bureau of Reclamation, was one of the speakers during this week's Ag Tour.
MOSES LAKE - People wondering about the construction activity at the Weber Siphon Project called the Moses Lake Chamber of Commerce to find out more details.
As a result, the chamber's executive director, Debbie Doran-Martinez, added a stop at the project to this week's Ag Tour themed "All the Buzz."
The Weber Siphon Project near Moses Lake infused money into the local economy, as construction workers stayed in town, she explained.
The approximately $35 million project is being built to deliver 30,000 acre feet of Lake Roosevelt water to 10,000 acres of farm land watered by declining underground wells east of the East Low Canal.
Water is stored behind Grand Coulee Dam at Lake Roosevelt, pumped up hill to Banks Lake through Dry Falls Dam and split into two pieces, the East Low Canal and the West Canal.
Farmers grow 67 major crops on the project, he said. Most places grow only three, maybe four crops, he added.
Blanchard mentioned the planning and work done in the early 1950s for today's project, with a pipe built underneath Interstate 90 to connect to today's pipe.
The planning saved having to tunnel under the freeway.
"At a minimum, we would have to close down all the lanes in one direction and move everyone to the other side," Blanchard said. "This obviously saved a lot of money. Someone was thinking."
During this past year, sections of the pipe were built in four places near Interstate 90.
Around Nov. 1, the pipe's final connections will be made while the canal is empty. The project is expected to be completed by Jan. 1.
Currently one section of pipe is being completed per day, which comes to five sections per week.
But the work didn't start out that smoothly, Blanchard recalled.
In February, work was stopped during a flood. Rains occurred on top of frozen snow and the water couldn't be absorbed into the ground because it was frozen.
Between 35 and 40 people are now working on the project, he said. In some cases, people were working who hadn't before and in other cases, the work was a continuation, he added
The Bureau added about two inspectors for the project.
The Ag Tour included talks from Dan Couture, manager/pilot at the Grant County Mosquito Control District, and Fred and Darla Meise, owners of the Moses Lake Air Service.
Couture explained how the district went from liquid to dry material in its efforts to kill mosquitoes.
The change came after a 2009 public meeting regarding the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit, held by the state Department of Ecology (DOE). The issue was associated with the federal Clean Water Act.
There were efforts to eliminate any pollutants going into streams, which would stop mosquito killing programs statewide.
At the time, the DOE picked Moses Lake to hold its public meeting about the issue and proposed changes. But instead of only a few people showing up, hundreds attended.
Couture said district employees brought a shot glass to the meeting, showing that less than .67 ounces was used per acre.
Today, the district is using the exact same procedures as before, but in dry formulations. There's also a new chute at the bottom of the airplane.
He mentioned the Frenchman and North Crab Creek areas as mosquito breeding places, because of irrigation runoff.
Beneficial insects like dragon flies aren't affected by what the district applies to the water.
Couture talked about a trip he made to Jacksonville, Fla., earlier this month.
It's where there are 14 confirmed cases of West Nile virus and one death. There were also four cases of dengue fever and some confirmed cases there, he said.
In Grant County, there were three cases of West Nile virus confirmed last year. The risk with West Nile is the possibility of the virus mutating into encephalitis in a small percentage of people, he explained.
The district tests for West Nile virus, equine encephalitis and St. Louis encephalitis.
Couture said they are watching for dengue fever, as it is now being tested in Florida.
"We don't know if it will mutate and affect mosquitoes in the northern climate," he said. "It appears to be a tropical disease. We will be watching it closely. We can't say for sure if it would come up here."
He mentioned DEET-containing products like Cutter and Off as the best personal mosquito repellents.
The district's next plan to look at Mardon and other places bordering the county, to push its borders away from the district.
This helps because of the added relief experienced by the more populated areas.
The final speakers, Fred and Darla Meise, own Moses Lake Air Service, a crop spraying service for farmers.
Darla handles the business duties and paperwork for the air service.
Fred is a pilot and sprays wheat, potatoes, onions and sweet corn, as well as organic potatoes.
His 1,400 horsepower aircraft travels at 150 to 160 miles per hour and is highly productive, he explained. The aircraft costs $1.4 million new and the engine alone is worth $625,000.
Darla explained that as an industry, if a crop is marked as natural, Mom and Pop are picking bugs off their crop.
Natural is different from organic, as the air service sprays organic crops.
The aerial application industry requires a lot of training and insurance.
Fred pointed to an example of a pilot in training, who must complete 500 hours of flying time in a taildragger before he can learn how to fly it.
Their airplanes don't leak product, Fred explained. If they did, they wouldn't be in business, because of the insurance claims, he said.
"The biggest regulator is the insurance company," Fred commented.
They work seven days a week, six to seven months per year.
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