Staying at the Table: Representative Bruce Chandler on the History of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
Washington State Representative Bruce Chandler, whose 15th district is located in Yakima County, has extensive experience working with the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP). He supported the passage of the 2013 bill that set the stage for the plan as it exists today. In this interview with Irrigation Leader Managing Editor Joshua Dill, Representative Chandler […]
The Power of Coordination: Senator Judy Warnick on the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
The simplest way to describe the aims of the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP) is to say that it ensures water for people, fish, and agriculture. However, the means it employs to pursue that goal are diverse. They include dam improvements, water conveyance, and even the preservation of tracts of land for conservation and recreation, […]
Reclamation’s Role in Developing the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan
As the federal agency responsible for the Yakima and Columbia Basin irrigation projects in central Washington State, the Bureau of Reclamation plays a key role in implementing the Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP). For decades, Reclamation has been seeking ways to increase water supplies and storage in the basin. Since 2009, Reclamation has participated in […]
How IWS Builds Customized Fish Screens
California-based International Water Screens (IWS) creates custom-designed fish screens for irrigation districts and other canal managers. Its products meet the specific needs irrigation districts have for approach velocity, opening size, and flow level. IWS has sold its products both in the United States and in New Zealand. In this interview, Rich Gargan, owner of IWS, […]
T-L’s Business in New Zealand and Around the World
T-L Irrigation is a family-owned equipment manufacturer founded in 1955. Based in Hastings, Nebraska, it is active around the world, from the Middle East to New Zealand. Its hydrostatic drive center-pivot system is versatile and easy for clients around the world to use. T-L’s international business puts it in contact with foreign competitors and even […]
The Differences Between U.S. and New Zealand Irrigation
As director of the Irrigation Training and Research Center (ITRC) at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo, Dr. Stuart Styles is an expert on irrigated agriculture in the American West and on the newest irrigation techniques and technologies in the irrigation world. During trips to New Zealand in 2016 and 2018, Dr. Styles […]
Assura’s Adaptable Asset-Management Platform
Assura Software is a Christchurch, New Zealand–based technology company that builds highly configurable asset- and case-management solutions. Its products are used by several large irrigation schemes—the Kiwi equivalent of U.S. irrigation districts—to manage their assets and record health and safety risks and hazards. Using Assura’s platform in the office on a computer or in the […]
New Zealand’s Farm Environment Plans
As chair of Irrigation New Zealand, a natural resources engineer at irrigation consultancy Irricon Resource Solutions Services, and an irrigated farmer, Keri Johnston is an expert on the practice and policy of irrigation in New Zealand. Both the technology of irrigation and the New Zealand regulatory environment have been changing in recent years, and irrigated farmers […]
The South Island’s Efficient Irrigated Dairy Farming
The Canterbury Plains area of New Zealand’s South Island is a rich area of surface-water-irrigated dairy and crop farming. Its large schemes, similar to American irrigation districts, draw water from the alpine rivers and convey it via pressurized pipes and open channels to the region’s highly efficient farms. John Nicholls is a dairy farmer as […]
How Irrigation New Zealand Promotes Innovation and Sustainability
Irrigation New Zealand is a member-founded industry organization committed to representing the interests of New Zealand’s irrigation sector and promoting best practices across the industry. With new environmental standards and water management regulations currently being discussed by New Zealand’s government, Irrigation New Zealand is keeping abreast of the policy discussion and preparing to help its […]