Volume 11 Issue 2 February 2020
Lorri Gray has been working for the Bureau of Reclamation since high school. Today the director of the Columbia–Pacific Northwest region, she knows the agency inside and out, and it is always a pleasure—and an educational experience—to speak with her. In our cover story, she talks about the Odessa Groundwater Replacement Plan, the Yakima […]
Volume 11 Issue 1 January 2020
The irrigation that makes agriculture in the West so productive could not exist without irrigation districts. And no irrigation district could function without the presence of a manager. Irrigation district managers must understand everything from 100-year-old concrete infrastructure to cutting-edge supervisory control and data acquisition systems. They must manage relationships with boards of directors, […]
Volume 10 Issue 10 November/December Washington Edition 2019
The Yakima Basin Integrated Plan (YBIP) is an impressive feat of coordination and cooperation. Its basic aim is simple—to guarantee enough water for people, fish, and agriculture—but behind that simple summary there are many parties, many interests, and a lot of history. With the leadership of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Washington Department […]
Giving Back to the Community as a Member of the KID Board of Directors
Raman Venkata came to the United States in 1968 as a graduate research engineering assistant studying at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the next 50 years, he worked for multiple nuclear engineering firms and for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) before retiring and being elected to a spot on the Kennewick Irrigation […]
Volume 10 Issue 9 October 2019
The Washington Winegrowers is the association that represents one of Washington State’s most exciting irrigated crops: wine grapes. In this month’s cover story, I interview Vicky Scharlau, the group’s executive director, about trends in the wine grape world and about irrigation’s crucial role in expanding and advancing Washington State’s high-quality wine industry. Much of […]
Volume 10 Issue 8 September 2019 WA
The cultivation of potatoes—one of Washington State’s top crops, supporting 36,000 jobs in the state—is directly dependent on irrigation infrastructure and technology. Columbia River water has turned the desert landscape of central Washington into a bounteous agricultural region. In this month’s cover story, Chris Voigt, the director of the Washington State Potato Commission, tells […]
Growing Washington’s Economy: Chris Voigt of the Washington State Potato Commission
Potatoes are one of Washington State’s top crops. Grown primarily in central Washington with Columbia River that point, potatoes are directly dependent on irrigation infrastructure and technology. The cultivation and processing Potato provides 36,000 jobs to Washington State. Growers and worked there for about 3 years. The Washington State Potato Commission is the industry association responsible […]
Volume 10 Issue 8 August Washington Edition 2019
The cultivation of potatoes—one of Washington State’s top crops, supporting 36,000 jobs in the state—is directly dependent on irrigation infrastructure and technology. Columbia River water has turned the desert landscape of central Washington into a bounteous agricultural region. In this month’s cover story, Chris Voigt, the director of the Washington State Potato Commission, tells us about […]
Volume 10 Issue 7 August Washington Edition 2019
For a century, the Wapato Irrigation District (WIP) has been delivering water to the diverse and productive agriculture of Washington’s Yakama Nation reservation. While some of WIP’s engineering and operating activities are handled by the Yakama Nation, it is a federally owned project operated primarily by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In our cover interview, Stuart […]
Tackling Wapato Irrigation Project’s Challenges: Stuart Crane of the Yakama Nation
Wapato Irrigation Project (WIP) was founded by the federal government in the early 20th century to irrigation the Yakama Nation reservation in central Washington State. Today, WIP diverts several hundred thousand acre-feet of water from the Yakima River and local creeks each year to service around 150,000 acres of irrigated agricultural land. While WIP is […]