By Ann McCreary
About 30 landowners who are members of Methow Valley Irrigation District have dug wells or opted out of the district as part of the reconfiguration of MVID’s irrigation delivery system.
Two well-drilling companies and a pump installer are working with MVID members along Twisp-Carlton Road to provide new wells or enhance existing wells for district members who will no longer be served by MVID’s West Canal after this summer.
Compensation for the cost of the new wells is being paid as part of MVID’s $10 million Instream Flow Improvement Project that broke ground last fall and will change most of MVID’s two open canals to a piped system, with the primary objective of leaving more water in the Twisp and Methow rivers for fish.
About 80 members are eligible for conversion to wells for irrigation. People with questions can contact Roger Rowatt, a member of the project team, at (509) 699-8141.
Work was scheduled to start this week on piping the West Canal system. Bianchi Construction was beginning work on property owned by Bill White, and will then begin excavating south along the Twisp-Carlton Road, starting above the Schulz orchard.
The work will involve two Twisp-Carlton Road crossings to be completed in mid to late June. The crossings will require one-lane traffic while the work is underway, and is expected to last three or four days.
MVID water users to be served by the new west pipe system must identify where they want to locate their individual irrigation water service along their property boundary.
Users along Twisp-Carlton Road should identify their service locations by June 19 and the remainder of the west pipe MVID users should do so by July 31.
Michael Notaro, a member of the project team, is contacting MVID members individually. He can be reached at (509) 429-2939.
