Another irrigation season begins.
The flume has been rebuilt and will hopefully be this generation’s legacy for Twisp River irrigators for years to come. Thanks to Cory Spellman and his crew, our contractors, for their work on the wood structure.
We should all keep in mind that our ditch works because we have skilled, committed people to help keep in open. This year, we owe a debt of gratitude not only to Marty and Quinn, who both do so much above and beyond what they are paid to do, but also to Ted Lindsey, Bill Ford, Teague and Kosma Channing, Jim Brison, Art Van Puyumbrouk, and Chas Sommerville (who was as generous as ever with his backhoe).
Our job as shareholders involves taking care of our end of the deal, which means most of all we have to help avoid sudden and large fluctuations in water volume in the ditch which can put parts of the ditch, especially at the tail (the end point) at risk of flooding.
Here’s how we help (the first three are really important):
1. Keep our screens clean so water is able to flow into our individual head gates.
2. For you larger users, if you are going to shut your water off, notify Marty or Ted in advance if you can. And if possible, shut your lines down one at a time over the course of a day so that our ditch master can monitor the levels in the ditch.
3. Don’t weed wack or engage in other activities on ditch banks which might put large amounts of debris into the water.
And finally,
4. For those of you older dudes who work with hand lines, if you feel a pain in your chest, don’t call Marty. Call 911.
Water On!
