irrigation Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Why An Irrigation District Wants To Flood A Kennewick Family’s Pumpkin Farm

By Anna King October 9, 2020

Crews throw pumpkins onto a tractor and trailer from the field on the Cox farm outside of Kennewick, Washington. A proposed reservoir from the Kennewick Irrigation District would flood the farm. The Cox family isn't interested in selling. CREDIT: Anna King/N3

The Kennewick Irrigation District, or KID, wants to flood 400 acres of land for a new reservoir. It’d take at least eight to 10 years to design, permit and build. A project on this scale hasn’t been built in the Yakima Basin since the 1930’s. And this 65-acre pumpkin farm is in the way. Read More

Water, Water (Most) Everywhere, As Northwest Snowpack Is Good. But Some Areas Are Low

By Courtney Flatt April 10, 2020

A snow-machine rider takes a snowpack reading as part of Community Snow Observations, a NASA-sponsored citizen science project. CREDIT: Oregon State University/Flickr

For much of the Northwest, snowpack is above normal. That’s a good sign this time of year, when snowpack usually reaches its peak. Having enough snowpack is critical for spring and summer runoff that will supply water for irrigation and salmon runs. But that doesn’t mean everywhere has that much snow. Read More

Landowners Fined More Than $600,000 For Illegal Water Use in Central Washington

By Emily Schwing December 22, 2017

File photo. landowners near Moses Lake, Washington, have been fined $618,000 for illegally pumping 500 million gallons of water from the Odessa aquifer. | ANNA KING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK Listen Four landowners near Moses Lake, Washington, have been fined $618,000 for illegal water use. The water was pumped from the Odessa aquifer, which has been… Read More

Eclipse’s Heavy Cell Phone Loads Could Parch East Oregon Crops

By Anna King August 18, 2017

A center pivot beats above a field with some of eastern Oregon’s dramatic mountain views in the background. ANNA KING / NORTHWEST NEWS NETWORK Listen Cell phone towers in Oregon’s path of totality are expected to overload. That’s because of selfies-with-the-sun that thousands of visitors might try to upload. But there’s an unexpected consequence… Read More