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L PRESSURE Turning gravity into 130 psi Story by Tyler J. Baum | Photos by Steve Smede SET PHASES In 2006, the project was under way. The region east of Ashton was divided into five phases, the first two being the easiest and most economical. For Phases 1 and 2, the Marysville Canal Company gathered support from 41 landowners. It was estimated that once these first two phases were complete, 6,114 acres of irrigated cropland would receive water through gravity-pressurized pipelines, eliminating 25 miles of inefficient irrigation ditches. The water that would be saved was estimated at 4,400 acre-feet per year. Electrically powered pumps throughout the area would be taken off the power grid, resulting in a 76 percent reduction of energy usage, with a savings of about 1,600 megawatts of electricity per year. Even though the first two phases were the easiest, it still took 45 semi-trailers to haul the pipe for the first project. Phase 1 begins with 30-inch pipe at the head of the canal, gradually constricting to 6-inch pipe. Phase 2 used 28-inch pipe. Construction was completed by fall of 2007 for Phase 1; Phase 2 was completed in late 2008. Marysville Canal Company President Jeff Jenkins spearheaded Phase 1, while his successor, Atchley, oversaw Phase 2. While Phase 1 only entailed coming out of the side of an existing canal, Phase 2 was more complicated, necessitating the construction of a 5-acre pond with rotary screens installed at the head of all outgoing pipe in order to deliver clean water to end users. According to Atchley, Phases 1 and 2 cost $4.25 million. EQIP funded close to $1.9 million, which worked out to be about 41 percent of the total cost. In reality, the system includes 71 land owners rather than 41. The village of Marysville was brought on line, as was North Fremont High School in Ashton, which is at the tail end. “[It’s] probably more like 6,600–6,700 acres that’s actually being irrigated under Phases 1 and 2,” Atchley says. There is so much pressure due to the degree of slope from the Phase 2 pond to the city of Ashton, however, that by the time it reaches North Fremont High School it measures at 130 psi. For growers that’s fantastic, according to Atchley, for delivering clean water under pressure. However, for small land owners in the village of Marysville—who own land ranging from a quarter acre to two acres in size each—the pressure regulators have a difficult time regulating pressure with low water flows. Atchley says, “I’ll tell you what, it’ll sure straighten out a garden hose.” With two phases out of the way, there still remain three more phases, but those phases have been stalled due to costs and logistics. Because each phase will be coming off a rather large hill, each will require one mile of much-larger 36-inch diameter PVC pipe that are expensive to install, before down-sized pipe can be used. According to Atchley, the third phase alone is estimated to cost $7–8 million— about twice as much as Phases 1 and 2. “We don’t have anybody that can help pay for it until we’ve already spent about $3 million,” he says. “That’s going to require about 3/4 funding before it www.potatogrower.com 19