KID declares emergency as 1,500 customers still without irrigation water this spring

The Kennewick Irrigation District has declared an emergency to allow it to bring in outside companies to help make repairs to its system.

KID still has about 1,500 of its approximately 25,000 customers without water, after starting irrigation water delivery this spring the week of April 11, which was already a week later than usual.

This year there have been an unprecedented number of broken water main lines as various contractors install high speed internet conduits with trenchless excavation and boring, according to KID.

The water main lines are the piping that goes from the pump station to the KID irrigation service on the customer’s property.

Every spring, breaks from the winter are discovered and usually are repaired in short order, it said.

But the additional damage caused by contractors installing high speed internet conduits during the past off-season has diverted attention from the usual scope of spring work, it said.

The emergency declared by KID District Manager Chuck Freeman will allow KID to hire companies with irrigation experience to help KID staff with the repairs, particularly the damage caused by third parties, and deliver water to customers before they have substantial asset losses, KID said.

Money for the work will be taken from KID’s risk management mitigation fund and the repair costs will have no effect on assessments.

KID plans to file claims against companies that damaged the main water lines.

The initial one-week delay in starting to fill the canals this spring was the result of supply chain issues and a windy spring that prevented work to widen and line the main canal on as many days as planned.

This story was originally published May 16, 2022 at 3:19 PM.