Dayton orchard fined $73,000 for drought watering

A Columbia County orchard owner has been fined $73,530 by the state for allegedly illegally watering during the drought this summer.

Bill Warren, who operates the 100-acre orchard for his father, Robert Warren, said Warren Orchards is hiring an attorney and will appeal. It has 30 days to challenge the accusation and appeal the penalty to the Pollution Control Hearings Board.

The Washington State Department of Ecology said Warren Orchards was among 67 irrigators told to curtail water use from the Touchet River in early July to save the water for endangered fish and for farmers with senior rights to the land.

The Touchet Eastside/Westside Irrigation District, which has senior rights dating to 1883, had asked that its rights to the water be preserved.

A voice mail was left with Warren Orchards on July 9 telling it to immediately stop diverting water, according to the Department of Ecology.

Because of the drought, the state had hired a water technician to help monitor use. The state received several complaints in early August that junior irrigators were watering at night, according to the Department of Ecology.

On Aug. 18 the water technician took photographs of night time irrigation at Warren Orchards using drip lines, according to the state. Warren Orchards is planted with 55 acres of apple trees and 45 acres of pear trees.

A second voice mail was left then, and Bill Warren later confirmed that he had received the messages, according to the state.

On Aug. 22, a notice was hand delivered to Bill Warren, ordering him to disconnect the power to irrigation pumps and provide water meter data to the state.

The data showed the orchard illegally diverted water from the Touchet River over a period of 44 days, the state alleged. The orchard is accused of illegally using an estimated 90 acre feet of water.

The rights of other irrigators were impaired and the flow of the river, which provides critical habitat for threatened steelhead, was reduced for about 55 miles, the state said.

The proposed fine was based on $817 an acre foot, the value of the water the state has purchased in the Touchet River Basin in recent years. The state could have proposed a larger penalty, but chose not to because Warren Orchards has had no previous penalties, according to the state.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 12:20 PM with the headline "Dayton orchard fined $73,000 for drought watering."