Irrigation 'dry-outs' roll through the Tri-Cities

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KENNEWICK — Drought-induced "rolling dry-outs" have begun in the Kennewick Irrigation District, catching people off guard despite warnings that the shutoffs were coming.

The dry-outs, meant to conserve irrigation water in the Tri-Cities, began Friday. And office workers faced a wave of phone calls.

By 2 p.m., receptionist Susan Herriford had fielded 80 phone calls from customers with questions or comments about the dry-outs, and she was just one of three people answering phones.

"We've had some that are very angry, but we've also had some that are very understanding and very kind," Herriford told the Tri-City Herald. "One of the developers sent us flowers this afternoon with a note saying, 'Hang in there.' That was a nice thing to do."

The dry-outs are designed to conserve water by rationing it among customers in 10 zones on a rotating basis. The district serves about 15,000 residential customers and 400 farmers across 20,000 acres.

The rolling dry-outs are triggered when water supplies reach 50 percent of normal or less, and hot weather is usually the catalyst. Temperatures topped 100 degrees last week in the Tri-Cities.

One of those who called the irrigation district office Friday was Pam Padilla, who lives in a zone that is to receive water Wednesdays through Fridays.

"I called to make sure I got it right," she said. "I was told I had until noon on Friday, then it would be turned off completely. I went out to water real good this morning, but there was no water. I went out at 7, 8 and 9 a.m. before I had to leave."

Padilla said it took her 45 minutes to get through by phone, and she never got a drop of irrigation water Friday. She said the district told her it had miscalculated how long it would take to turn the pumps off and on and divert water to different zones.

"We only have so many people, and we have to get from one zone to the next," said Alan Evans, an irrigation district engineer. "It takes a period of the day to do that.

"They have other duties they can't be pulled from, and they're putting in a lot of overtime."

Evans said the program logistics have proved difficult.

"Balancing the water and getting it from one place to another is kind of tricky," he said. "If you turn one off, you have to make sure you turn the other one on soon enough. There's a distance between them to travel, and there will be fluctuations in the canals because of it."

The calls also are diverting employees from their usual duties.

"There are all kinds of complaints," Evans said. "Some concern comprehension of the zone maps. Some people say they have just put down sod and it will die, or they had the yard of the year last year and won't be able to do it again without water.

"We just have to listen to them and give them some understanding," Evans added. "I realize what they're going through. We just don't have much of a choice. If we don't have water in the river, we can't give it to our customers."