Kennewick Irrigation District Releases Water Return Update

Some encouraging news Thursday (May 14) from the Kennewick Irrigation District.  Progress on the replacement Chandler Station Pump is good.

    KID Expects the Replacement Pump to Be Operational When?

Last October, during a routine inspection and repair process, the Bureau of Reclamationi (the folks who oversee water rights) discovered one of the two massive pumps that supply water from the Yakima for the Kennewick Irrigation District was broken. Below is a Bureau of Reclamation photo of the pumping station on the Yakima River.

However, because replacement parts were lagging behind, the repair process lapped over into irrigation season. Currently, KID customers have had water shut off since May 8th. But now, the end is in sight.

   New Replacement Pump Expected to Go Into Service May 19th, Tuesday

In a statement released Thursday, May 14, KID officials said over this weekend, they will resume filling canals and turning the one operational pump off and on. This is to ‘recharge’ the system and fill it as full as possible, so when the new second pump fires, the system will be able to supply water much more rapidly.

Don’t expect instant firehose pressure, even after the new pump works.  It will take a day or two to reach the ‘end’ of the irrigation system, but if everything holds–and it appears to be—customers should be receiving water early next week.

 KID Says the Bureau Has Been Updating Them

KID released this statement about the return, which read in part:

“Because the Chandler facility is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, KID does not control plant operations. However, the District has remained in close communication with Reclamation throughout the repair process and will continue working to minimize impacts to customers as water deliveries resume.”

Once water flow resumes, KID reminds their customers to please continue to observe the voluntary watering rotation posted on their website, to help conserve supplies.