Construction underway on Icicle Creek irrigation project
(Photo above: Icicle Creek is pictured during a period of low instream flows. When finished next year, the Cascade Orchard irrigation Company Improvement Project will restore instream flows to the creek.)
Construction is underway on a $9 million irrigation project that, when completed next year, will upgrade a more than 100-year-old system while restoring instream flows to the fragile Icicle Creek in Leavenworth.
The Cascade Orchard Irrigation Company (COIC) Improvement Project kicked off earlier this month at the end of Shore Street near Leavenworth, where the contractor, Strider Construction of Bellingham, is building a new pump station on land owned by COIC.
The building of the new pump station, the first step in the year-long project, marks the culmination of nearly 10 years of discussions and planning, said Dan Wilkinson, former president of the COIC board.
“This system has served its users well since 1907, but the infrastructure is aging and in need of many repairs and upgrades,” Wilkinson said. “With the water supply problems and low instream flows in the Icicle Creek watershed, the modernization of the system will not only benefit shareholders but also have significant environmental benefits to the creek and fish habitat.”
The project, paid for primarily with a variety of state and federal grants, will modernize the irrigation system from a gravity-flow to a closed-pressurized system. Since 1940, COIC has continuously diverted water from Icicle Creek at river mile 4.5 through a shared diversion with the Leavenworth National Fish Hatchery. The diverted water then travels through a gravity-fed canal for about two miles and through five lateral pipes totaling 14,000 linear feet, delivering irrigation water to shareholders throughout the lower Icicle Valley.
The modernization project separates the COIC diversion from fish hatchery operations and moves it downstream to river mile 1.9 (at Shore Street), while also replacing its open canal with a pressurized pump station and pipelines. The result will be an on-demand, highly efficient irrigation system with significant instream flow improvements to Icicle Creek. The project will add 11.9 cubic feet per second to flows in the lower Icicle Creek.
Construction scheduled for later this year includes in-water work in Icicle Creek from mid-August to mid-September. Around late September, the contractor will begin laying the new durable pipe that will withstand the new pressure. The project aims to be completed by May 1 for the start of the 2025 irrigation season.
Chelan County Natural Resources is overseeing construction, serving as a liaison between COIC and the contractor. Mike Kaputa, director of Chelan County Natural Resources, added that the construction project is a key component of the Icicle Strategy, a water resource management plan developed by the Icicle Work Group. The strategy consists of a list of projects that address shared goals for Icicle Creek, including improving agricultural reliability, domestic supply and instream flows and enhancing fish habitat, passage and screens.
“Low streamflow in Icicle Creek is a chronic problem that will only get worse with the effects of climate change,” Kaputa said. “This project will be the first big step toward meeting the instream flow goal. It is the first of several projects focused on improving flow. Our goal is to meet the water needs of all users, including fish, agriculture and domestic supply.”
For Wilkinson, the construction project underway is a major investment for both future shareholders and the Icicle Creek watershed.
“We are grateful for those who came before us and established an amazing irrigation system for the benefit of our community,” he said. “We now have the opportunity to develop a system that will continue to responsibly deliver water for many generations to come.”
Keep up on the project and its progress on the project webpage.
The Cascade Orchard Irrigation Company Improvement Project was initiated in 2014 by the Washington Water Trust, a nonprofit that focuses on restoring water to Washington’s rivers and streams. Working closely with the COIC, the Washington Water Trust not only completed the design of the project but also secured most of the grant funding. Chelan County Natural Resources is overseeing construction for COIC.
Last Updated: 07/02/2024 10:00 AM
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