On February 2, 2010, the Kennewick Irrigation District placed two employees on paid administrative leave pending a pre-disciplinary hearing held yesterday.  One of the employees on leave resigned his position on February 5, 2010.  This action follows on internal investigation resulting from allegations of misconduct including but not limited to misappropriation of district resources for personal use.

As mandated by RCW 43. 09.185, the Secretary/District Manager has reported the situation to the State Auditor’s office.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Secretary/District Manager.

The Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) is hosting a public meeting at 6:00p.m. on February 2^nd at the Country Gentleman to hear a presentation about the Amon basin aquatic habitat study. The purpose is for biologists David Child and Ian Courter to review their findings with people interested in fish habitat issues in the Amon basin and answer questions. Both biologists are experts in Yakima River salmonid issues.

The biologists will make a similar presentation to the KID Board on the morning of February 2^nd.  Copies of the study will be available at the meeting.  An electronic version is posted on KID’s website.

The study was conducted at the suggestion of the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) to better establish a scientific baseline for determining the quality of the habitat for spawning and rearing of juvenile salmon and steelhead.

The study was reviewed in draft form by the fish biologists at the National Marine Fisheries Service, WDFW, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Yakima Indian Nation, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Yakima Basin Fish and Wildlife Recovery Board staff.

“This study is an important building block to help the District in making decisions  about Amon in the future” said KID Manager Chuck Freeman.

The study was funded by the Yakima River Basin Coalition, which is a group of Yakima Basin irrigation districts, of which KID is a member.

The Kennewick Irrigation District (KID) Board of Directors has approved a newly updated Water Entitlement Policy.

The new policy allows ratepayers who do not have access to KID water to be allowed to “opt out” of their water entitlements and annual irrigation assessments.  Written approval from the applicable City water utility is a required piece of the application package to ensure that the city’s water systems are not adversely affected.

Planning Manager Scott Revell said, “This is a win-win solution for property owners who are landlocked and for the District. It gives relief to ratepayers who do not have access to KID water and helps the District manage its water right. It has been a longtime in the making”. Until 2007, the Bureau of Reclamation did not have a way for the District to allow ratepayers to relegate (give back) their water entitlement.

Applications must be submitted by June 1, 2010 in order to be taken off the 2011 assessment roll. The lead time is necessary for the Bureau of Reclamation to process the requests.

The only cost to ratepayers who want to relegate their water entitlement is the cost to pay off their remaining Bureau of Reclamation construction loan payment, which is  required by the 1982 federal Reclamation Reform Act.  Construction of the KID’s canal system was financed by the U.S. Government in the 1950s through a 66 year no interest loan that has 15 years remaining. A portion of each property owner’s annual irrigation assessment goes toward loan repayment.

Most of the landlocked parcel situations were caused by developers who subdivided land along a canal or lateral pipeline but did not provide irrigation easements to each parcel. The state subdivision law was changed several years ago to prevent the creation of new lots in irrigation districts without easements for irrigation lines.

The policy does not apply to customers who have irrigation service and would like to “opt out” of their water entitlement because of water pressure, water quality problems associated with the District’s raw Yakima River water or drought related service interruptions, in part because Richland and Kennewick require a separate source of irrigation water because they do not have the capacity in their municipal water systems to handle irrigation water demands.

Relegation applications must be signed by the holder of a mortgage, for properties that are subject to a mortgage or a deed of trust.

Property owners who choose to give up a water entitlement will retain their voting rights in irrigation district elections.

The new policy also affects property owners wishing to obtain a water entitlement to irrigate drylands and the use of temporary water transfers. June 1^st is the application deadline for water relegation or additional water entitlement requests.