01 Dec Save the date: Our Annual Conference is November 17, 2022
The Annual Conference of the Columbia Basin Development League is set for Thursday, November 17, 2022. Stay tuned for more information, and to Register! ...
In The News
06 Oct FROM IRRIGATION LEADER MAGAZINE: HOW TO RESPOND TO A PUMP STATION LIGHTNING STRIKE
On Saturday, May 30, a major pump station in South Columbia Basin Irrigation District (SCBID) was struck by lightning, disintegrating a bus conductor and knocking out the facility. Within hours, SCBID Manager Dave Solem was on the scene with engineers, electricians, manufacturers, and other relevant personnel. Luckily, the damage to the station was not as bad as feared, and after 2 days of hard work, SCBID had the pump station up and running. In this interview, Mr. Solem gives Irrigation Leader the details of this event and explains how the district reacted. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background. Dave Solem: I have been the manager of SCBID since 2010. Prior to that, I managed Klamath Irrigation District for 27 years. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about SCBID. Dave Solem: SCBID is one of the three irrigation districts that make up the Columbia Basin Project (CBP). Our source of water is the Columbia River. SCBID serves about 230,000 of the about 700,000 irrigated acres in the CBP. Irrigation Leader: What are the main crops grown in your district? Dave Solem: Alfalfa; wheat; corn; potatoes; beans; grapes for wine and juice; apples, cherries, and other tree fruit; and many seed crops. There are as many as 90 different kinds of crops grown in the CBP. Irrigation Leader: Tell us about the pump house that was recently struck by lightning.06 Oct WATERSMART GRANT HOPING TO MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE FOR QCBID
The federal WaterSMART grants that served the plans and projects of the Quincy Columbia Basin Irrigation District may once again have a big impact on the QCBID’s plans for 2021. According to Craig Gyselinck, environmental assistant manager for QCBID, in 2019, a Bureau of Reclamation’s WaterSMART Grant was awarded in the amount of $300,000, to help pay for more than a third of the costs associated with lining 6,810 of the W61F canal near Royal City.30 Sep Spokesman-Review editor to serve as keynote for League’s annual meeting Nov. 5
Renowned journalist and editor of the Spokesman-Review, Rob Curley will serve as the keynote speaker at the League's 2020 Annual Meeting and Award Ceremony, on Nov. 5, 2020. Curley's virtual presentation is titled “The Virtuous Circle: Teaching a community how to be a community,” and speaks...
06 Aug IRRIGATION LEADER: Congressman Newhouse, an advocate for irrigated culture in Central Washington and beyond
In the latest issue of Irrigation Leader magazine, an interview with Congressman Dan Newhouse about his work on behalf of irrigated agriculture in Washington state. Click here to read more....
30 Jun SAVE THE DATE! Columbia Basin Development League 56th conference and annual meeting
COLUMBIA BASIN DEVELOPMENT LEAGUE 56TH CONFERENCE & ANNUAL MEETING Thursday, November 5, 2020 We are still planning for in-person attendance. Stay tuned to our website and social media pages for updates on agenda topics, speakers and guests. Learn more at: www.cbdl.org...
30 Jun League exec appointed to myTRI 2030 Ag Council
Earlier this year, the myTRI 2030 Agricultural Council invited the League to become a member. MyTRI 2030 is a Tri-Cities, community-based, Regional Vision Project that seeks to provide a unified strategy and a shared vision for the future. The Regional Affairs Committee (RAC) of the Tri-City...
30 Jun MyTRI 203 Ag Council Update
By the time the Ag Council held its first meeting of the year at the end of March, we were just starting to see the enormity of what lay ahead. As many of the members of the committee are in essential industries, and were in...
30 Jun Three new trustees appointed to league board
In January, League members voted to elect Christina Wyatt and Kelly Cochrane to join the CBDL Board of Trustees. Then in April, JC Baldwin stepped down from her position, and the board appointed Alan Loebsack. Christina Wyatt of Big Bend Electric Cooperative has more than 14 years...
30 Jun Waiting For Water: Watch this 10-minute film
In 2017, the League worked with a local film company, to produce “Waiting for Water”, a 10-minute documentary film about the Columbia Basin Project (Project). “Waiting for Water” follows a family of farmers in the Columbia Basin region- a land of great potential, against a backdrop...
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