Projects

RH2 assisted the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District (SCBID) with the design and construction of a new pumping plant to pump irrigation water return flow from the Esquatzel Diversion Canal to the Pasco Pump Lateral No. 1 (PPL1). This new Esquatzel Pumping Plant has a pumping capacity 120 cfs. Construction of the pumping plant was funded in part by a Bonneville Power Administration grant. The grant was awarded on the basis that this facility operates to divert up to 29,400-afy from the canal to the PPL1. The Esquatzel Pumping Plant is intended to operate in conjunction with the existing gravity-fed PPL1 supply system to meet normal and peak season demands within the PPL1 system.

To accommodate significant variations in supply water from the Esquatzel Diversion Canal and the demand for irrigation waters in the PPL1, the pumping plant was designed with three pumps that are each equipped with VFDs to allow the plant to operate between 30 and 120 cfs. During normal operation, the ditch rider estimates the amount of demand upstream and downstream of the pumping plant and adjusts the head gate at the PPL1 diversion from the Potholes East Canal to meet or exceed the demand upstream of the plant. The ditch rider can also adjust the pumping plant to specify an estimated target pumping capacity for the plant. The estimated target pumping capacity is determined based on the amount of demand downstream of the EPP and the amount of spill desired at the PPL4.3 wasteway, minus any excess supply coming from the head gate. The Esquatzel Pumping Plant will be integrated and connected to a proposed SCBID SCADA system during a future project. The plant will monitor the downstream system and regulate the pump speed and discharge to control the amount of water spilled at the PPL4.3 wasteway.