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56 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, April 14, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 14, 2005 Jack Adams walks through a muddy area where water from a leaking irrigation ditch is collecting below his house off North Foothill Road. Leaking irrigation ditches are a problem throughout the county, but solutions are difficult and costly, officials say Mail Tribune / Jim Craven What water shortage? Medford man says 1.3 million gallons a month flow onto his land from leaky irrigation canals By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune Jack Adams has a problem that would be the envy of many rural property owners in Jackson County. He’s got too much water. "My whole back yard is like a river," said the 38-year-old Medford resident, who lives on 4.75 acres near North Foothill Road with his wife and two children. Adams has had a dispute with the Medford Irrigation District for the past three years because an excessive amount of water leaks from the irrigation canal onto his property. Irrigation officials estimate that 10 to 40 percent of the water flowing down the 100-year-old earthen canals that crisscross the valley is lost along the way — partly to evaporation, but mostly to seepage. Adams estimates that about 1.3 million gallons a month are leaking onto his property, turning much of it into a gooey mass of mud, causing cracks in his house and threatening to undermine his new 4,200-square-foot storage building. That size of a leak would supply about 17 average households with water annually. Advertisement "The back corner of the house wall has split," he said. "The hillside is sliding into the new building." He installed a drain system along the back of the storage building, but water continues to ooze out from under it. He said ironically, the irrigation district won’t allot him any more water than he’s currently entitled to because they say there isn’t enough water. He said he gets enough water to irrigate about a quarter-acre around his house. "If they fix the canal, I would have plenty of water," he said. The irrigation district tried to stop the leak a couple of years ago by spraying gunite to line the canal. District foreman Gene Crawford acknowledges there is a problem at Adams’ property, but with 75 miles of open ditch in his district, he said, "There are worse leaks than his." He said spraying the gunite appeared to help the problem. "I thought we had ‘er licked," said Crawford, a contention disputed by Adams. However, Crawford said a warm January and February probably dried the ground out, leading to more cracking along the canal. He disputed Adams’ estimates of water loss. "How do you figure that out?" he said, adding that he didn’t know how much water is lost as it makes its way down the canal. In the summer, he said the water losses are higher because of the evaporation rate. The irrigation district will attempt to fix Adams’ problem, but Crawford said it could be difficult because underground cracks can occur hundreds of feet away from where the water pops out. What Crawford will try to do is dig a trench along the trail on the downhill side of the canal about eight to 10 feet deep, fill it with clay and compact it, creating a dam to prevent water from seeping onto the property. "Hopefully, we’ll be in there in the next day or two," he said Tuesday. Installing plastic water pipes would be too expensive, costing an estimated $75 to $100 a foot, said Crawford. Another problem has been moss buildup in the canals, which causes water levels to rise and spread out, creating more evaporation and offering more opportunities for leakage. Crawford said that a lawsuit several years ago in Talent forced irrigation districts to abandon the practice of using chemicals to kill the moss. Instead, they use machines, which are more time consuming. Steve Mason, program manager with the Water for Irrigation, Streams and the Economy Project, said that the 250 miles of main canals in the valley have lots of leaks. "It’s a lot of water being lost," he said. The most effective way to control the water would be to put it in plastic pipes, but the cost is estimated to be about $100 million. WISE Project leaders began an environmental report last year to determine the feasibility of piping the canals. They expect to have the report completed by 2007 and could seek federal funding to lay pipe in the canals by 2009. But Mason said the environmental report will have to look at the impacts piping could have on the birds and animals that have relied on the canal water for 100 years. Piping the water could also impact some home wells that have been continuously recharged by the leaking water. Mason said conserving water is particularly important in a drier-than-normal year in which reservoirs that feed the canals are well below their capacities. While irrigation officials look for a long-term solution to the leaky canal problem, Adams hopes they can come up with a solution to his muddy hillside. "Gene (Crawford) told me, ‘I just want to work with you and get it done,’" he said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s