Ditchrider

The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District is accepting applications for the position of Ditchrider at our Wahluke facility. Successful candidate must live near or be willing to relocate to the Wahluke area. Must possess or be able to acquire a CDL. Wage: $21.96 - $25.41 per hour. Benefit package includes medical, dental, retirement, paid vacation, holidays, and sick leave.

The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District is a special purpose district organized in February of 1940. Statutory procedures for district formation were a little different in 1940 than at present. A petition was signed by more than 50 landowners and presented to the Board of County Commissioners. Public hearings took place. The District was named, the exterior boundaries defined, and certain lands excluded by the Commissioners’ actions. Contracts for water supply, construction of irrigation works, and repayment of the District’s share of the portion of the total Project construction cost allocated to irrigation were negotiated by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1944 and 1945. The Repayment Contract was based on the Reclamation Project Act of 1939 and the Columbia Basin Project Act of 1943. They established a rather complex formula for allocating the District’s construction obligation to irrigation blocks, repayable over a 40 year period after a 10 year development period for the block. The Repayment Contract was executed in 1945 and was confirmed as to legality by the Superior Court in 1946.