But farmers will pay. In other words, if irrigators don't address what's wrong with the river, the federal government will - and send farmers the bill for protecting fish. In the meantime, the federal government is picking up a small part of the tab as farmers face up to the environmental problems. The river is too murky, too loaded with sediment because of farming practices. The two issues intersect on the farm, where the methods farmers use to irrigate can dramatically affect water quality.
Farmers send water across their fields in little ditches between crop rows.
This was the only way to water when irrigation projects began crawling across the Lower Valley a century ago and is generally considered the least efficient method. Farmers use sprinklers not only to nourish crops but also to protect them from frost. This is the most efficient form of irrigation. No one knows exactly how many acres are still under rill irrigation. Estimates range from 40 percent to 60 percent of the 400,000 acres irrigated in the Bureau of Reclamation's Yakima Project.