An irrigation ditch may be a pleasant place for a streamside stroll, but there are issues in having the water run out in the open. Evaporation and leakage can let water out, and the open nature of the ditches can let contaminants into the water.
Which is why irrigation districts prefer pipes to ditches, but those are expensive.
So the city of Ashland is involved in the plan to run a pipe where there is now a ditch the city owns that carries irrigation water. Water conservation specialist Julie Smitherman and project manager Kevin Caldwell join us.