Serving Whitman County since 1877
Serving Whitman County since 1877
The City of Tekoa will charge one cent per gallon to area farmers to draw water from a fire hydrant near city hall.
The one cent per gallon rate is the same the city charges contractors or the state and county highway departments.
The main use is expected to be for farmers using their own sprayers, doing their own application on fields, as opposed to using an outside company such as McGregor or Wilbur-Ellis – which have closed or moved operations in Tekoa in the past four years.
Farmers drawing from the hydrant may not pump directly into a truck, in order to prevent water from their tank seeping back into the city water supply. To avoid this, a user must outfit their truck to be filled at the top with an air barrier.
“Each farmer's got to make their own, and they've got to pass our look-see,” said Roy Schulz, Tekoa city councilman.
The air barriers are similar to what each residence has for the same purpose.
Sprayers can often disperse 1,000 gallons per hour. Aside from the hydrant option, many farmers have a tank and/or well at their property, or have an arrangement to use a neighbor's.
Garth Meyer is a former Whitman County Gazette reporter.
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