A04 SOW Salton Sea irrigation.2017.pdf

STATEMENT OF WORK

Irrigation Services at Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR

1. GENERAL

The SBSS NWR provides foraging habitat to approximately 40,000 geese each winter.

To accomplish this goal, the refuge plants about 900 acres of rye grass on farm fields throughout the refuge. Irrigation is needed to establish this crop beginning around September 10-15 and continuing to maintain the crop into December. Normal irrigation water deliveries occur on a 24 hour cycle and so irrigation services are needed on 24 hour cycles to ensure that water delivery occurs where it is needed and efficient use of refuge water is accomplished. Up to ten fields will be flood irrigated under this contract, with most fields ranging from about 60 to 150 acres in size. Labor supporting irrigation is also needed including minor ditch repairs, ditch cleaning, and herbicide application.

2. DEFINITIONS

(Contractor and irrigator are used interchangeably in the following definitions and performance requirements.)

Acre-foot – the amount of water needed to saturate one acre of soil to a depth of 12 inches.

Border – a long earthen berm running the length of a farm field.

CFS – cubic feet per second – the rate of flow of a cubic foot volume of water.

Contra – a small berm about one foot high and three to four feet long perpendicular to a border. The contra directs water flowing along the border out to the field.

Freeboard – the space from the top of the ditch to the surface level of the water in the ditch. The greater the freeboard the less the likely the ditch will be over-topped and washed out by water flow.

Head pressure – for this purpose, the height of water in a ditch combined with the pressure created by rate of flow. The greater the pressure of water flow and the height, the greater the faster the volume of water will be “pushed” through the slide gates onto the farm field. The greater the head pressure, however, the quicker the ditch will be over-topped by water if not enough slide gates have been opened.

Jack gate – a lever-operated gate set in the channel of a concrete ditch. The jack gate acts as a dam to back water up in a ditch and create head pressure to push water out onto a field via slide gates.

Land – for this purpose, a local term for a corridor running the length of a farm field, separated by earthen borders, or berms, to provide for water flow through a segment of the field. Most lands on the Refuge are about 60 feet wide.

Zanjero – for this purpose, an Imperial Irrigation District canal manager that regulates water flows and deliveries to individual water users.

Zanjero bar – an iron bar used as a lever and tamp to open and close large IID gates (irrigators shall not manipulate IID gates unless agreed upon with IID zanjeros).

Slide gate – a 12 – 14 inch sliding metal gate along the field side of a concrete ditch. The slide gate is operated up and down manually, adjusted and locked in place by rotating the handle rod to maintain a given flow of water onto a land.

Tailwater – the amount of unused surface water that pools at the end of the land during irrigation.

Weir – a portable metal gate that is manually set into a ditch to help back up water and maintain head pressure, used in conjunction with jack gates.

3. SCOPE SUMMARY

Up to ten farm fields will be flood-irrigated under this contract. To accomplish irrigation services at SBSS NWR an irrigator will need to be present during all hours when water is being delivered by the irrigation district. Irrigation water is usually delivered in 24 hour cycles to concrete ditches at the top of each refuge farm field. The irrigator will be responsible for determining how much of the water can be spread over the sections of the field (flood irrigating) through slide gates without overflowing the ditch. When the portion of the field being irrigated is finished, the irrigator will be responsible for opening the next group of slide gates and irrigating the next sections of the field until the whole field is irrigated. This may take anywhere from 24 hours to three days depending on the size of the field. The irrigator will be expected to communicate with refuge staff and/or the irrigation district zanjero as appropriate in case of conflicts with field irrigations (e.g.

insufficient water, too much water, leaking ditches etc…). The irrigator is expected to be able to communicate by cell phone or other means with the refuge staff, supply their own transportation to and around the worksite as well as their own tools. Some shoveling of soil is expected to efficiently distribute water across all portions of the field. Minimum tailwater loss should occur. Some liquid fertilizer will be mixed in some of the irrigation water by refuge staff. Refuge staff will coordinate irrigation schedules with the contractor.

Secondary to irrigation services, some labor supporting the irrigation is needed which includes minor repairs to concrete ditches using cement or other refuge supplied material to repair cracks in the ditches. Other labor needed is cleaning of the ditches to remove accumulated soil and herbicide spraying to kill weeds growing in or on the ditch.

Detailed Performance Requirements:

1) For irrigation the contractor will provide its own transportation and tools such as shovels, hoes, and levers, or “zanjero bars”. For minor labor the refuge will provide irrigation ditch repair tools and materials. For minor herbicide spraying the refuge will provide the herbicide, tools and safety gear.

2) Irrigation begins in mid-September. Refuge staff will determine when and what fields will be irrigated and will order water for the irrigation. The Operational Point of Contact will notify the irrigation contractor as to what fields are to be irrigated and the duration of the water order.

3) Water is delivered into farm ditches by the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) on 24-hour cycles. Irrigator must be present at least 30 minutes before water is released into a ditch by the Imperial Irrigation District “zanjero”, or canal water manager so as to manage the use of water within the farm field. Irrigators will not manipulate IID gates unless agreed upon with the zanjero.

4) Once water is delivered, irrigator or contractor will communicate directly with Refuge staff or the “zanjero” as to the timing of cessation of water delivery so as to optimize the use of the water being delivered.

5) Irrigator must be present during periods of water delivery. At least one irrigator should be present per every two fields being irrigated if the irrigator is experienced enough to manage two fields.

6) Liquid fertilizer is delivered to fields from tanks with hoses that drip into the water in the ditch. Refuge staff will open fertilizer valves and adjust flow rate of the fertilizer.

Refuge staff will normally shut off the fertilizer, however, on occasion, the contract irrigator will be asked to shut off the fertilizer when irrigation is completed after hours or on weekends.

7) Irrigator shall be skilled enough to judge the rate of water flow from the ditch that is needed to saturate the soil in the farm field to a typical depth of six inches and must manage this flow to 1) insure proper water distribution, 2) avoid over-topping the ditch,

3) understand irrigation and tailwater requirements of the local area, and 4) have at least three years experience in flood irrigation preferably in the Imperial Valley of southern California.

8) Irrigator will manage slide gates, jack gates, and weirs to maintain adequate head pressure in the ditch for adequate water flow through the slide gates into the lands.

9) Irrigator shall open four to six slide gates during a typical irrigation to insure adequate flow of water onto the field and to prevent over-topping and washout of ditch. A freeboard of at least two inches or more must be maintained from the top of the ditch to prevent overflowing. Jack gates shall be managed to achieve adequate ditch head pressure and water flow.

10) Irrigator shall walk length of field once every two hours and shall walk or use a vehicle to inspect ends of the land when water is within 100 yards of the end, or more often as needed.

11) Area soils are mostly clay and silt. Each irrigation land is about 60 feet wide.

Irrigator must insure that at least 95% of the land is visibly wet and saturated to a depth of at least six inches during irrigation. Due to percolation through loose soil, the initial irrigation will take longer to complete than subsequent irrigations when the soil has settled and become compacted.

12) Tailwater shall be minimized. Tailwater depth of pool at the end of a typical land shall not exceed four inches on average.

13) During initial irrigation, irrigator must use shovel to prevent contras or borders from breaching. This is needed to insure water is distributed evenly through the center of the land.

14) On subsequent irrigations per land, irrigator must use shovel to repair breached or eroding borders or contras to insure even distribution of water across land. If the breach is significant, larger than three feet for example, the irrigation may contact Refuge staff for heavy equipment assistance if available. If assistance is not available, the irrigator must repair the breach manually.

15) Contractor shall consult with Refuge staff regarding any unusual circumstances that affect performance.

16) Irrigators shall carry a cell phone or at least have radio communication with the contractor to insure problems are quickly resolved.

17) Refuge staff will inspect the irrigation progress and maintain a checklist of results on a daily or near daily basis while irrigation is underway.

4. PLACE/DELIVERY AND PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

Location of Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge is 906 W. Sinclair Rd., Calipatria, CA 92233. Refuge farm fields are located near the address listed above as well as at the refuge’s Unit 1 located at the end of Vendel Road near Westmorland, CA. A map of the fields will be supplied to the contractor.

The Period of performance for the Base Period and each option period is from September until 17 weeks of irrigator services are supplied (likely through February). Some uncertainty exists about the end of performance because more than one irrigator may be needed at limited times which will shorten the performance period before a full 17 weeks

(a total of 1,818 hours of service are requested from the start of irrigation). Additional 800 hours of labor for ditch cleaning, repairs and herbicide spraying will begin in September and continue as needed, through the following August.

5. INSPECTION AND ACCEPTANCE:

Refuge staff will inspect all irrigations and notify the irrigator or his supervisor if adjustments are required.

6. GOVERNMENT FURNISHED EQUIPMENT OR

MATERIALS/INFORMATION:

Maps of field locations, irrigation water, phone numbers of refuge staff.

Government-furnished equipment and materials for irrigation will consist of portable weirs and the supply of water and fertilizer and occasional assistance in the form of government-operated heavy equipment and other labor as determined upon discussion to repair significant washouts or correct significant deficiencies in the farm field, such as washouts caused by the configuration of the field or to repair large segments of berms due to similar causes. A limited number of weirs will be provided and these will need to moved from field to field as needed. Contractor should not expect government-furnished repairs due to irrigation neglect or inexperience. Other government furnished equipment for ditch repairs and herbicide spraying include: 1) hand tools to mix and apply small amounts of concrete and 2) herbicide (Roundup and/or Stalker) and herbicide spraying and safety equipment (gloves, goggles, protective suit, rinse water).

If the contractor has been certified by the FWS as a qualified operator of backhoe and/or farm tractors, the refuge may allow the contractor to use refuge provided backhoe and/or farm tractor for the efficiency of irrigation.

7. AVAILABILITY

Site visits prior to proposal submittal should be coordinated with Project Leader Chris Schoneman or Deputy Project Leader Tom Anderson, at 760 348-5278.

8. CONTRACTING OFFICERS REPRESENTATIVE (COR)

COR: Project Leader Chris Schoneman 760-348-5278 x227.

Tom Anderson, 760 348-5278 x225, may be contacted if Chris Schoneman cannot be reached.

9. OPERATIONAL POINT OF CONTACT (POC) for water orders and daily operations – Tractor Operator Jorge Ramirez, cell 760-996-0894, or Kenny Hudson cell 760-996-0942.