We’ve talked before about how crucial good water management is for a successful cranberry operation. One of the most important tasks for irrigation and water management is ditching. The ditches surrounding every bog must be kept free of debris in order to ensure adequate water flow for both flooding and drainage.

First, a crew goes out to clear by hand; this is to make sure that the area around the actual irrigation pipes are cleared and visible. It’s easier to prevent damage than it is to repair it.

Then, someone does the really heavy lifting with a machine. Pictured here is Rick Zapata, a Pine Island foreman who has been a part of our team for almost 38 years.

In general, the practice is simple but time-consuming. The machine moves slowly along the water line, removing the debris that has accumulated over the winter and placing it along the dam.

The debris will eventually be removed with a front-end loader.

Cleaning the ditches is important for two reasons. First, it helps maintain the proper moisture level in the soil. Second, and most importantly, removing water from the bogs quickly is urgent in case of a big rain event. Its importance was never more evident than last year, during the heavy rains of Hurricane Irene. Thanks to upholding Pine Island Cranberry’s core values of doing what we need to do when we need to do it and caring for the place where we live, work, and grow, we lessened the impact of the hurricane. Proper attention to detail by dedicated team members like Rick ensures that those core values are lived and not just hollow words.