A Gooding County Idaho Road has a Pernicious Pivot

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A frequent complaint I hear when I have deputies on air comes from drivers sprayed by pivots.  I got hosed once, driving between Hagerman and Buhl when I had my sunroof open.  A former boss was driving to work from Kimberly one morning.  In an open convertible.  She got a somewhat filthy shower.

On Sunday morning, I was on the road between Wendell and Hagerman when I came up to a pivot hosing the two lanes of the road.  I couldn’t get around it.  On my return trip, the same thing happened.  I stopped on the empty road and took a few pictures.  After my second dirty shower, I saw a Gooding County Sheriff’s Office truck heading in the direction of the pivot.

Farmers and ranchers can be ticketed.  Usually, if the wind blows the spray, there’s no citation, however.  In this case, the pivot was positioned to shoot a stream out over the road.  It wasn’t very windy.

Some people express concerns the hosing could damage the road. I’m not and the water froze.  There are no cold nights in the forecast anytime soon so sure about that being an outcome.  I could only see damage happening if the spray was falling on the road for days on end, or if we had a cold night.

I get more irritated when I see sprinklers in the city covering the streets.  Water is a precious resource.  The median along North Washington Street near the College of Southern Idaho is green and pretty, but most of the water washes the streets.