Irrigation project tightens safety regulations after accident
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ST. IGNATIUS – If you see neon-clad, hard-hat wearing workers toiling away along the roadside in Lake County, they might not be road workers.
The Flathead Indian Irrigation Project recently tightened its safety regulations after a severe injury to one of its workers.
“He was standing on a ladder and fell backwards, and he didn’t have his hard hat on,” Bureau of Indian Affairs Project Manager Pete Plant said. “He hit his head on the concrete, had multiple fractures. We rushed him to the Ronan hospital and they Life Flight-ed him to Kalispell. He will come back to work here shortly, but it was a lucky turn of events for him.”
Ditchriders now wear goggles, hardhats, and boots meant to protect the workers from injury. Plant said he knows the extra gear can be cumbersome, but that it is necessary.
“It’s a pain, but we can’t let it go,” Plant said. “It’s important. We nearly lost one of our workers, and he’s been a good worker for six years.”
Bureau of Indian Affairs Superintendent Bud Moran said he has noticed the changes.
“They have vests on and stuff,” Moran said. “I thought they were Fish and Game, but it wasn’t; it was the ditchriders.”
Plant said the ditchriders now look professional.
People can help further protect the workers by slowing down in work zones when they see the workers on the sides on the roads.
