Editorâs Note: The following story was supported by funding from The Water Desk, an initiative of the Center for Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado, and was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with The Herald Journal, The Spectrum, The Daily Herald and The Standard Examiner.
Bret Christensen heads a water company older than the state of Utah. The Richmond Irrigation Company was founded in 1889. His father was president of the company before him and his grandfather was the first to put gravity pressurized irrigation into Cache Valley decades before that.
Christensen spoke casually with a reporter on the phone while at the same time giving directions to employees at a worksite and hammering on a water pipe. He was only flustered when asked how long he had been in the business.