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SPRING 2006 NEWSLETTER The start of the 2006 water season will be
ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE/SAFETY DEPT. NEWS Update on the Conditional Waiver of Waste Discharge
Requirements for Discharges from Irrigated Lands. By
June of this year we will see the newest version of the Ag Waiver adopted by the
Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board. Both Coalition Groups and
the Irrigation District Monitoring and Reporting Programs are expected to see
monitoring events increase by 40%. As a Farmer / Rancher this will reflect greatly upon any
runoff from your land and what chemicals & fertilizers you use on your
crops. Runoff during the irrigation season will need to be minimized or
eliminated to decrease the amount of pollutants we see leaving our watershed.
Remember that those same pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers we use to
produce our crops become “pollutants” when they leave our property. By far
the highest levels of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers run off our
properties during storm events. The first rain storm of the year washes these
chemicals off our crops and that drift & overspray we saw landing on the
floor of our field is also picked up by rain water and carried off our fields as
pollutants. All Farmers & Ranchers must join together as members
of the Coalition groups to support this combined effort. Everyone must become
more aware of how management practices that we have developed to produce our
crops, require fine tuning or possibly even changing to meet the new
requirements of the 2006 Ag Waiver. If
you have any questions please call Jim Atherstone, Environmental Compliance
& Safety Officer at (209) 993-7971
OPERATIONS DEPT. NEWS Woodward Reservoir elevation will be at 205 by March 5 which is the maximum
allowed until April 1. District
projects completed this winter: pipeline replacements on Lateral’s “C”,
“A”, “We” & “Wc” and a shotcrete project on “Q”.
The District also replaced 2 slides on the
CANAL BANKS, PIPELINES, PRIVATE ROADWAYS Canal banks, pipeline easements and private roadways are being used
illegally as public race tracks for ATVs and dirt bikes.
The District frequently receives calls from frustrated landowners concerning
people who ride recreational
vehicles illegally on private property. These
individuals cause damage to the dirt roadways and canal banks.
These vehicles also cause a lot of unnecessary dust and noise. Owners and/or operators of these vehicles are being asked to operate them responsibly.
NICK C. DEGROOT WATER TREATMENT FACILITY We
are three quarters of the way through the water treatment plant’s first year.
As with any project of this size there have been many
challenges but on the whole, Plant Manager Bill Hubkey is pleased with
all that has been accomplished. After
the addition of 7 new employees, the plant will be fully staffed by its first
anniversary. This will bring the
total number of employees at the facility to 20.
Total water production as of January was 375.29 million gallons. The average daily flows are 12.11 mgd.
ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT NEWSThe Engineering Department staff performs a wide
variety of activities for the District. Currently there are 24
developments in various stages of completion within the District.
These are projects that affect District facilities in one way or another.
Robert Geer, Engineering Technician/Construction Inspector keeps track of
construction progress and inspects work done on and around District facilities.
If you have any questions concerning construction or inspection of
irrigation facilities Robert can be contacted at 652-2713. There are 24 more development and construction projects that are pending
approval. These projects include
several large housing developments and a shopping center.
All plans affecting District interests have to be approved by the Board
of Directors.
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South San Joaquin Irrigation District, 11011 E. Highway 120, Manteca, CA, 95336. ~ Tel: 209.249.4600 ~ Fax: 209.249.4640 Copyright 2005, South San Joaquin Irrigation District. All rights reserved.
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