2010 Archived News
December 30, 2010
Collins Lake Fills!
The Districts one-megawatt powerhouse has been on-line for a week and a half in anticipation of this day. Revenues from the generation of electricity at the Districts powerhouse help offset District operating expenses. However, the generator is only brought on line to either meet demand during the irrigation season or (as in the case now) to generate with water that would otherwise spill from the Lake.
This is very early in the rainy season to have Collins Lake fill but it foretells of a very good irrigation season for Browns Valley Irrigation District in 2011. While 2010 was a good water year, Collins did not quite fill. Collins Lake generally fills 4 out of every 5 years.
December 08, 2010
Collins Lake Rain Gauge Update: It will be down 4-6 weeks
The rain gauge at Collins Lake, which we have a link to on this website, is temporally down for repairs. December 5th, around 8 p.m., the rain gauge stopped transmitting information to the California Data Exchange Center (CDEC), who stores and posts the information on their website. We expect to have the gauge fixed and transmitting information again in four to six weeks. In the meantime, we have installed a temporary data logger that will continue to record precipitation and temperature data points but will not transmit the data to CDEC. Fortunately, the problem was isolated to the transmitter and the logger continued recording. Despite the interuption in data available over the internet, we will still have record of the year’s precipitation total.
November 09, 2010
Collins lake Service Area Update
Due to the rainfall on November 7th of roughly 1.5”, the Collins Lake Service Area has transitioned from being temporarily off to being fully off for the season. The weather has finally turned cool and damp enough to leave the system off through the winter. As you may have noticed, we have a very good “carry-over” supply of water in Collins Lake that will help insure water for next year, even if we have another drought year.
That said, there are a few points worth mentioning:
1) There will not be any winter water deliveries. The Board adopted Rules and Regulations do not allow for winter water deliveries as we go forward.
2) However, the Board will continue to monitor the weather as we progress through the winter and may consider releasing water from Collins Lake to the delivery system for a few days should we enter an unseasonably warm and dry spell.
3) As the weather warms up and dries out in the spring, the District will restart the Collins Lake deliveries. This is not a date certain process, but is simply a weather driven decision.
November 02, 2010
Notice Regarding November and December Regular Board Meetings
The Board meeting schedule for November and December 2010 will be adjusted to the following dates:
The November 25th as well as the December 23rd Regular Board Meetings have been cancelled.
The November 11th Regular Board Meeting has been rescheduled to November 9th
and The December 9th Regular Board meeting has been rescheduled to December 15th.
November 01, 2010
Irrigation Update
Over the weekend a light rain fell on the District. While it was enough rain to allow the District to keep the system off a little longer, it was not enough to say for sure if the water will remain off.
Hopefully last Saturday’s rain will hold us over until the next system comes through. With that said, the District will continue to evaluate the conditions and keep you informed of further decisions as soon as we can.
October 25, 2010
Irrigation Water Turned Off
Due to the rainfall this past weekend, the irrigation system was shut off on Sunday, October 24th. The District will evaluate the need for additional irrigation water on a week to week basis before declaring the Irrigation season over. As mentioned in the October 22nd notice below, if the rain forecasted for next week does indeed materialize, there is a chance the water will not be turned back and the irrigation season will be over.
October 22, 2010
Irrigation Season Update
We are almost at the end of the Irrigation Season, but not enough precipitation has fallen to justify setting a date to end water deliveries. With that said, if the forecasted rain does materialize this weekend, there is a real chance that the water could be shut off Sunday the 24th of October.
If the water is turned off, it will remain off for at least a week. The long-range forecast predicts another storm the week of November 1st. If that materializes, the system will probably remain off. However, the first week of November the District will re-assess the situation, and the District will post an update on the website and on billboards around the District.
But to be safe, please start preparing for the end of the irrigation season by filling stock tanks, being ready to turn off ditch pumps, topping off ponds, and addressing any other issues.
October 12, 2010
No date set to end 2010 Irrigation Season
Over the past couple of weeks the BVID office has received several phone calls with the question: When will the irrigation season end? Right now, the answer is we do not know yet.
The reason we do not know is that the beginning and ending of the irrigation season is determined by the weather, and at this time it is too early to set a date to turn off the irrigation water. When we have a date or time frame, we will post on the website and put fliers on bulletin boards throughout the District.
April 29, 2010
Irrigation Season to Begin Monday, May 3
As of 4-29-2010, Collins Lake is less than one foot from spill or about 99 percent full. While the weekly rains have allowed both the filling of the Lake and the delaying of the irrigation season, it is time to start the season.
Therefore, on Monday, May 3, BVID will begin putting water into the delivery system.
However, this does not mean that water will be available to all the District's customers on Monday. It will take a few days to fill the entire system and those near the end of the system may not see water until later in the week.
As a word of caution, even though the Lake is essentially full, it does not mean that the multi-year drought is over. We all still need to continue to use our irrigation water in such a way as to not spill it from our parcels and/or ponds. The water that we do not use this year may be needed next year, if next winter is a dry one.
March 30, 2010
History
BVID has added some new Historic content to the website. To see the newest of these articles select from the links below, or to select from all of the History related articles click on the “About” tab at the top of the page.
In "The Building of A Dam" PDF you will find a summary of the construction of Virginia Ranch Dam and a link that opens a You Tube Slide Show about the construction of Virginia Ranch Dam. The video showcases many photos, which are from the early 1960s, of the Dam's construction.
The Building of a Dam (click here)
The Building of a Dam Slides Part 1 (click here)
The Building of a Dam Slides Part 2 (click here)
Photos of the BVID Delivery System and the Yuba River around 1890(click here)
March 26, 2010
Irrigation Season Update
The light rain in the last 24 hours has allowed the District to postpone the beginning of the irrigation season for a while longer. It is still not known just when the season will start but we are hoping that the forecast for more rain next week will allow a further postponement of the start of the season. This delay allows for Collins Lake to both recover and not begin the drawdown that comes with the irrigation season. We will post again as soon as we know when the season will in fact begin.
Thanks for your understanding as we work through the fourth year of the drought.
March 26, 2010
BVID March/April News Letter
The latest edition of the BVID news letter is now available online.
Click to see the BVID News Letter for March 2010.
January 29, 2010
Addition of Historic Content to the Website
BVID has started adding some historic content to the website that helps tell the District's story. You can select from a list of documents by clicking on the link above labeled "About" or by selecting the link below.
To access the Historic Documents (click here)
January, 2010
Rainwater In Ditches
We are thankful for the rain that has fallen in the last few days. It has caused ditches and pipelines within the District to fill with water. As a result, some people may be getting water from their service while others do not. Be assured that all of this water is runoff from the much needed precipitation and is not the result of releases from Collins Lake.
With consistent rain, water will pool in the ditches or flow as if it is being released from Collins Lake. In the winter, ditches are set up in a way that helps prevent flooding, while still providing the added benefit of capturing some water that may be used by our customers.
