THE BLACK CANYON

NEWS

SPRING2016

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2016 DIRECTORS

Adam BlankDistrict#1

John HartmanDistrict #2

Dan Surmeier (V-Chair)District #3

DennisLammeyDistrict #4

Mike Wagner (Chair) District #5

BOARD MEETINGS

Regular Board Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month at the District office in Notus. April - October @ 1:00 P.M. November-March@9:00 a.m.

2016 ASSESSMENTS

Unit #1

Spring$26.50/acre

Fall$24.50/acre

$25.00/assessment charge per billing

Unit #2

Spring$29.00/acre

Fall$24.50/acre

$25.00/assessment charge per billing

Excess water

$20.00/acre feet

District Idle Acres

$65.00/acre plus $200.00 Transfer fee

2016 WATER SEASON

The 2015 water year ended with approximately 50,000 acre feet of storage water left in Cascade reservoir; 30,000 acre feet less than last year’s carryover. However, at this time we are above normal for snow pack but with carryover water and the possibility of below normal precipitation in the future, we are not out of the woods yet. As we know, we depend upon Mother Nature to send us more snow!

RRA FORMS

If you own or lease over 40 irrigable acres in Unit #2 (noted above your account number on your bill) you may be required to file RRA forms. The office has printed your 2016 forms or you can download the forms on the internet at usbr.gov/rra.

Please file your RRA forms early to avoid a three working day delay of water delivery. We will be audited by the Bureau of Reclamation this year so please keep these things in mind when checking your forms:

Have you bought or sold land?

Has your marital status changed?

  • Did you know that we need your spouse’s signature, even if they have no interest in the land?

Has the name on any of your deeds changed?

  • This commonly occurs during estate planning (John & Mary Smith change their deed to ‘The Estate of John & Mary Smith’.

You commonly have 60 days to notify us for most changes.

While we help facilitate the filing of these forms, it is ultimately the landowner’s responsibility to ensure they are correct!!

WATER REQUEST CARDS

You are required to fill out a water order card one day prior to the requesting of the delivery of irrigation water ON, OFF, or for CHANGES in flow. Remember, it is your responsibility to keep track of your water usage.

ASSESSEMENT DELIQUENCIES

Delinquencies are filed with the counties each year your account becomes delinquent. A Tax Deed is taken after the third year of delinquency. Black Canyon begins the Tax Deed process every June.

Continued on the back

BLACK CANYON IRRIGATION PROJECTS - FALL 2015 and SPRING 2016

The new Aqua-Lastic equipment has been working well. We are applying product on/in cracks in the concrete lining on our main canal. However, due to wet conditions, we have switched from applying the crack sealant to applying a foam product with the same equipment, except for a nozzle and pressure change. We are using the foam material to fill in voids behind the concrete walls and floor of our main canal linings. The employees and the equipment are doing a great job and as soon as weather permits, we will switch back to the crack sealant.

Each year we install a number of pipelines throughout the project and this year is no exception. To date we have installed well over a mile of pipe, built many structures, and installed or repaired a number of headgates. Doing so always improves our District by eliminating open ditches, reducing our maintenance, improving water losses, and allowing land owners better use of their property.

The District received a grant from Water District #65 to help install an automated check structure on our C-line East main canal at the head end of the Hartley Syphon. This will help with canal levels and greatly reduce a safety issue.

The District also applied for, and received, a grant from the Bureau of Reclamation to install a spill back pipelineback into our main canal which will allowexcess water currently being pumped into the C East system to be utilized in the A, D, and H Line Canals versus being wasted into the Willow Creek drain.

1st Unit

We did modification to the Conway Drain pump location by installing 2 new - 21” P.V.C. pipes, rebuilt a head wall, and installed new head gates. Now we are looking into upgrading the pumping ability at this location to help increase our water supply. Currently we are putting together a cost analysis to evaluate this project.

RIGHT OF WAY ISSUES

Each year we have patrons who are upset when they find out that the District and/or the Bureau of Reclamation has a Right Of Way for the operation and maintenance of our system and pipelines thru their property. 2015 was no different so please, before you build anything next to one of our canals, ditches, drains, pipelines, or lateral’s, contact us first so we can provide you with the right of way information to prevent potentially costly problems.

F.Y.I.: The Bureau of Reclamation has performed a Canal System Review and has directed us to cut down trees that have grown up within the O & M Right of Way. We have purchased a wood chipper we are continuing to address this problem.

EMPLOYEE UPDATE

Bill Brock, a ditch rider who had been with us for 14 years, left us at the end of 2015. Chuck Kreider, who has been running our shop for the last 16 years, and has been with the District for 25 years, will be retiring at the end of February, 2016. They will both be sorely missed but we wish them luck in this next phase of their lives!

WATER ISSUES

Fill/Refill of our Reservoirs: As you have probably seen on T.V. or heard on the radio or in the coffee shop, the Treasure Valley Water Users (Boise Valley) are at odds with the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) when it comes to how to account for water released for flood control operations and then the subsequent fill/refill of the reservoirs. Well, I am here to tell you that we are going through the same issues on the Payette system. We (the District and our attorney’s) have had a number of meetings on this issue with the IDWR, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), Water District #65, and other water users and we still don’t have the answer as of the creation of this newsletter. However, we are and will continue to work with the above parties to resolve this issue. If the parties cannot come to an agreement on their own it is said that this could end up in the State Supreme Court for a decision. Rest assured, we are working diligently to act in a responsible manner for our water patrons in this issue.

Irrigation season will soon be here so if you know of anything that needs attention, please contact us.

Roy Maxwell

Manager