April 28, 2010

Contact: Ron Nelson

(530) 273-6185

Or: Dave Carter

(530) 265-NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Flume Replacement Time

NID Chief Engineer Gary King shows a piece of the old DS Canal Flume No. 13 which has been replaced.  The flume is one of eight original flumes dating to the 1920s that are being replaced in a current NID project on the DS Canal, which carries water from Scotts Flat Reservoir into the greater Grass Valley-Nevada City area.

GRASS VALLEY   -   Directors of the Nevada Irrigation District on Wednesday accepted a 2009 audit of the district performed by Boler & Associates, Professional Accountancy Corp. 

Felix Pon, an accountant with the Davis-based firm, said that NID’s financial statements are presented fairly and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

In other business, directors:

• reviewed and discussed three planning objectives as part of the district’s ongoing 2010/11 strategic planning process.  The objectives are 1) protect water quality through active watershed management, 2) design and implement a strategy for developing alternate sources of energy, and 3) actively preserve water rights through active management practices.

• adopted a resolution of necessity to acquire a .15-acre strip of land along the side of a 2.9-acre parcel for the Mt. Vernon Road siphon replacement project in North Auburn.  Right-of-Way Agent Anthony Rondoni said staff has reached an impasse with the owners, one of whom lives on the property and the other who lives out of the area.

•  were briefed by Chief Engineer Gary King on the current DS Canal flume replacement project.  King said the No. 13 Flume, one of eight flumes being replaced in the current project, has been replaced and returned to service.  He said the flume work was done in very wet conditions on an urgent basis before the Apr. 15 opening of the irrigation season.  King said the district received a notice of violation from the state related to sediment control and that the issues were immediately corrected.  As part of the presentation, he showed a deteriorated piece of the old flume that was filled with holes and covered with rust.

• applauded Asst. General Manager Tim Crough who said the district will apply to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture in hopes of obtaining low-interest loan funding for residents of the Ranchero Way area in Nevada County who are working with NID to bring water to their neighborhood.    Two other property owner groups, Table Mountain and South Nevada County, could also be eligible for funding, Crough said.

• held a retirement presentation for Water Operations Manager Don Wight, a Grass Valley resident who is retiring from 29-year career with the district.  Wight, 61, served as chief water plant operator and water treatment superintendent before being named as head of the Water Operations Department six years ago.  “I’m very proud to have been part of a dedicated group of people who provide a very important service to the community and do a very good job of it,”  Wight said.

The next regular meeting of the NID Board of Directors will be held at 9 a.m. on May 26 at the NID Business Center in Grass Valley.  Directors voted to cancel their regular meeting of May 12.  NID board meetings are open to the public.

-30-