Irrigation Water

Nevada Irrigation District was formed in 1921 to provide water to ranches, fields and orchards in Nevada and Placer counties.

The District encompasses 287,000 acres, and stretches from the headwaters of the Yuba River, Bear River and Deer Creek down to the Sierra foothills. Within the service area, diverse crops flourish due to the differences in topographical, geological, climatic, and soil conditions.

NID provides irrigation for more than 30,000 acres. The largest crops by acreage are irrigated pasture and family gardens/orchards.

Many of the District’s raw water customers have 10 acres or fewer of irrigated land. And most of them purchase water using a “miner’s inch,” a measurement dating back to the California Gold Rush. One miner’s inch equals 11.22 gallons per minute flowing continuously, day and night, throughout the irrigation season.

 

TOP CROPS

Irrigated pasture -19,547 acres ... 6,828 miner’s inches

Family gardens/orchards - 6,216 acres ... 3,055 miner’s inches

Hay - 825 acres ... 255 miner’s inches

Golf courses - 788 acres ... 580 miner’s inches

“Other” - 748 acres ... 72 miner’s inches

Grapes (non-table) - 672 acres ... 161 miner’s inches

Nursery - 335 acres ... 202 miner’s inches

Apples - 276 acres ... 111 miner’s inches

Forage (other) - 227 acres ... 49 miner’s inches

Parks - 225 acres ... 46 miner’s inches

Nuts - 207 acres ... 36 miner’s inches

Fruits (other) - 202 acres ... 71 miner’s inches

Citrus - 198 acres ... 61 miner’s inches

Alfalfa hay - 155 acres ... 41 miner’s inches

Plums - 154 acres ... 51 miner’s inches

Peaches - 125 acres ... 38 miner’s inches

Pears - 117 acres ... 35 miner’s inches

Berries - 114 acres ... 36 miner’s inches

 

NID’s Crop Report

Every year, NID surveys its agriculture customers to inventory the type and approximate acreage of cultivated crops. This information is used in the District’s annual Crop Report data. The Top Crop list presented here is from the 2025 crop report.