North Yuba Water District finishes full irrigation season after years of uncertainty

Robert Summa, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
Updated ·4 min read

Oct. 24—Following nearly a decade of irrigation water uncertainty for farmers in the Yuba County foothills, North Yuba Water District has seen clear improvements in its operations, according to one of its newly elected representatives.

Marieke Furnee, a member of North Yuba Water District's Board of Directors who was a vocal critic of the previous regime, said that on Oct. 15, the district turned off irrigation water for the season.

"We have been able to run a full irrigation season," Furnee said in an email to the Appeal. "Some people thought we could not do it, but with a lot of hard work we could."

In May, new members of the North Yuba Water District's Board of Directors, including Furnee, celebrated the opening of Dry Creek and a better future for the district that they said will better serve the people.

On May 1, in a rural section of Brownsville, North Yuba Water District (NYWD) staff opened a section of Dry Creek to once again allow water to freely flow through diversions that help deliver water to farmers and customers in need, the Appeal previously reported. After clearing debris from diversions such as Dry Creek, the district was able to demonstrate that the only thing holding that delivery back in the past was essentially an unwillingness to try.

Furnee said that the irrigation season went so well this year that since August, the district was not dependent on Dry Creek and was able to utilize Forbestown Ditch to convey enough water that the irrigation ditch could serve everyone.

"A few large customers had to accept a cutback to their service, but we did serve everyone all the way through October 15th," Furnee said.

Back in May, Director Alton Wright, who has since resigned, said the previous leadership at NYWD prevented what he called a "proof point" of what could be done with the irrigation infrastructure that was already in place.

"So there was 10 years of deferred maintenance, willful neglect, that just never allowed the water to get to irrigation," Wright previously said. "We've proven in six months time that the water is there and you can get the water to the people and not spend millions and millions of dollars on an unnecessary pipe."

Former NYWD General Manager Jeff Maupin and the previous board were seeking to install a pipe in the Forbestown Ditch as a way to improve the way water is delivered, the Appeal previously reported. Forbestown Ditch, much like the Dry Creek diversion, is an open canal that conveys water for use by the district and its customers.

Critics of the plan to install a pipe suggested that it wouldn't have delivered as much water as would have been needed and it would have actually negatively affected the ability to draw water from these ditches during wildfires.

For years, these diversions, some current NYWD officials previously said, weren't taken care of properly and in some cases outright ignored. In order to effectively deliver water through conveyances such as Dry Creek and the Forbestown Ditch, daily and constant upkeep is required — all through manual labor via what are known as ditch tenders.

Furnee said because of work by the district this year, the efficiency of infrastructure such as the Forbestown Ditch was improved.

"The work that was performed in April on both the Forbestown Ditch and the work on the Dobbins Oregon House Canal combined, made for 10% improvement in efficiency. Our crews took care of any leaks that showed up and repaired what they could," Furnee said.

Another improvement NYWD was involved in this year was the repair of Forsythe Road with help from Yuba Water Agency and CHY Company. The road was in desperate need of repair ahead of another winter season.

Looking ahead, Furnee said in the "off season" that the district plans to do an "emergency replacement of a rickety old wooden flume" on the Forbestown Ditch. She said it will "become a siphon" and more than 2 miles of gunite will be added — a material consisting of a mixture of cement, sand, and water that is sprayed onto a mold.

Furnee also said the replacement of the "leaky" Challenge water tank, which is made out of wood, would start in the coming weeks. She also said the board hopes to fill Wright's seat on Thursday during its next regular meeting.