By Josh Dowell
The Glenn Colusa Irrigation District held its monthly board of directors meeting on Thursday, February 20, 2020 in Willows, CA. Board president Donald Bransford called the meeting to order at 9:00AM. The beginning of the meeting consisted of public comment, as the odd ball out in the room, I was asked to introduce myself as the new WaterWrights.net contributor in the area.
A quick approval of the minutes from the previous meeting was passed unanimously without amendment. General consent items followed, ranging from general fund payments to the current status of the operational fund that powers the irrigation district.
Reports from the staff highlighted the current projects that the district is undertaking to improve deliveries in the years to come. GCID Engineer Zac Dickens spoke on the multitude of projects. An item that stood out was a large scale pump project at mile post +/-64.09 on the main district canal. The district is currently laying irrigation line underneath of the canal to benefit users on both sides of the project.
Water Operations Superintendent Jared Shipley addressed the board on the current precipitation concerns that we all have. As of now the Northern California snowpack, specifically the Trinity region is at a dismal 58% of normal to date. The lack of snow will be concern but Lake Shasta at the top of the Central Valley Project is currently only 36 feet below its fill point of 1,067 feet from a very wet 2018-2019.
Representatives of Richardson and Company, LLP presented the districts audit to the board as well. The audit dove deep in the brass tax of district finances, something that explaining in a few short paragraphs would be much like giving a haircut over the phone. The presentation highlighted that the district was fully compliant and that no major action was needed to correct any missteps, because there weren’t any.
Before the board dismissed the public to enter their closed session, it was announced that February 21st was a special day for the Glenn Colusa Irrigation District. The district was happy to celebrate their 100th anniversary and will continue to be good stewards of water for the years to come!
Josh Dowell has joined the Water Wrights team for the upcoming 2020 irrigation season. He brings a combined background of 
ag technology, water policy, and grower focused service. Josh was born and raised on a dairy farm in Chowchilla, California. From this upbringing he developed a passion for California agriculture, and more specifically, water. As a young professional, he works with growers in the Sacramento Valley as a representative of Phytech, a plant based remote sensing solution. His background is rooted in production agriculture but he is experienced in the political landscape that surrounds water. Having worked within the state and federal legislature, Josh knows what it means to connect growers to the right information when they need it. When he has some down-time you can find him with his family working their farm, cheering on the San Francisco Giants, or planning out his next big idea. Josh lives in Sacramento with his girlfriend, Angelica, and their bulldog, Tucker.
