By Nick Edsall
The Glenn Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) Meeting of the Board of Directors was held at its headquarters at 334 E. Laurel Street, in Willows, CA. The meeting was called to order by President Logan Dennis. After the flag salute, Dennis invited the public to address the board. There were a few visitors in attendance, but with no comments from them, I was invited to introduce myself. After a brief self-introduction from yours truly, the Board and Staff were kind enough to take the time to introduce themselves, which I am grateful for, as this was my first time at a GCID meeting. General Manager Jeff Sutton asked me to tell his good friend Don Wright hello for him. [Publisher’s note: Hi back at you.]
Consent Agenda
Approval of payment of claims, general funds, and the approval of the April 17, 2025 Special Board meeting was passed with very little discussion and no opposition.
Business Items
Discussion and approval of the Lurline Check and Siphon Replacement Project bid award was postponed because Project Manager Daniel Kerns was not currently at the meeting but was expected to arrive later.
Discussion shifted to consideration of continuation of the contract with Provost & Pritchard for project management of the Lurline Check and Siphon. The District has worked with Provost & Pritchard in the past on a few large projects and they all went very smoothly.
Interim District Engineer Chris Privitera and Sutton both recommended working with Provost and Pritchard on this project based on previous experience. Privitera mentioned that the district staff does not currently have the time or resources to deal with this large project. Because of the scope of the project plus required environmental and other permitting requirements which Provost and Pritchard are experienced in and capable of, it was moved to approve Provost and Pritchard as the Contractor. The Board passed the resolution with no opposition.
Parts of the Lurline project come prefabricated from outside vendors. Privitera suggested that they should be purchased directly through the district for ease of warranty claims and to avoid markups. The premanufactured gates for the main check structure and the head gate are examples of parts that fit this category. The total amount of the owner fashioned materials would be $383,000. The Board discussed the cost differences between this larger project and projects done in the last 10 years. Because of the scope of the project and recent inflation, the costs were deemed reasonable, and the Board voted to approve these purchases.
The Board next considered amendments to restoration project contracts for the Central Valley Project Improvement Act (CVPIA). CVPIA is in charge of monitoring the efficacy of restoration projects and is very important in proving the effectiveness of projects by stakeholders to improve habitat of fish and wildlife. The increase requested was $125,000 from $10,000 for a total of $135,000 (annually?). Because of the importance of the monitoring by CVPIA in demonstrating the benefits of these projects, the board voted to approve the amendment to increase funding.
The final business item to be considered was a celebration of the District’s 105th year in operation. The 100-year anniversary happened during the middle of the COVID pandemic, so no formal celebration occurred. Preliminary planning is in the works, including consideration of the time of year that would work best, catering, etc. Director John Amaro was voluntold by Sutton that he would head up the committee, and Sutton asked for any other volunteers. Director Kelly Ornbaun volunteered to work on the beer truck, but Office Specialist Mary Spooner clarified that alcohol is not allowed on district property. With a little reluctance, Ornbaun still volunteered to be on the committee. A type of party barge was mentioned as a way to get around the no alcohol policy. No decisions were made about the party barge.
Administration
For department reports, Maintenance Superintendent Jeremy Richardson reported the big highlight is that they were able to resume intake channel work last Monday and he thanked Sutton for expediting all of the permits and getting things in place to have the channel potentially opened up for full capacity by the end of Saturday. Staff has been
spraying, mowing, repairing holes, and cleaning laterals and drains as water is delivered. All of the weirs have been installed. Some time was spent working with Glenn County replacing the Road S culvert that was crushed and plugged up last summer with aquatic weeds. The District purchased the pipe and the County did the road work. Richardson spent time coordinating with DWR because the district needed to install the fish guidance structure for the intake project. The district does not have enough structures but was able to borrow from DWR. Once completed, the District will send the borrowed structures back. There was a discussion about acquiring structures for the future and some technical discussion about water movement through the district.
Water Operations Superintendent Ed Henderson reported that the water storage situation is great this year. Shasta storage is at 1061.82 feet which is about five feet from full pool with a stored volume of 4,399,495 acre feet. Full capacity is 4,552,000 acre feet. Levels at Keswick Dam have fluctuated due to pulse flows for fish. The District currently has water moving down the canals and should be at full capacity soon. There was chat about how
water will be moved around to keep customers happy. Weather has been excellent for rice planting so everyone will be calling for water at once and some bottlenecks are expected.
Privitera gave the engineering report, with more on the Lurline Check Project. Some Private lateral easement agreements are being worked on. Seven checks have been surveyed not including drone surveys that were conducted by Provost and Pritchard. Encroachment letters will be worked on. Sutton added that the District needs to work on its encroachment policy.
Information Reports
Director Ornbaun reported that he had attended the April Colusa Groundwater Agency (CGA) and Glenn Groundwater Agency (GGA) meetings. The CGA is trying to mirror GGA as close as possible in an effort to keep things standardized and as to not reinvent the wheel. Vice President Pete Knight had his Colusa Basin Drainage and Corning Subbasin meetings cancelled for April.
Finance Director Louis Jarvis reported that a budget meeting is needed to plan and talk about long term budget and rates strategy.
Executive Assistant Kayla Mendonca reported that she has been doing some social media work including introducing new employees, and recognizing earth day, as well as cleaning up the website. She will be working together with Spooner to plan the 105-year celebration. Sutton reported that he and Director Dennis will be going to Washington, DC Tuesday through Thursday of next week. The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) spring meeting is coming up May 13-15 in Monterey and the next board meeting will be moved to the 22nd of the month because of that.
Sutton will be sending out information to the board about the Net Pen Project which consists of rearing 540,000 salmon smolts in the TC forebay. The Salmon did very well, and half were released into the Sacramento River and Half into the Bay.
Lurline Check Re-Visit
Project Manager Kerns arrived at the meeting and shared information to be considered by the board when deciding on which bid to award. Although it wasn’t the lowest bid, the bid by Syblon Reid seemed to make the most sense because of the reputation and previous experience working with similar projects. The bid also included over 75% of work being performed by Syblon as opposed to less than 50% by the lowest bidder. This is a concern because not a lot is known about the outside subcontractors that the bidders could choose to use. After much agreement between Kerns, Sutton, and the Directors, a motion was made to award Syblon Reid the contract.
Manager’s Report
Sutton reported that the district was a part of a meeting about the potential increase in water storage at Black Butte Reservoir. The meeting included Congressman
Doug LaMalfa, Glenn County, Tehama County, and other stakeholders. The meeting was about urging the Army Corps of Engineers to look at adding gates to the existing spillway, studying seismic issues, and seeing if the reservoir can hold the extra water safely. If the project is deemed viable, it could be one of the least expensive ways to increase water storage for the North State. Sutton, Richardson, Privitera, and Jarvis had a productive meeting with Deseret Farms as some of their property will be needed for the Lurline construction project. Deseret was very supportive of the project.
There was a successful tour of the Sites Reservoir project up at Hamilton City for the education of investors in the project. Many of the investors are not familiar with everything that is required for construction and maintenance, so it was extremely beneficial to be able to share the scope of the work being done. With that, the meeting went to a five-minute break, reconvening in closed session.
Nick Edsall covers Northern California water’s impact on the agricultural community. With more than 25 years of farming experience and deep roots in the Sacramento Valley, Edsall knows firsthand the challenges growers face in water policy, regulation, and resource management and strives to translate complex water issues into clear, relevant reporting for farmers, ranchers, and stakeholders across the region.
Owner of Edsall Ag Consulting, LLC and a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (Crop Science) and the California Agricultural Leadership Program (Class 53), Edsall is committed to bridging the gap between policy and production in California agriculture. In addition to his consulting work, he also serves as a sales representative for Duarte Nursery, working directly with growers in the Sacramento Valley to support successful orchard development. Nick can be reached at nick@edsallag.com
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GLENN COLUSA ID – President Logan Dennis, Vice President Peter Knight, John Amaro, Donald R. Bransford, and Kelly Ornbaun
Staff: Jeff Sutton – General Manager, Chris Privitera – Interim District Engineer, Ed Henderson – Superintendent, Louis Jarvis – Finance Director, Kayla Mendonca – Executive Assistant and Andy Hitchings – Counsel, Somach, Simons & Dunn.
344 East Laurel Street
Willows, CA 95988
530/934-8881
contact@gcid.net
DWR SGMA # 5-021.52
From the GCID website: Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District (GCID) is dedicated to providing reliable, affordable water supplies to its landowners and water users, while ensuring the environmental and economic viability of the region. As the largest irrigation district in the Sacramento Valley, GCID has a long history of serving farmers and the agricultural community and maintaining critical wildlife habitat. The District fulfills its mission of efficiently and effectively managing and delivering water through an ever-improving delivery system and responsible policies, while maintaining a deep commitment to sustainable practices. Looking ahead, GCID will remain focused on continuing to deliver a reliable and sustainable water supply by positioning itself to respond proactively, strategically and responsibly to California’s ever-changing water landscape.
