The Water Operations Department is under the oversight and direction of the District Watermaster, Marco Crenshaw. The Water Operations Department manages surface water supplies during flood control operations and irrigation deliveries. The District is broken down into six different District Runs, which are assigned to a designated ditchtender. The Ditchtender for each run is responsible for managing surface water supplies and deliveries within that run.
Water orders must be placed 24-hours in advance with the District Water Operations Department at (559) 686-3425. All irrigation deliveries will be made in the sequence that they are received and all efforts will be made to coordinate a desired start-time with each landowner. Water must be delivered through District turnouts and will be volumetrically measured. Any landowner that uses water out of turn without permission from the District shall forfeit their right to water at the next regular irrigation and is also subject to criminal prosecution. Any landowner wasting water on roads, vacant land, or land previously irrigated, either willfully, carelessly, or on account of defective ditches or inadequately prepared land, or who shall flood certain portions of the land to an unreasonable depth or amount in order to properly irrigate other portions will be refused the use of water until such conditions are remedied. Landowners shall notify the District when an irrigation has ceased and surface water is no longer required.
In the event of an emergency or to report damages or canal breaches, please contact the District office at (559) 686-3425.
| Area | Water Operator |
|---|---|
|
5 Run |
Eulogio Vargas |
|
7 Run |
Kevin Searcy |
|
9 Run |
David Ford |
|
10 Run |
Marcy Flores |
|
11 Run |
Jason Frausto |
|
14 Run |
Alejo Munoz |
| Relief Ditchtenders |
|---|
|
Fernie Quintana |
|
Jose Martinez |
|
Jorge Trujillo |
|
Raymond Wittman |
Groundwater Recharge Operations
The Water Operations Department also manages and tracks groundwater activities within the District. During years when excess water is available the District has access to approximately 1,250 acres of groundwater recharge ponds to carry out groundwater recharge efforts. The District also monitors groundwater levels within the District in conformity with its Groundwater Management Plan and for the California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring (CASGEM) Program. Depth to groundwater measurements are taken throughout the district twice a year, in the spring and fall of each year, and depth to groundwater levels are reported.
Current and future operations of groundwater recharge and monitoring efforts will be performed in coordination with the Mid-Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA). The Mid-Kaweah GSA was formed in 2015 by Tulare Irrigation District, in partnership with the City of Tulare and City of Visalia, in response to the State legislature’s passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act in 2014. Two officers of the Tulare Irrigation District serve on the six-member Mid-Kaweah GSA Board of Directors. The Mid-Kaweah GSA Board of Directors is further supported by an Advisory Committee which includes representation of the area’s agricultural community.
Bi-Annual Depth to Groundwater Maps
Spring