As the state faces its fourth consecutive dry year, Turlock Irrigation District is preparing local growers for a potentially rough irrigation season with two upcoming evening grower meetings.

“We will talk about what the farmers and growers can expect in very general terms because it is still early,” said TID spokesperson Calvin Curtin. “We will probably do another set of grower meetings closer to the irrigation season where we will have some better data because we’ll be farther into the year. At this point, it’s fairly preliminary information.”

During his water report at Tuesday’s TID meeting, utility analyst Jason Carkeet logged Don Pedro water levels at 805,770 acre feet, approximately 48 percent of total capacity for this time of year.

Additionally, he reported that the Tuolumne River Watershed has not accumulated any precipitation in the month of January thus far. On average, the entire month experiences 6.45 inches of precipitation.

For the precipitation year ,which began in September, the Tuolumne River Watershed has accumulated 9.65 inches of rain, which is 63.2 percent of average.  

Along with providing growers with a current hydrology report, TID will also provide updates on district projects, including SBX7-7, the Water Conservation Act of 2009, the Lateral 8 Reservoir and Total Channel Control Project.

“We always want to try to be as transparent as possible with our growers in regards to what is happening,” said Curtin. “We may not have the best information, but we want to pass along the information that we do have.”

TID’s two grower meetings will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Wednesday in the TID Boardroom at 333 E. Canal Dr. For more information, visit tid.com.