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Weekend storm propels rain totals past historical October average
TID purchases land from Camp Taylor for future water efficiency project
TID purchase
The TID Board of Directors approved a purchase and sale agreement between TID and Camp Taylor for a 6.8 acre portion of land located at the end of TIDs Lower Lateral 2 in off Grayson Road in Modesto. - photo by Photo Contributed

The 2016 precipitation year is off to good start following this weekend’s storm, which brought in nearly 3 inches of rain, an amount that already surpasses historical averages for October, according to the Turlock Irrigation District.

“Over the course of the last three days of the weekend storm, we got a good bit of precipitation for this time of year,” said Utility Analyst Jason Carkeet at Tuesday's TID Board meeting.

Data up until Monday at TID revealed that the weekend storm brought in 2.8 inches of rainfall to the Tuolumne River Watershed, a total which exceeds the historical October average of 1.96 inches. Accumulated precipitation for the region from September to Oct. 17 now stands at 2.83 inches, or 170.5 percent of the Tuolumne River Watershed’s historical average of 2.54 inches for the period between September and October.

Carkeet said that there is not any more significant rainfall forecast until Oct. 25, however, during the period between Oct. 25 and Nov. 2, the region could experience anywhere around an inch and a half of precipitation.

In addition to receiving information on current hydrological conditions Tuesday, the TID Board of Directors also approved a purchase and sale agreement between TID and Camp Taylor for a 6.8 acre portion of land in Stanislaus County. The parcel is located at the end of TID’s Lower Lateral 2.

“Because this parcel is located at the lower end of Lateral 2, it's ideally situated to be a future water use efficiency project,” said Tristan Higgins, survey and right-of-way manager.

The 6.8 acre portion is part of a greater 21.6 acre parcel of land owned by Camp Taylor, a camp for kids with heart disease, at 8224 W. Grayson Road in Modesto. The negotiated purchase price of the parcel is $250,965, according to Higgins, who said that this represents fair market value for the property.

As of today, TID spokesman Calvin Curtin said that the district has no specific plans on what water use efficiency project they will implement on the parcel.

“The reason we bought it at this time is because property at the  tail end of system like that doesn’t come up for sale very often,” said Curtin.  

With Board’s approval on Tuesday, TID anticipates to close escrow by Oct. 31.