Oakdale Irrigation District’s Virtuous Cycle: Conserving Water and Selling It to Finance Modernization
Drop 10 of OID’s Cometa Lateral after the installation of a Rubicon gate and the TCC system.
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akdale Irrigation District (OID) enjoys well-established water rights—from the Stanislaus River, deep wells, and water reclamation and drainage recovery systems—that allow it to provide abundant water to its growers even during times of drought. The district’s 2007 water resources plan mapped out a strategy for selling surplus water and investing the money into modernization and system rehabilitation, leading to more surplus. That cycle has generated about $75 million for the district and improved customer service, water reliability, and drought resiliency. In this interview, OID’s recently retired General Manager Steve Knell and Water Operations Manager and District Engineer Eric Thorburn tell us more. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your backgrounds and how you came to be in your current positions.
22 | IRRIGATION LEADER | June 2022
the general manager of OID. I’ve been here for 20 years, servicing the district, developing the water resources plan, and advancing the irrigation systems here by implementing technology with Rubicon systems. Eric Thorburn: Upon graduating from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering, I went to work as a civil engineer at a local engineering firm, designing utilities, street improvements, and grading plans to accommodate residential and commercial development. I grew up around agriculture in the Central Valley of California, so when the financial crisis and economic downturn occurred in 2008, I had the chance to return to my roots in agriculture as an engineer at OID. After the design and construction of OID’s Total Channel Control (TCC) pilot project was completed in 2011, I jumped at the opportunity to move over to the water department as the water operations manager to assist in the operational integration process. I’m approaching 15 years at OID. My current role is water operations manager and district engineer. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about OID’s history and current services. Steve Knell: OID and South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID), which is to our north, were founded in 1909 under the Wright Act, which eventually evolved into the California Water Code. OID and SSJID are senior water right diverters on the Stanislaus River and share an equal stake in both water and developed infrastructure on irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF OID.
Steve Knell: I am a graduate of the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a degree in ag engineering. I did internships during college and eventually went to work for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service in Madera, where I spent 6 years as a field office engineer, servicing various field offices in the Central Valley. Later, I was transferred to El Centro, California, as an irrigation and salinity management team leader, working to address Salton Sea issues and state concerns on water use in the Imperial Valley. We helped the farmers of Imperial Irrigation District (IID) evaluate their irrigation systems, manage their water, and manage irrigation as it relates to salinity control. I liked the work so much that I eventually moved over to IID and worked there for 16 years. I eventually left IID and took a job as
Almond trees in bloom in OID’s service area.
