September has given us many challenges with the flooding
that occurred due to heavy rains that were received in the North East part of
Fremont County in the Beaver Creek area. Minor flooding occurred when water
from two separate creeks that originate west of Hwy 115; came down with
uncontrollable flood water. These creeks ran their normal courses and flooded
behind the Penrose Water District’s plant and down G Street to 4th and
3rd Streets. These creeks are not part of our system. During
heavy rains, these are the creeks that cause the most flooding. The solution to
prevent the flooding is to build retention ponds west of Hwy 115; however this
is a matter for Fremont County and the State to put this construction in their
budgets. As citizens of Penrose, it is our responsibility to voice our concerns
with the Fremont County Commissioners to prevent this flooding.
It is unusual that we
received the amount of rain in a 24 hour period of time; reports vary from 1.5
inches of rain to 4.00 inches. The heavy rain above us was more than our
diversion could handle, the excess water flowed down beaver creek towards the
Arkansas River. Our staff shut off all irrigations and water was re-directed to
Brush Hollow Reservoir. As with all flood water, it can be hard to stop once
the flow has started. The irrigation ditches and county road ditches were at
their capacity and L Street had a fast running creek down the side of the road.
Many shareholders called our office expressing their concerns about the water.
Once we have shut everything down in our system, there is little we can do. If
flooding should occur again, it is best for all Penrose citizens to contact the
Fremont County Dispatcher at 276-5555. A county employee will come and access
the situation and contact all essential employees as needed. Please use best
judgment and only contact 911 if someone’s life is in danger.
It is our goal to irrigate all shareholders in good standing
with 2 irrigations, providing Beaver Creek has enough water to sustain these
irrigations. At this time, it looks very promising.
The finalizations for the satellite monitors are complete.
We are able to view the data provided for Brush Hollow and the Diversion from
the office. There will be continued checks on the data as calibration may be required
for accuracy. This data is not available to be put on our web site, as it
contains the Upper Arkansas satellite data also. We are working to make this
available to the shareholders soon. If anyone is interested in the Brush Hollow
Reservoir level, please contact the Beaver Park Water office and I will provide
you with that information. Office hours are M-F 7:30-4:00 (closed for lunch and
errands 12:00 noon to 1:00pm)
As a reminder, all assessments were due 8/1/2013. We have
$30,000 in delinquent assessments. Please make arrangements to protect your
shares and bring your accounts current. It is our goal to reduce delinquent
assessments to a minimum. Those who are unable to pay the entire balance due
are encouraged to make monthly payments towards the balance. Remember, your
delinquent accounts effects all the shareholders. Accounts not paid for two
years are subject to auction in February 2014.
