January – The month had been cold with no snow. Staff worked on repairs and mowed the canals. Office prepared packets for the Shareholder Annual meeting packets were mailed 1/10/23.
February – Cold temperatures with some snow and plenty of
wind. Annual shareholder meeting was held on the 25th with 70% of
the shares represented either in person or by proxy. Sonny Daniels and Bart
Adams retained their Board positions as there were no nominations made a white
ballot motion was made and approved.
March – Penrose was lacking in receiving precipitation
however we were approved for Grant money to purchase a remote gate at the
Diversion. This gate will eliminate daily trips to the diversion to make
necessary changes as it will all be done remotely. During inclement weather, no
vehicles can get up to the diversion and the staff must walk, this is a huge
plus. Big thank you to Steve Kastner that writes our grant applications.
April – Assessments are due on the 1st to be
eligible to receive irrigation water. We finally were able to receive
precipitation in the form of rain, what a welcomed sight. Irrigations began on
April 12th for those on the upper canal and the lower canal
irrigations began on the 18th.
May- Continued to be a wet month, receiving at least 3
inches of rain. Megan Green became our newest ditch rider on the East
side. Plenty of water received down the
creek and Brush Hollow is at 86.50 at the gage.
June - Wow, and it continued to rain and rain some more.
Depending on where you lived in Penrose, many recorded 7-9 inches of rain. We
were receiving over 100 c.f.s. down the creek and up to 240 c.f.s. in the creek
in the middle of June. All irrigations were suspended in the lower ditch as
Brush Hollow’s gate from June 12th-June 29th was shut off
to prevent flooding. Brush Hollow filled to maximum capacity for the first time
in many years. All irrigation water was transferred down from the upper canal.
With all the rain water we received a new problem was created when the ground
became saturated and water began to run everywhere. Unfortunately; those living
in low lying areas had standing water on their properties and ground water is
not water that can be managed, it does its own thing by seeking lowest levels
to follow and run. The ground water ran most of the year all through Penrose
across the highway to Holcim.
July- Hot and mostly dry for the month until the last week
and we received almost 2 more inches of rain. With the ground saturated,
irrigations did not take long to develop tail water and those who careful to
manage their water, asked for their time to be shortened, sometimes they only
needed half of what they were entitled to. Many calls came in regarding tail
water issues. It wasn’t an easy resolution but our staff, the Water
commissioner, and Fremont County’s Department of Transportation Supervisor were
involved. It was understood that the bar ditches in Penrose were not for excess
irrigation water, they were only designed for drainage during rain events.
Shareholders must not waste the irrigation water as it is established for
beneficial use not to run down the ditches or roads. Due to the ground
saturation this year it was necessary for all shareholders to put a high
priority on managing the irrigation water and make sure it was not running off
their property regardless of how much time they were entitled to receive.
August- Hot and mostly dry month. Connie assumed the
irrigation duties on the West Side as the ditch rider assigned decided without
warning to retire. Megan was responsible for the East Side on her own. Skaguay
dropped their gate providing us only 8 c.f.s. Adjustments on irrigations had to
be made quickly. Brush Hollow’s gate was opened to provide irrigations for the
lower canal. Towards the end of August rain fell North of us causing a
significant increase in the creek for a short period of time and the staff
utilized the water to start more irrigations. At this time some third
irrigations were being distributed.
September-Hot most of the month but again we had more rain.
The saturated ground seeping up throughout Penrose has been a source of
problems with some individuals that have standing water on their property. It has
been hard to explain but we can not manage water that comes up from the ground.
Tailwater we can control but not ground water.
October- We have not been in priority to store water and
been irrigating with all the water coming into the system and are finishing up
third irrigations and in some areas 4th irrigations. Connie called
for the 172-acre ft of water from Skaguay to finish up irrigations.
November- 2023 irrigation season formally came to an end on
the 14th. Most shareholders received three irrigations and some four
depending on what lines or canals they are on.
A total of precipitation for the year was 15 inches of more depending on
where you live in Penrose. Many hay fields were able to produce three cuttings
this year. Ground Water surfacing hasn’t been an issue in Penrose for over 20
years. Our area is no longer considered in a drought.
December- Our new Automated diversion gate finally came.
Connie coordinated preparation to install the gate. Old gate removal, cement
cutting the ledge on the face of the diversion and have a platform built to
stand on while railing is installed. Steve Kastner and others assisted with the
installation process. After two days of installation, we have an automated gate
that is fully functioning. In March final touches will be added such as cement
work on the diversion itself, a cement wall built to protect the solar station
and a railing added for safety purposes. Overall, 2023 has been a busy and
productive year. Now we all look forward to 2024 to see what it holds for us.
