Many diverters or pond owners are getting letters like the one shown below, reducing or denying a Request For Additional Time. The letter looks threatening, because that is how letters from regulatory agencies (bureaucracies) have to look. Keep in mind that the Water Board won’t start issuing fines the day after the deadline. Usually what happens next is a 30-day letter to cease and desist, or correct a deficiency, or face fines of $500 per day.
What should you do?
Call and email Jeff Yeazell to let him know what progress you have made, and what your plan is. If something terrible happened and you let the Water Board know, they can change the deadline.
On August 10, 2017, I sent Kathy an email asking aboutAlternative Compliance Plans for diversions in closed basins:
“Hi Kathy,
I have a client whose water rights are all in one closed basin. This owner owns all the lands where the water flows, either naturally, or when diverted from streams. The end effect is, whether the diverter actually diverts or not, all the water ends up only on his land.
There are reservoirs involved. The water rights could be in the range of 5,000 to 10,000 AF.
The argument is, since nobody else is or could be affected, there is no benefit to the State of measuring this water.
What are your thoughts on Alternative Compliance Plan for every water right on the ranch? Would the Water Board put this on the bottom of the pile for places to look at, or toward the top?
Thank you,
Shawn”
Kathy’s answer was:
“Hi Shawn –
The measurement regulation does not have an exception from measurement based on location of the water source. Any alternative compliance plan would need to identify the proposed measurement frequency and proposed measurement methodology. It would also need to include an explanation and substantiating documentation of alternative compliance. Absent substantiation of the specific basis for reduced performance standards, the plan must state how compliance with the measurement regulation will be achieved. You ask for my thoughts on submitting an alternative compliance plan for each of the ranch water rights. You should only submit plans which satisfy the regulatory standards.
You ask whether the Division would put this on the bottom of the pile of items to look at. Jeff and I have been actively looking at the alternative compliance plans submitted thus far. We coordinate our actions with Lily. We are actively evaluating the plans because we feel an obligation to let people know how they have done with their proposals.
This summer has been busy! Posts here have fallen behind as I have been keeping up with clients’ needs for SB 88 compliance.
I am taking just a moment to mention the new Watchman Flumes. A new manufacturer is making these heavy-duty flumes tough enough that cattle could step on one or rub against it and probably not bend it.
10-gauge steel is used, slightly thicker than 1/8″. The walls and ramps are heavily reinforced with 1/8″ angle-iron and high-strength Grade 8 bolts to minimize flexing and bending. Back-filling these flumes will not bend the walls or wingwalls, even when using concrete for fill.
Watchman Flumes are delivered disassembled with all the fasteners. At this time the manufacturer is only selling through Rights To Water Engineering, but that may change in the future.
Sizes range from 2 to 60 cubic feet per second. The flumes are accurate to better than +/- 5%, which is well within the Water Board’s requirement of +/- 10% for new measurement devices.
These are priced competitively with pre-manufactured flumes for similar flows, too. That makes higher durability and longer life at the same price as flumes made from 1/16″ sheet metal.
Expect to see more of these going in at diversions around Northern and Central California. I will post photos of installations as I get permission from landowners.
I am glad to be getting measuring devices and data loggers installed – it is enjoyable work and diverters are getting peace of mind. All of my work is confidential so clients’ names won’t be mentioned without permission. That being said, a few projects can be discussed here.
This is a unique weir installation – it is doing two things at once. Two 4′ wide weirs are side by side, set on a leveled, compacted base of 3/4″ minus road base.
First, it has a splitter built in as part of the weir – see the low wall behind me. Two water rights are precisely split inside the weir itself so each user gets the correct amount.
Second, it is a double weir. The ditch has low banks, but around 10 cfs needs to be accurately measured. Weirs ideally pass a maximum of 1 cfs per foot of width, so this exceeds that by 25%, while still keeping the water inside the ditch. So, why use weirs instead of a flume, which can pass much more flow per foot of width? Weirs are better understood in this area, the ditch has adequate width, and it makes splitting the flows easier.
A plate metal wall splits the 2 weirs into 3. Board slots were added with angle iron…you can guess from the photo that the iron lengths had to be cut down a bit for a 1-board, 2″ x 12″ weir.
Board slots had to be bolted on both sides of the plate steel. My friend Bob, owner of B & J Welding & Machine, Inc. in Anderson, cut, welded and drilled the plate steel wall.
A water level logger sits at the back of the shared weir walls, and records hourly water levels 24 x 7 x 365. Vandalism is a concern so the logger is locked up, and only the owner and I can get in.
1/4″ thick plate metal wingwalls upstream and downstream protect against flow working its way around the sides. The wingwalls add stability, keeping the weirs from tipping sideways or tilting up- or downstream.
The final result is s solid, long-lasting installation that meets the requirements of SB 88!
Yesterday, Thursday May 24, The Resource Conservation District of Tehama County and the Tehama County Farm Bureau held an SB 88 workshop, explaining requirements and methods for measuring and reporting on stockponds and surface water diversions. Kirk Wilbur of California Cattlemen gave the best explanation I have ever seen on the regulations, what they mean, and how to comply.
I discussed measurement devices and water level loggers, installations, and some Board forms. Here are some really rough notes that I will edit and add to later:
Types of water flow measurement devices
Weir – water level – Showed model of weir with boards
With Stilling Well for water level logger
Orifice – upstream AND downstream water level – Showed model of weir with boards, configured as orifice
Flume – water level – Showed 2 sheet-metal models, one for 0.9 cfs, one for 1.8 cfs
Pipe Meter (magnetic or propeller) – velocity
Acoustic Doppler – velocity
Rated Section, earth or lined – elevation vs. flow
Staff gage – elevation
Pressure transducer, ALL BATTERY POWERED – depth – Showed 2 types: Hobo and PMC data logger
Typical Installations
Weir – poured, pre-fab, conversion of gate, T-post and boards for temporary
Weir in ditch
Splitter weir
Orifice – can use weir box, boards, steel plate
Flume – poured, pre-fab, WinFlume built in concrete lined ditch
Pipe Meter (magnetic or propeller) – 4” – 12” bolt on existing pipe, 12” and larger, replace section of pipe
Acoustic Doppler
ditch – Sontek IQ on bottom or Side Looker at side
pipe – Sontek IQ, Panametric, other
Rated Section, earth or lined – elevation vs. flow, requires engineer/hydrologist to measure each flow and develop a rating table and curve
Staff gage – elevation only, goes WITH a measurement device
Pressure transducer – depth only, Volume WITH area-capacity / elevation storage curve, or WITH measurement device.
Strategies for Success with the Water Board
CALL them, get to know Kathy Mrowka, head of the Enforcement Program, or Jeff Yeazell, the public contact for non-Delta issues.
EMAIL them about the compliance steps you are taking.
INVITE THEM to your place. Showing a green staffer how a ranch or farm really works gives them context.
CHAIN OF COMMAND – this always works in bureaucracies! If you make it a pain for the boss, you are more likely to be heard or get leniency.
NEGOTIATE – laws are laws, regulations are regulations, and there are always exceptions, waivers, and so on.
DON’T DIG IN YOUR HEELS – Water Board folks are human and they are likely to direct their attention to someone who they are mad at.
Alternative Compliance – Water Board survey on web page
Not approved, denied, or evaluated
Will be public and can be reviewed, questioned, or criticized by anyone
May be “audited”, as Kathy Mrowka just told me a couple of weeks ago.
Estimate pond evaporation – CIMIS
No guarantee an ACP will not be protested
Varying risk of protest based on situation – higher risk factors
Does the stream have salmon or trout?
Are there other threatened, or endangered species?
Is the diversion or pond large?
Is access easy?
Is there a definite diversion channel?
Alternative Compliance Plans – Reasons I have used:
PART OF A YEAR, for a diversion or pond, if a pressure transducer needs to be removed to keep it from freezing.
A diversion that is not going to be used for up to 4 years, if it is blocked off with an iron plate or concrete plug.
Hydro plant, using power converted to flow
Ponds that have no gated outlets, and are not filled or drained by human action. These can only spill over uncontrolled spillway.
Ponds that have been in place for decades. They are part of the landscape, necessary for cattle and other ranching, and criticial for wildlife, waterfowl, and perhaps fish.
Ponds that are strictly for dry-land farming. If there are no diversions on a ranch, the ponds are all there is.
Ponds that have a low total amount of storage for the size of a ranch. For example, 6 ponds totaling 110 acre-feet for a 2,500-acre ranch. The ponds are only used for stock and/or wildlife water and no irrigation.
A pond larger than 100 acre-feet, which has a creek running through it that never dries, and no water is diverted from the pond, so it is always full. Collecting data would provide zero new information – zero benefit, so any measurement cost is infinite relative to the cost.
Request For Additional Time
Up to 24 months
Need good reasons
Easy to file
Request For Additional Time – Reasons I have used:
The Water Board did not get the word out well, especially if my client never got a letter from the Board.
A parent who ran the ranch passed away.
2016 was an extremely wet winter and spring, making access difficult until June, July, or later.
By mid-season, farmers and ranchers are in the middle of long days, leaving no time to put in a measurement device.
My client is investigating water efficiency, possibly an NRCS EQIP grant, and this would change the plan for a measurement device.
SB 88 compliance work has been taking up most of my time lately! I have learned something from every client and every project. Here is a partial list from the last couple of months:
Photo Credit: morguefile.com
People are complex, with lifetimes of experience. Especially those who have run businesses – farmers and ranchers in this case – will only offer wisdom if I listen. Some of the best advice I have heard and started to apply is, “If you don’t like the way things are, just wait, they’ll change”…”Folks will help you if you ask and if you are not too proud to get help”…”Everything we eat, have, and touch, comes out of the earth, not from laws, regulations, or government workers”.
I saw a wooden weir that is engineer-certifiable! It is in a stable ditch, where sediment is not allowed to get in the ditch and pile up. The rancher obviously read up on weirs, probably from the USBR Water Measurement Manual, and he changes the boards often, keeps it level, and checks it regularly. He uses the tables correctly to measure the flow. It can be done.
Photo Credit: morguefile.com
If a job needs a big excavator, get one. Trying to get by with a smaller piece of equipment doesn’t save money in the end! I have heard this from equipment operators over the decades, and now I have experienced it.
There is always the right tool for the job…and half the time it is the one I don’t have yet! For example, I have gotten by with a 20V, battery-operated DeWalt hammer drill for most concrete drilling, but high-strength concrete or having to drill 50 holes in regular concrete can burn up the best hammer drills. Now I have my first rotary hammer, and I’ll be getting larger SDS rotary hammer tools soon. Back to the “Folks will help you if you ask” advice above, I have been buggingJohn Bell of Redding Fasteners for advice – he is really smart and well-educated about all fastenating things.
Alternative Compliance Plans (ACPs) have benefits – saved time, reduced cost, avoiding effort on measurement where there is no benefit. ACPs have risks – the more a diversion or reservoir is a standard case, the more likely somebody or an agency will lodge a protest with ACPs are made public. There is always the possibility that the Water Board, listening to protests, may come back and say, “That’s not reasonable, get measurement devices in quickly.”
Speaking of ACPs, I just learned from Kathy Mrowka, Lily Weaver, and Jeff Yeazell that the WATER BOARDMAY AUDIT ACPs. Before now, all I have heard or read is that the Water Board will not accept, reject, or evaluate ACPs, leaving it up to public review to bring up questions.
There are cattle ranches in places I never dreamed of! From Imperial County, to San Luis Obispo, to Alturas and all the way to the Oregon border. Thank you all, I really enjoy beef of every kind!
More later, have a good night, a great weekend, good health everyone!
Here is an email exchange I recently had withKathy Mrowka at theWater Board. Enough folks have asked me that I had to ask, and Kathy has a short and sensible answer. Her answer will be frustrating to some, and a relief to others; either way, it represents the state of technology today as well as legal requirements.
From: Shawn Pike
To: John O’Hagan, Kathy Mrowka, and Jeffrey Yeazell
“Hi John, Kathy, and Jeff,
“Several intelligent ranchers have asked me, why doesn’t the Water Board just use satellite imagery to monitor flow and water storage? I did not have a good answer why not, since high-resolution satellite imagery has been available for more than 40 years, and very high resolution aerial photography is taken with exponentially increasing frequency.
“It is common knowledge that the Water Board has used aerial photography to find thousands of reservoirs and stockponds. The Department of Water Resources has used aerial photography and some ground-checking to map land and water use, including estimates of applied water, for decades.
“I’ll bet some inventive brains at your place are making progress on using photography to monitor and quantify water flow through diversions, as well as impounded water storage. Given that increasingly detailed data are derived from photography, farmers and ranchers are very interested in having DWR and/or the Water Board use the same technology to monitor diverted flows and storage. It would be a heck of a lot less expensive – a few percent of the thousands of dollars each diverter now has to spend on measuring devices, data loggers, and reporting their diversions.
“Do you have some good news to pass on to individuals, the Farm Bureau, Cattlemen’s Association, and others?
“Thank you,
Shawn”
Kathy’s answer:
“The Department of Water Resources and others, including the State Water Board, utilize satellite imagery for ground-checking information. The imagery can also be used with other models for estimates of applied water. An estimate of applied water unfortunately, does not provide the total amount diverted from the source. For instance, where delivery is by long irrigation canals, the water diverted to account for canal losses is greater than the amount applied for irrigation. Aerials also cannot distinguish between water supplies from groundwater wells, purchased supplies and diversions of water from a stream. A water right is issued for a specific diversion amount and season and measurement of the diversion is necessary to quantify the amount diverted under the specific water right and priority (which can include reasonable conveyance losses) from the amount consumed or estimated as applied water. We believe the measurement of diversion is important. Additionally, the diversion information combined with satellite imagery can help ensure water diversions are reasonable.
I have delayed posting on reservoirs and stockponds, and then work for clients got really busy. Several recent clients have been ranchers and farmers
Pond – photo credit: publicdomainfiles.com
with small stockponds, sometimes many small ponds. What has to be measured, how can it be done economically, what needs to be filed, and how can someone get an exemption to the strict SB 88 law and Water Board regulations?
Ponds over 10 acre-feet (AF) have to be measured, and volume data recorded somehow. Here’s the table from theWater Board:
Water Board Diversion and Pond Measurement Installation Deadlines, Accuracy, Data Recording Frequency, and Qualified Person
The measurement device can be as simple as 2 – $410 Onset Hobos (delivered costs), for $820 total, or more durable In-Situ Troll 200s, $700 each delivered, $1,400 total. If the owner wants to download them and run the software, that’s another $350. The water level logger in the water can be put in a capped piece of 2″ galvanized or PVC pipe, a rope tied to the pipe,
with a buoy on the other end, and then dropping the pipe at the deepest part of the pond. It takes a boat of some type to install it, and pull it up every 6 months or so to maintain and download it. The water level logger device is the same whether the data recording frequency is monthly, weekly, daily, or hourly – the user sets the recording frequency using the proper software.
What has to be filed? Your annual Statement of Diversion and Use, for a pre-1914 and/or a riparion water right. A Report of Permittee or Licensee, for a post-1914 water right. Does something else have to be filed because you installed one or more new measurement devices or data loggers? Yes, you will need to file a Measurement Method form, or have it filed by a qualified person.
Pond In Mountains, Photo Credit: Pixabay
Measurement devices are required by SB 88. The only exception is if an Alternative Compliance Plan (ACP) is filed with the Water Board. ACPs can be filed for one or more of four main reasons: 1) Standard measurement is not feasible; 2) Measurement would unreasonably affect public trust resources (including fish, wildlife, recreation, navigation, and aesthetic values); 3) Measurement Is unreasonably expensive (requires complete supporting documentation; and 4) Measurement would result in the waste or unreasonable use of water.
ACPs are not evaluated, approved, or denied by the Water Board. However, they will all be filed on-line, available for the public to see. An individual, group, or agency might protest part or all of an ACP, and then the Water Board has to decide whether the protest is reasonable. The end result could be no action, or the Water Board calling the owner to suggest measurement devices are needed. If suggestions are not followed, then the Cease And Desist Order would be sent, demanding either compliance in 30 days, or fines of $500 per day until compliance is done. In summary, there is no guarantee an ACP will stand up to criticism.
ACPs need a lot of information filled in, and a good narrative of why standard measurement does not apply. There should be an ACP for each diversion, and each pond. Hint: a ranch can have one ACP to cover all the ponds, using the same text for each filed ACP.
What kinds of ACPs are likely to succeed? The bureaucratic answer (and I used to be a bureaucrat) is plans that clearly fulfill one or more of the four conditions listed above; that are well-described so any reader can understand it; and which have little or no environmental influence.
For ponds and reservoirs, what kinds might reasonably be in an ACP. There is no blanket answer! However, a remote 20 AF pond, with fire danger in the summer trying to drive to it, or inaccessible in the winter, might fit. Ponds with no controlled outlets, that have only spillways and do not fill by any human action, might fit. That’s all I am willing to venture here. For help, see a qualified individual who can provide expert help!
Recording is the other half of measuring diversions from streams, under the law per SB 88, and per the Water Board‘s water diversion measurement and reporting regulations. Diverters are required by law to measure flows at frequencies based on the volume of water diverted in a year. The flow has to be measured and recorded. Of course many diverters don’t need the data – it costs money and it doesn’t add income…unless a farm or ranch is upgrading for efficiency or to increase acreage What you and I want in all of our purchases is the best value for the money.
We’ll look at 5 different water level logging options. The total cost given does not include installation – that adds $200 and up. Certification for the logger and the measurement device itself, by a professional, required for all but the smallest diversions, costs $300 and up if you have Rights To Water Engineering do the work.
Vegetronix Aqua-Plumb Water Level Sensor connected with the Logger-8-USB ($400 per diversion, less if diversions are very close to one another – with tax and shipping, about $500 per diversion)
Onset Hobo U20L-04 Water Level Logger ($600, less for multiple diversions; with tax, shipping, and data shuttle, about $1,050 for the one diversion, $1,400 for two….)
Global Water WL-16 ($1,000; with with tax, shipping, and cable, about $1,450 per diversion)
In-Situ Rugged Troll 200 Data Loggerand Tube 300 Telemetry System ($1,200 – less for multiple diversions, plus $1,300 for each telemetered diversion. With tax, shipping, and cable, about $1,600 per diversion, and with telemetry and add-ons, about $3,300 for one diversion)
PMC Versaline VL4511 – WLS-31 ($1,370 per diversion; with the cable, tax, and shipping, about $1,800 per diversion)
This is a long post since it is hard to summarize something this technical so here isthe bottom line: my top recommendation is the last of five in this post – for most diverters.
SWRCB Measurement and Recording Requirements for 2017 (diverters exempted where Watermaster reports)
For very small diversions, flows have to be recorded monthly or weekly. That is easy to do as long as someone goes to the diversion at least once a week.
Photo credit: globalw.com
For medium-sized diversions, flows must be recorded daily. This is possible, but it doesn’t allow for the owner or employees to have time off, travel, and so on. At this level of recording, an automatic recorder of some type is necessary. Large diversions must be recorded hourly, and automatic recording is the only practical way to be sure flows are recorded.That is the subject of today’s post: automatic recording of flows, or what is really done most of the time, recording water levels and using equations to calculate the flow.
We will leave aside the discussion of propeller, acoustic Doppler, magnetic, and other in-line meters. If you have a diversion that goes through a long length of straight pipe, one of these devices can be bolted in or strapped on. This post is about open diversions into a ditch, where an instantaneous measurement device (weir, orifice, flume) already exists. These open devices do not measure flow directly, they measure the water level. An equation is used to convert levels to flows after data is downloaded.
There are hundreds of devices (ready to go) and components (connected parts) to measure water levels. There are also hundreds of loggers that collect data. Here, we will look at 5 water level sensors connected to data loggers, called water level loggers.
THE FIRST is a setup that rancher and retired aircraft engineer Frank Crowe has been working on. Frank’s desire is to save him and his neighbors money, so he has been working with theVegetronixAqua-PlumbWater Level Sensor connected with theLogger-8-USB. Together these are $340, which is
the least cost of anything that I have seen. With this you will have all the
parts you need for moderately durable, reliable, and accurate water level logger. Not only that, but the Logger-8-USB has 8 channels altogether, so a diverter could measure up to 8 water levels at once by adding 7 more sensors at $95 apiece. Wiith tax and shipping, this costs about $500 per diversion)
Here is Frank’s latest setup with his comments: “Finally was able to put together a prototype package for the Vegetronix sensor. The box is a little bigger than needed, but seems to work. I’m trying to get the data to download into something I can analyze, but it seems to work very stable.
The pipe is 3/4″ mounted to the box, with the sensor wire going down to about an inch from the bottom and then returns up over 12″, therefore doubling the sensitivity. The end is held by some wire at the moment, but would probably work better with a stainless steel spring. The top of the pipe is not sealed, but should be to keep the humidity out of the box. Of course if the data logger were in a separate box, the seal would not be necessary.
To exercise the thing, it is stuck into a 3″ pipe with a water drip going in and a drain at the bottom. The overflow hole is 13″ above the bottom.”
So, what is the trade-off? If you are handy, somewhat experienced with electronic components, and willing to spend some hours, you can set this up yourself. Frank can help a few of his neighbors, but he has his family and ranch requiring his time, too. Otherwise, it is going to cost a couple hundred dollars or so for someone to set this up for you. It needs to be checked, maintained, and adjusted more often than the integrated water level loggers, too, so the maintenance and downloading cost can be $50 to $100 per year if everything is working well.
SECOND, theOnset Hobo U20L-04 Water Level Loggeris $300 before shipping and tax. The DWR Groundwater folks I worked with for years, use these in groundwater wells. They are easy to set up – program one and place it in a stilling well. Take it out once or twice a year to download the data. The battery life is 5 years, maybe more.
Why aren’t these automatically the cheapest option?They may be the cheapest if a diverter has 3 diversions or more, or several neighbors are using the same Hobo U20L-04.However, they are not vented, meaning that as atmospheric pressure changes due to low pressure areas and storms, the device’s pressure reading will not be as accurate. Therefore Onset recommends having a second U20L-04 set up outside the water to measure the pressure change over time. The second device can be some miles away, so one outside calibration device could be used for several in the water within a 300-square-mile area.
What I heard from colleagues is that these did not last for 10 years, and sometimes not for five years, although the device is being improved over time. Durability and reliability of a device are important for uninterrupted data, and therefore compliance with the Water Board’s regulations. The more often a device has to be replaced, the more it costs over time.
In summary, the cost of Onset Hobo U20L-04 devices is $600. This cost may be reduced somewhat if the cost of a calibration device can be shared between several diverters, or several diversions. With tax, shipping, and data shuttle, the delivered cost for all parts is about $1,050 for the one diversion, $1,400 for two….)
THE THIRD device discussed here is theGlobal Water WL-16. This is an integrated, vented device, designed to program and set in a pipe. Watermasters have used these for years at various diversions.
The WL-16 has a stainless steel casing and is fairly tough. They should last a good 5 years. The problem is at the sensor end – it is relatively easy to clog up in warm-water conditions, with algae and/or silt. In cool flowing water, it might operate for the whole irrigation season. In warmer or still water, it will have to be checked and sprayed clean every 1 to 3 months. Watermasters have put the sensor ends in distilled water in baby-bottle bags, and rubber-banded the tops of the bags closed to keep the sensors clean for the entire irrigation season.
One other concern which I have not discussed with the manufacturer – the manual for the WL-16 was updated in 2009 and refers to Windows XP, not the current Windows 10. I am sure that a newer manual is sent out with the device when it is purchased. Overall, with some care to check the sensor end and clean it as necessary, this is a great drop-it-in-and-turn-it-on option. The cost for a WL-16 is $1,000; with with tax, shipping, and cable, about $1,450 per diversion.
THE FOURTH device, the In-Situ Troll, has the advantage of out-of-the-box options for telemetry. The Groundwater folks at the Department of Water Resources have used these and a couple recommend these for the right application. The In-Situ
The Troll 200 Data Logger can run independently without telemetry, or be attached to the Tube 300R Telemetry System. The Troll 200 is non-vented, so like the Onset Hobo data loggers mentioned above, an extra unit is needed for air pressure to correct the water level (pressure) recorded by the unit in the water.
The total unit cost for 2 Troll 200s, a Tube 300R, and accessories, is about $2,900. This is not cheap, but it is a lot less than a full-on gaging station with satellite radio, which costs $12,000 and up for components, and over $2,000 to install in easy locations. Telemetry is expensive, there is no way of getting around that fact. In summary, the cost for 2Troll 200s is $1,200 to log a diversion – each additional, nearby diversion costs only another $600. Telemetry addes $1,300 to the cost of parts for each telemetered diversion. With tax, shipping, and cable, using Troll 200s costs about $1,600 per diversion, and with theTube 300Rtelemetry and add-ons, the total parts cost is about $3,500 for one diversion)
The Tube 300R requires a separate phone number for each water level logger, and cell service. In-Situ offers the option of $35/month web hosting, on its HydroVu Cloud Data Services Plan. This cost is in addition to the Tube 300R, cell phone service, and installation.
THE FIFTH and final water level logger discussed here is thePMC Versaline VL4511 – WLS-31Water Level Datalogger. This looks much like the WL-16, but instead of a silicon bladder at the end of sensor, it has a non-fouling ceramic sensor.At $1,370 before tax and shipping, it has the highest purchase cost of the 4 listed in this post, but it is my recommendation for durability, reliability, and low maintenance.
The Versaline is made for wastewater; in other words, for sewer lines. The datalogger end is vented and it is not supposed to be submerged, same as the Vegetronix components and the WL-16. However, it is made to put inside manholes where it is very warm and humid. The PMC guys have maintained the sensor end in rough environments with the equipment lasting 8 to 12 years. If the sensor gets completely covered with algae (or something worse), it still works. It can be cleaned off with a toothbrush if it seems so clogged it might prevent water from getting to the ceramic end. The data logger and sensor are fairly new but are improvements on the older, long-lived versions.
The VL4511 – WLS-31is three times the cost of the least-expensive option. However, it might be the least expensive in the long run…it sure is the most worry-free of all the options listed here! In summary, the VL4511 – WLS-31 costs about $1,370 per diversion; with the cable, tax, and shipping, about $1,800 per diversion.There are many, many choices for logging water levels. These are the ones I would install, either because I, my colleagues at DWR, or larger farms or ranches have used them; or because I have checked with other users. One of these choices can serve you well!
This is a summary of how water right holders who share a ditch comply with SB 88, and report correctly to the Water Board. So, why I am I using the Measurement Method Form Instructions below? Because, this has the best summary that I have seen, of how a shared ditch is measured and reported. In short:
every water right holder on a ditch has to sign onto the same form;
each person’s split, land use, and irrigated acreage must be reported;
the ditch manager and each person is responsible to report leaving the agreement – presumably this covers every property sale, too.
Excerpts from the Instructions:
“…Examples of Measurement Methods include: Multiple water right holders on a single surface supply may propose a collaborative measurement approach.
“…Attach maps, aerial photographs, or other renderings showing the area covered by the Method and delineating the acreage of each place of use served. For the area covered by the Method, include a list of assessor’s parcel numbers and the current owner of each parcel. Attachments can be uploaded in Section H of the online form.
“…A Measurement Method based on using a shared measuring device shall include the following information:
Description of the methodology used to apportion the volume of water delivered to each diverter covered by the Measurement Method.
Description of the field or flow condition at each diverter’s delivery point, including duration of or period of water delivery, annual water use patterns, irrigated acreage, crops planted, and on-farm irrigation system.
Description of the consumptive use of water for each individual diverter, if available….”
“…A Measurement Method based on using a shared measuring device shall be accompanied by a written agreement signed by each diverter covered by the Measurement Method.
“…Each participant in a Measurement Method plan must sign the form or an “opt-in” form which must be retained by the Measurement Method manager. (Attach an excel spreadsheet listing of participants, as needed). Each Measurement Method participant shall acknowledge that the method will substantially comply with the measurement and monitoring requirements.
“…Each Measurement Method participant is responsible for promptly informing the Division of Water Rights or the Delta Watermaster, as appropriate, if the participant withdraws from the Method. The Method manager is responsible for promptly informing the Division of Water Rights or the Delta Watermaster, as appropriate, if the Method is modified or abandoned….“
Many diverters have filled out the forms due April 1, 2017 – a few days from now. For those who have not, how can you get to the Water Board Forms you need now? See below. Note: for any of the 3 forms, you can still update information after you click the SUBMIT button.
UPDATE: Revised: For any of the 3 forms listed below, save the text from each box where you make an entry, to Word or Notepad. If you get an error message, keep hitting the Previous and Next buttons, and/or browser forward and back buttons until text is saved, or the box blanks out and then reenter the text you saved to Notepad. Especially when attaching files, you may have to go forward and back 10 times, and reattach files, before they’ll “stick’. Entering “too much” text in the form fields can lock up the web page, after you have already gone on to the next, and nothing will save. The advice is to enter less text, then add more and resubmit, and more and resubmit….
REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL TIME – fill this out if you don’t have your device in, or you have not filled out the other 2 forms. Put in lots of detail.
he ditch. So, why use weirs instead of a flume, which can pass much more flow per foot of width? Weirs are better understood in this area, the ditch has adequate width, and it makes splitting the flows easier.
s, leaving it up to public review to bring up questions.
use satellite imagery to monitor flow and water storage? I did not have a good answer why not, since high-resolution satellite imagery has been available for more than 40 years, and very high resolution aerial photography is taken with exponentially increasing frequency.
Vegetronix sensor. The box is a little bigger than needed, but seems to work. I’m trying to get the data to download into something I can analyze, but it seems to work very stable.
was updated in 2009 and refers to Windows XP, not the current Windows 10. I am sure that a newer manual is sent out with the device when it is purchased. Overall, with some care to check the sensor end and clean it as necessary, this is a great drop-it-in-and-turn-it-on option. The cost for a WL-16 is $1,000; with with tax, shipping, and cable, about $1,450 per diversion.
