January 2017 Update

Dear Member:

January Weather

January was a great rain month, one of the best in many years.  Our local Mallard ducks had a great time in the rain filled pond behind the 7th green.  

The rain total of 4.5" was 2.3" above the average for the month and brought the total season to date to 9.1." January temperatures were near normal.

Welcome 

Nic and Katie Pope have purchased and moved into the Bigelow's home with their three children, Adelaide, Emmy, Michah.  Welcome to the neighborhood.  If you met Dave, you know you have big shoes to fill.

Annual Membership Meeting

The Belmont Water Corporation Annual Membership Meeting will be held at 6:00 PM on March 15, 2017 at Belmont Country Club, 8253 East Belmont Ave, Fresno, California 93737.  Appetizers and a no-host bar will be provided with the meeting beginning immediately following.  Please plan on attending this important neighborhood event.  An agenda will be mailed prior to the meeting.

Pipeline Construction

Heavy construction is underway on the south side of Belmont Avenue for the large-diameter water pipeline. During February, work will progress east from Locan Avenue toward Fancher Avenue. Work is anticipated to be complete across the Belmont Country Club driveway during the last week of February.

Detours

Please use Highland Avenue or McCall Avenue until work is completed crossing the driveway, and once the work zone is east of the driveway, please use De Wolf Avenue. 

Access for residences and Belmont Country Club will be maintained throughout construction. Residents and business traffic will be able to travel through the “soft road closure” zone indicated in yellow below. However, please note that the “hard road closure” work zone, indicated in red, will be moving east, and will take up both lanes of the road. Please follow the posted detour routes to avoid the hard closure work zone. Work across the Belmont Country Club driveway will take place in two sections, so only half of the driveway will be closed at a time.

Thank you for your patience as this important project is completed. Please use extra caution when driving in the area. Safety is the City’s highest priority. Work is anticipated from Monday to Friday during daytime hours, but occasional work may take place on the weekends.

For more information, please click here.

Watering Rules

Please water only three days per week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Turn your sprinkler controller 🔻OFF🔻for January and February.

Water Conservation

Thanks to the rain and everyone finally during their sprinkler controllers to the off position, water usage was the lowest since we began measuring usage at 9,500 gallons per household. It was 47% better than target and 18% better than last year.  Click here for a larger view.

Belmont Country Club Take-out Dinners

Belmont Country Club is now offering Friday night take-out dinners to its members and Belmont Water Corporation members are also invited to partake. 

Even after epic storms, groundwater still depleted by drought

Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, January 30, 2017



The blizzards that ravaged the Sierra Nevada in the past month wiped out more than a third of the California snowpack deficit that built up over five years of drought, a team of scientists said Monday, while encouraging state residents to continue conserving water. Read more...

Heavy precipitation in Western U.S.

Morning Ag Clips
January 26, 2017

This is already the 5th wettest water year in 25+ years for California

Another week of heavy precipitation in California last week, with up to a foot of rain in some areas, has caused a dramatic reduction in drought conditions across the state. All of the D4 intensity drought (the most severe on the USDA’s drought scale) has been eradicated. A year ago, 40% of the state of California was considered to be in a D4 intensity drought.  Read more...

Update and Progress on California Water Action Plan

CDFA's Planting Seeds Blog

January 10, 2017


SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A new report from several California agencies tracks the significant progress made in 2016 toward achievement of the California Water Action Plan – progress that builds the reliability and resiliency of our water resources. Read More...

December 2016 Update

Dear Member:

Happy New Year

We wish you all a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. 

December Weather

December weather turned out much better than forecast.  Rainfall was 2.4", .4" above average.  January is starting out very well with almost 3" forecast for the weekend of the 7th.  December temperatures were near normal.

Waterline Air

Some of you experienced air in your water lines in late November and early December.  A sticking air relief valve on the water tank caused air to be trapped in the lines resulting in spitting at the faucet and milky appearing water.  The problem has been corrected and the air is slowly working its way out of the system.

Pipeline Construction

The pipeline construction has begun.  I will forward information and updates from the city on progress and road closures as I receive them.  

For more information, please click here.

Watering Rules

Please water only three days per week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Turn your sprinkler controller 🔻OFF🔻for January and February.

Water Conservation

Water usage was again seasonally down in December to 16,400 gallons per household. It was 15% better than target, but 28% worse than last year. We finished the calendar year 3% worse than target and 5% worse than last year.  Click here for a larger view.  Along with increased water usage, the associated cost of pumping the additional water increased $1,600 ($40 per member) or 26% over 2015.  Please, watch your usage this coming year.  If we don't control the amount of water used voluntarily, the SWRCB is more than willing to help us make adjustments.

Belmont Country Club

For you non-golfers in the neighborhood, Belmont Country Club has social memberships available at a very reasonable price.  Not only do you have access to the restaurant and bar, the banquet rooms are available at discounted prices and there are limited golf privileges.  Please contact the Todd Hansen at 559.251.5078 Ext. 13 or todd@bccemail.net.

November 2016 Update

Dear Member:

Happy Holidays

We hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and will have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. 

November Weather

My family was from the mid-west where they dry land farmed in Nebraska.  They were all weather watchers.  The weather was the life blood of the plains.  If you mis-read or were mis-informed about the weather, it could be spell disaster.  The current drought in California and all of the southwest United States, could last for years or even centuries.  I'm watching the weather and our reprieve last year with El Nino has been replaced by El Nina. 
Both November daily high and low temperatures were 3 degrees warmer than the average for the month.  Rainfall of 1.85"and was .20" above average.  Outlook for December is not so promising.

The Drought Outlook: Over Half of the U.S. is Dry

The Old Farmers Almanac

The latest figures are out. As of end of 2016, more than half of the continental U.S. is dry or in drought. And it’s not expected to end.  Read more...

Pipeline Construction

The pipeline construction has begun.  I will forward information and updates from the city on progress and road closures as I receive them.  

For more information, please click here.

Watering Rules

Please water only three days per week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you have a seasonal adjustment on your sprinkler controller, you should look to dial it back to the 10% level. If you don't, turn it OFF for December, January, and February.

Water Conservation

Water usage was again seasonally down in November to 34,800 gallons per household, however, it was 7% worse than target and 44% worse than last year. For the year, we are now worse than target and last year by 4%.  Click here for a larger view.

Making Water Conversation a California Way of Life

State agencies have released a draft plan for achieving long-term efficient water use and meeting drought preparedness goals that reflect California’s diverse climate, landscape and demographic conditions.

The plan’s fundamental premise is that efficient water use helps all of California better prepare for longer and more severe droughts caused by climate change. California recently suffered the driest four years in state history, with only average rainfall last year. Even today, 75 percent of the state remains in severe drought conditions. A UCLA report projects the Sierra Nevada snowpack, one of California’s largest sources of water supply, to potentially drop 50 percent by the end of the century due to climate change.

To read all 72 pages of the draft plan, click here.

October 2016 Update

Dear Member:

Director Resignation

I'm sad to report that Dave and Kimi Bigelow have decided to join their daughter and family and move to Colorado in the next couple of months.  They have put their house on the market and are awaiting the construction of a new home in Fort Collins.  
Dave has served on the BWC board of directors for the last 7 years and as president for the last year.  Dave was responsible for successfully managing the construction and tank installation in 2011.  
We've enjoyed our friendship with Dave and Kimi. We'll miss them and we wish them all the best in their new home. 

October Weather

We missed most of October here, but daily high temperature was 4 degrees cooler than the average high of 83. Daily average low temperature of 54 was right on average.  There was a nice rain event late in the month which delivered .67".  Average rainfall for October is .87". Long term outlook for this winter is average rainfall and normal temperatures.

1,2,3-TCP Update

The lawsuit has been filed. Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group has been hired to perform a study to determine the best and most cost effective means to remove or mitigate this chemical contaminant. 

Propane

Thanks to all who participated in the survey.  There was some interesting data generated.

Pipeline Construction

The pipeline construction has begun.  I will forward information and updates from the city on progress and road closures as I receive them.  

For more information, please click here.

Watering Rules

Please water only three days per week, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. If you have a seasonal adjustment on your sprinkler controller, you should look to dial it back to the 20% level. 

Water Conservation

Water usage was again seasonally down in October to 51,000 gallons per household, 5% better than the target, but 9% worse than last year. For the year, we are worse than target, 3%, and 2% worse than last year.  Click here for a larger view.