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1/5/2010 - Drainshed Meeting for Duck Clubs to be Held January 30

Imperial County has an estimated 10,000 acres of duck clubs. The water application and drainage practices for these duck clubs is substantially different than those for most other types of fields, and as a result duck club owners and managers face unique situations with regard to BMP implementation for TMDL compliance.

The Imperial County Farm Bureau TMDL Voluntary Compliance Program is holding a drainshed meeting Saturday, January 30 that will be specifically geared to the Best Management Practices for irrigation and silt runoff management in duck clubs. All managers and owners of duck clubs in the Imperial Valley Voluntary TMDL Compliance program are required to attend this meeting, which has been scheduled to coincide with the end of duck season. The meeting will be held at 1pm January 30, at the Calipatria Inn, which is located at 700 North Sorensen Drive in Calipatria.

Retired Fish & Game Lieutenant Bob Turner will be a featured guest speaker at the meeting, and will present a very interesting program on mountain lions, which inhabit the Imperial Valley during the winter. Lieutenant Turner’s program will help attendees understand how to live with mountain lions and what to do if one is ever encountered. As the state’s most knowledgeable expert on mountain lions, lieutenant Turner has killed dozens of lions and has investigated every major mountain lion incident in California for the past 20 years.

Imperial County’s voluntary Total Maximum Daily Load, or TMDL, program is designed to continue reducing the amount of silt and minerals that are transported through the drainage systems from agricultural fields into the New and Alamo Rivers, and ultimately to the Salton Sea. The goal set by the Regional Water Quality Control Board is to reduce the amount of silt and minerals in the system by 50% over the course of 12 years.

Within three years of implementation, the Farm Bureau’s TMDL program achieved its goal for reducing silt and minerals being carried into the New River. The program has also seen a significant reduction at the Alamo River well ahead of the 12-year implementation schedule.

The TMDL program, which is administered by Imperial County Farm Bureau, is voluntary, however nearly all farmers and duck club owners in Imperial Valley participate in the program. Those who do not participate in the Farm Bureau program work directly with the Regional Water Quality Control Board to design and implement a TMDL plan for their farm or duck club.

In the Farm Bureau program, water users implement a variety of Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are most effective for reducing silt and mineral runoff on their own properties, and maintain a record of their efforts. Participants are also required to attend annual meetings to keep up-to-date and share information relating to BMPs and TMDL management on their farms.

For more information about the TMDL program, or to RSVP for the duck club drainshed meeting, contact Candace Nelson, TMDL Program Manager at Imperial County Farm Bureau – 760-352-3831 or info@ivtmdl.com. If you own or operate a duck club and are unable to attend this meeting, call the Farm Bureau office to schedule an individual appointment.