You might think of April 15th as the traditional tax filing deadline. But it also means NID canals are filling up again for the seasonal irrigation season, which runs through October 15th. That supports 32-thousand agricultural acres in Nevada, as well as Placer and Yuba Counties. That’s used for grazing and growing crops, such as wine grapes, nursery stock, apples, rice, plums, citrus, grass, and alfalfa hay. And while it might seem like a simple cranking of a valve, NID Public Information Officer Tomi Riley says it’s actually a monumental effort to get the water flowing…

And Riley says the task is even more difficult when we, once again, have had a winter with below-average precipitation. Many of the canals are drier and more of the water has to come from higher up in the system…

And while irrigation water is the lifeblood for local agriculture, Riley reminds people that the canals can be dangerous, with similar fast flows that you see in rivers this time of year. The canals also have steep, slippery sides that are almost impossible to climb out of, along with culverts and gratings that can create a snag.