Scotts Flat Reservoir seems to be very close to the spillway elevation which is approximately 3074.8 feet in elevation. That’s the elevation in which the water starts flowing out due to increase in volume from rainfall or from release of water from upper dams. As of today, the elevation of the water is 3073 or about 1.8 feet from flowing over the spillway.
In the pictures above, you can see how close to the top of the dam the water is. Camping, fishing, swimming, sunning, boating, water skiing, sailing, board sailing and other activities are popular at Scotts Flat reservoirs in the Sierra foothills. Day use parks, campgrounds and beaches which is operated by a private operator under contract with Nevada Irrigation District.
Scotts Flat is situated among the tall pines at the 3100-foot elevation nine miles east of Nevada City via Highway 20 and Scotts Flat Road. It offers 169 campsites at two large campgrounds, plus a group camp. Across the lake, accessible via Red Dog and Quaker Hill Roads from Nevada City, is the Cascade Shores Day Use Area.
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Water supplies to the greater Grass Valley-Nevada City area are safer and more reliable as a result of NID’s Banner Cascade Pipeline Project which is being phased into operation this fall and winter. Pipeline construction, roadway overlays and repaving are finished, tree planting and hydroseeding are being completed this fall, and a startup testing program of the large water system is under way.
Major Upgrade
In planning for 10 years and under construction for the past two years, the $41 million upgrade is the largest project completed by NID since the Yuba-Bear Hydroelectric Project was built in 1963-66. The project includes 6.4 miles of large diameter pipeline to carry water across Banner Mountain to NID’s Elizabeth L. George and Loma Rica water treatment plants. It will also make more irrigation water available to the canal water systems of western Nevada County.The overall project includes 5.5 miles of new treated water pipeline and new fire hydrants, making new supplies of safe drinking water available to many Banner Mountain neighborhoods.
An interesting feature near the downstream end of the water project is the plumbing for a future small hydroelectric power station near NID’s Loma Rica Reservoir. The Banner Cascade Pipeline Project is the second phase of a major upgrade to a key water system serving western Nevada County. NID improved the Upper Cascade Canal (east of Red Dog Road) in an $18 million project completed in 2000-2002.
NID System Improvements Coming to Cascade Shores taken May 2012 taken with my cell phone Samsung Galaxy Note
Residents of Cascade Shores east of Nevada City will be getting a larger, more reliable public water system, under actions taken Wednesday (May 23) by the Nevada Irrigation District Board of Directors.
The board voted to purchase 4400 feet of new eight-inch pipeline to replace deteriorating and undersized 4-inch and 6-inch main lines installed in the 1960s and 1970s by the developer of Cascade Shores. The new pipe will be purchased from low bidder Groeniger & Co. for $129,800.
The system improvement is planned along Cascade Loop, Cascade Drive and Artic Close and also includes nine new fire hydrants. NID maintenance crews are slated to begin installing the new pipeline in June.
The overall project is budgeted at $350,000 and is part of a systematic program to upgrade aging water infrastructure in four Nevada County residential communities developed in the 1960s and 1970s. An initial project was completed in Alta Sierra last year, an upgrade is now being completed in Lake of the Pines and an improvement at Lake Wildwood is planned for 2013.
Directors also awarded a $732,600 contract to T&S Construction, Inc. of Sacramento for construction of a new transmission main line along Highway 49 in North Auburn.
The water project will provide for more water and fire flow along the Highway 49 corridor from Locksley Lane to Quartz Drive. Work is expected to begin in June and be completed before winter.
What is more appealing than the face of a raccoon, cute, a mask over their eyes and their overall facial features make them look wise. But, what a problem. They get into your cat food in the garage, overturn garbage cans and leave behind quite a mess. Not only that, if you continue reading, you’ll understand how dangerous they can be to your health, even fatal.
These bandit-masked raccoons are a familiar sight just about everywhere, because they will eat just about anything. These ubiquitous mammals are found in forests, marshes, prairies, and even in cities. They are adaptable and use their dexterous front paws and long fingers to find and feast on a wide variety of fare.
In the natural world, raccoons snare a lot of their meals in the water. These nocturnal foragers use lightning-quick paws to grab crayfish, frogs, and other aquatic creatures. On land, they pluck mice and insects from their hiding places and raid nests for tasty eggs.
Raccoons also eat fruit and plants—including those grown in human gardens and farms. They will even open garbage cans to dine on the contents.
They do not have opposing thumbs, but that does not seem to hinder them at all. Raccoons sample food and other objects with their front paws to examine them and to remove unwanted parts. The tactile sensitivity of their paws is increased if this action is performed underwater, since the water softens the horny layer covering the paws. However, they do not use water to clean their food as often thought. (Wikipedia)
I don’t think that feeding raccoons is a good idea, since they carry rabies and distemper, A more dangerous disease is found in raccoon feces which can contain a parasite called Baylisascaris procyonis. This is a type of roundworm that can also infect humans. If this parasite is transferred to humans, it can be extremely dangerous. In children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems, infection with this roundworm can even be fatal. Infections occur when someone comes into contact with raccoon droppings. Millions of this parasite’s eggs are often present in the droppings. Even though roundworm parasites need to be inside the host to survive, the eggs can remain alive and dangerous for years in the soil. This is how people can come into contact with the parasite without even knowing that they have.
If you have been exposed to this parasite or its eggs, your symptoms could include becoming nauseous, tired, and you may notice a lack of attention or coordination. Other more serious symptoms are the loss of muscle control, blindness, and coma. It can also cause a person’s liver to become enlarged. If you have come into contact with raccoon feces and have any of these symptoms, contact a doctor as soon as possible. With the proper treatment, the ringworms can be eliminated before they travel throughout the body.
If you’ve found raccoon feces in your yard, take precautions before cleaning it up. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and eye protection. Experts also recommend that you wear rubber boots, tyvek overalls, and that a respirator be used. It is also recommended that you double or triple bag the droppings before disposing of them. This will prevent other people coming into contact with the dangerous parasite. If you are unsure, or if you suspect a large raccoon population, you can call a professional pest controller. They have the appropriate equipment and the training to clean up the droppings safely and they can also offer some advice for deterring raccoons from playing and foraging in your yard.
350 angry striped bass fishermen met with Department of Fish & Game (DFG) officials at the Portuguese Hall in Rio Vista recently. Marty Gingras a biologist with the DFG spoke of their plans to eradicate the striped bass due to its predation on the salmon. The reality, as we have explained before is the striped bass and salmon lived in harmony in the Delta from 1879 until recently when the amount of water exported has increased dramatically. In recent years both species of fish have declined. Ironically in 2011 when we had plenty of rainfall and runoff all fish and wildlife in the Delta have rebounded. Striped bass sportfishing is a huge industry in California with licenses alone bringing in over $12 million per year. Their plan is to eliminate the striped bass, which will theoretically increase salmon populations, which will build a case to export more water from the Delta and cause further declines in fish populations.
Gingras and the DFG are basically stooges of an organization called Coalition for a Sustainable Delta whose goal is anything but sustaining the Delta. Their contact Michael Boccadoro appears to be the president of a lobbying organization called The Dolphin Group. Coincidentally the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta and The Dolphin Group share the same address, 915 L Street in Sacramento. The judge that ruled in favor of wiping out the striped bass is none other than Oliver Wanger who has ruled in favor of water exporters many times. You have probably seen Wanger’s name recently when he retired from the bench and shortly thereafter went to work as an attorney for Westlands Water District, a major exporter of Delta water (he has since resigned from the position). If you think I am trying to write a John Grisham novel about California Water thieves you are wrong. I could not make this stuff up. Well, if the Coalition for a Sustainable Delta wants to wipe out the striped bass you can only imagine what the Dolphin Group would like to do to dolphins.
I guess the DFG folks were expecting trouble at the meeting, according to my sources there were no fewer than eight armed game wardens at the gathering. This is a record number of armed guards for water related meetings I have attended. Generally even when I have been at meetings attended by department heads they have only had two or three California Highway Patrolmen as bodyguards.
While I was researching this matter I ran across this interesting email from Michael Boccadoro to Lester Snow (former head of the Natural Resources Agency, Joe Grindstaff (a member of the Delta Stewardship Council), and John Moffatt (a member of acting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s staff) dated June 03, 2010.
“Just wanted to make sure you saw the most recent letter to CDFG on striped bass from NMFS. Very powerful letter. Does anyone in the administration think this is a priority and maybe deserves some action? This is going to go public very soon since the lawsuit is being heard next week in (Judge Oliver) Wanger’s court. Fish and Game does not seem to have their act together. I would very much like to get a response on this.
It was signed: Michael Boccadoro President, The Dolphin Group 925 L Street, Suite 800
The day began with another full breakfast at Hotel Aranjuez in San Jose, and except for the made to order omelet and the typical rice and beans, every dish was a new item! Wonder how many days they can keep this up?? Today our table was visited by a local squirrel, exciting all us tourists, so of course we took a picture too.
We decided to visit a coffee plantation in the nearby hills of Jan Jose, over 3000 ft altitude. We picked the Doka Estate, out of Alajuela as they offered tours even if it rained. The drive was supposed to be 45 minutes to an hour, but after about an hour we found our taxi driver had never been there either. Luckily I had the phone number and our taxi driver had a cell phone, so we got there 5 minutes after our reservation, and the tour hadn’t left yet. True to the ad, it was a “seed to cup” tour. We learned it takes a full year to grow the seeds into a plant, ready to be transplanted to a bigger container, and another year to grow the plant to be ready to plant in the field.
The plant is more of a shrub than a tree, the top of each one can be reached by the arms of the picker (migrant workers from Nicaragua or Panama), who picks each berry individually, only when they are red, so a plant has to be picked many times, from October until February of each year. They fill a basket, tied around their waist, which when full weighs 25 pounds. A very good picker can pick 30 baskets a day, and gets paid $1.00 per basket!!
After that the berries are taken to a wash bath where they are re-measured, then dumped into a water bath. The good quality beans sink, and are exported, the bad ones float and are sold in Costa Rica!! They are then again processed so the outer red shell comes off leaving from 1 to 3 seeds and again are sorted by size into three categories (biggest is best). After that they are “fermented” for 3 days in a large open vat with some water. It is a natural fermentation, the guide didn’t know what caused it, but I assume it was natural (or wild) yeast, as she said nothing was added. The alcohol and some water is then siphoned off and shipped to another company that makes coffee liquor.
The remaining beans are then dried for 3 days on a concrete pad in the sun and are raked to turn over, every 30 minutes 24/7! After that they spend another day in a gas fired dryer, rotated constantly. They are then stored in bags for 3 months (the berry is still “green”). Then most of the beans are exported in that condition as the gourmet coffee companies (Starbucks gets 60 % of this plantation’s crop), like to do their own secret roasting and blending.
entrance-doka-plantation
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Entrance to the Doka Plantation
Then we saw a roasting room where three levels (light, medium and dark) or roasting is done. This is a very small plant as the only coffee they roast is that sold in their own tourist shop, and are the very highest quality of beans. The low quality beans are sent to another Costa Rican company to roast for the locals and all export beans are sold green.
Tastes of their 7 blends were then offered (John and Ted imbibed; I just toured the gift shop). An interesting fact was that to make decaffeinated coffee the beans are shipped to Germany, where they were decaffeinated through a water process at NO cost, because the German company sells the Caffeine all over the world for other purposes. Doka Estate only pays to ship them over and back to Costa Rica. But again this is a very small % of the crop. All in all it was a very interesting tour taking about 2 hours whicha I would recommend to any visitor.
I’ve watch Scott’s Flat Lake go to being full to the brim to where it’s at now for the winter. The above chart from Nevada Irrigation District shows the water levels during the summer season
scotts-flat-lake-dam
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Looking at the dam at Scotts Flat Lake
Click on pictures to enlarge, escape to close.
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Nevada Irrigation District (NID) water originates in the snow pack of a 70,000-acre watershed in the high mountains of Sierra and Nevada counties. The district’s Mountain Division reservoirs include Jackson Meadows, Milton, French, Faucherie, Sawmill and Bowman. Water from these reservoirs flows to PG&E’s Lake Spaulding via the Bowman-Spaulding Canal.
From Spaulding, NID water flows down the South Yuba Canal to the Cascade Canal system which carries water into western Nevada County service areas. Water from Spaulding also flows down the Bear River watershed through PG&E’s Drum Hydroelectric Project and NID’s Yuba-Bear Power Project. This water supplies NID service areas in southern Nevada County and Placer County.
In addition to its seven mountain reservoirs, NID owns and operates three Foothill Division reservoirs, Scotts Flat, Rollins and Combie. The district operates and maintains 400 miles of canals and 300 miles of pipelines.
The highest point on NID watershed is 8373-foot English Mountain, which rises just south of Jackson Meadows. The lowest elevation NID water service is 100 miles to the southwest, at the 150-foot elevation, near Lincoln, Placer County.
Source: Waterways, a publication of NID
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Emerald Cove Marina – photo courtesy of Emerald Cove Marina
Bullards Bar Reservoir is not in Nevada County, but it is close enough to Nevada City and Grass Valley as to make it a destination for water skiing, house boating and fishing. It’s only 21 miles north of Nevada City off of Highway 49 in the historic gold country. The three closest cities are Nevada City, Grass Valley and Marysville.
The lake surface is at 2,000 foot elevation, 16 miles long with about 60 miles of shoreline. The boating surface is 4,700 acres, which is a lot of area to boat in. There are only two launch ramps and once you are in the water, you are surrounded by a greenbelt covered with pine, oak, fir, madrone, dogwood and other species of trees native to the area. As you cruise up into the North Yuba Canyon, sheer cliffs of granite come down to greet the crystal clear water.
The North Yuba River is backed up by New Bullards Bar Dam which is an awesome sight all by itself. Standing 645? above the canyon floor, it holds back 960,000 acre feet of water. It’s the second tallest dam in California, 5th tallest in the United States. A hydro-electric dam, Bullards Bar Dam is operated and controlled by the Yuba County Water Agency. They are able to manage the water so that recreation access to the reservoir is never restricted.
Bullards Bar offers boat access campgrounds, land based sites, and shoreline camping permits. There are a total of only 160 sites, which limits the amount of people the area can accommodate. Emerald Cove Marina takes site specific reservations for all camping.
For the fisherman, there are kokanee salmon, rainbow trout, German browns, large mouth, small mouth and black bass, crappie, catfish, and bluegill. Bullards Bar has a reputation as having the best kokanee salmon and black bass fishing in California.
CAMPING
Campgrounds – Call for reservations & fees
Pets, NO Hookups, Boat & Trailer Storage, Some Flush Toilets
BOATING
Power, Row, Jet ski, Windsurf, Canoe, Sail, Water-ski, and Inflatables are allowed.
There is a full service marina with gas and propane exchange available
Rentals: Houseboats, Ski Boats, Jet Skis, and Pontoon Patio Boats
RECREATION
Fishing
Swimming, Picnicking, & Hiking
Snacks, Groceries, Bait & Tackle and Fuel Dock
It’s been a long, cool spring, but it’s bound to get hot one of these days. And when it does, human bodies will be heading for water bodies in droves.
There’s no question that swimming cools you off, provided the water temperature is lower than your body temperature—which it is, unless we’re talking about a hot tub or a hot spring. But is swimming the equivalent of a glass of lemonade: cools you off, but has no real health benefits? Or is it really good for you?
Well…it depends.
First, the pluses of swimming as exercise:
1. It uses all your major muscle groups.
2. It can provide a good workout for your heart and lungs.
3. It’s easy on your joints.
4. The buoyancy factor (you weigh about one-tenth as much in water as you do on land) makes it a good exercise for people who are pregnant, have injuries, or need to avoid high-impact types of exercise.
5. It’s appropriate for people of all ages and ability levels.
Now the minuses:
1. In order to count swimming as exercise, you’ll need to swim a good number of brisk laps (floating and splashing won’t do it), and some people find that monotonous.
2. Swimming puts no stress on your bones, and weight-bearing exercise is essential for maintaining bone mass and strength.
3. Swimming makes you hungry, so the calories you consume after a swim may exceed those you burned during the swim.
4. Unlike with other types of exercise, your body does not continue burning calories at an increased rate after your workout. This is because you don’t heat up as much exercising in water as on land; you lose body heat faster to water than to air because water is denser, so your body doesn’t have to work to cool you down post-workout.
5. Finally, if swimming is to be your workout of choice, you need convenient access to a pool. The “inconvenience factor” may become a convenient excuse not to exercise.
So if you like swimming, find that it meets your exercise needs, and is convenient and not too boring, go for it. But if you’ve been swimming for a while and wondering why you’re not seeing the results you expected, now you know why! You may want to explore some other type of exercise.
And if you’re heading for a natural water body, especially the fast-moving, snowmelt-fed rivers of Nevada County, remember that humans (and other land creatures) and cold, white water are a dangerous and often deadly combination. Especially when alcohol is involved.
Lisa J. Lehr is a writer, copywriter, and fitness fan living in Grass Valley. She can help you promote your business with a full range of online and offline marketing pieces. A member of Empire Toastmasters, she’s available to speak to your business or professional group. Visit her website www.justrightcopy.com for more information, opt in for a message series, and receive a free Marketing Guide.
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