Turlock Irrigation District weighs district-wide rollout of Rubicon ordering system following successful pilot

Turlock Irrigation District weighs district-wide rollout of Rubicon ordering system following successful pilotA pilot deployment of the Rubicon online water ordering system has streamlined agricultural deliveries and helped slash canal spills by 65% in the TCC service area, according to a June operations update.

Spills out of Hodges Drop in the TCC pilot area fell to 270 acre-feet in June 2026, down 65% from 747 acre-feet in 2025.

The district fulfilled 86% of its more than 10,700 water requests on the exact day they were ordered.

Staff are evaluating a full transition to the Rubicon system due to strong customer preference over the legacy online portal.

TID operations also thwarted a rash of canal gate vandalism in June by welding blocking nuts onto stems to prevent brass theft.

Turlock Irrigation District (TID) is evaluating a district-wide transition to a new online water ordering platform following a highly successful pilot program that improved delivery response times and reduced system spills. During a July 21, 2026, board meeting, irrigation staff reported that the Rubicon online ordering system pilot in the TCC service area has been met with strong customer approval. In June, the district processed over 10,700 water orders, successfully fulfilling 86% of requests on the same day they were placed. The pilot has also demonstrated significant physical efficiency gains. Spills out of Hodges Drop at the bottom of the series main totaled just under 270 acre-feet in June, representing a 65% reduction compared to the 747 acre-feet spilled during the same period in 2025. Staff noted that while the pilot has drastically reduced water loss, reaching zero spills in that specific sector remains challenging due to an unautomated lateral that discharges into the final drop. When customer demand exists below Lateral 5, the automated system successfully backs water up to the holding pond, eliminating the spill. "We've heard a lot of [customers] say, we prefer the Rubicon system. It has more features... it's easier to get onto," said Wes Miller during the irrigation update. Miller indicated that staff will be bringing forward discussions on potentially transitioning the entire district to the Rubicon platform. Beyond the software pilot, the district's operations team had to address a sudden spike in physical infrastructure vandalism in June. Thieves targeted traditional canal side gates to strip brass nuts, presumably to sell to local recycling centers. In response, TID increased security patrols and welded blocking nuts onto the gate stems to secure the brass components, a mitigation measure that successfully halted the thefts. Overall, TID's water resources for June totaled nearly 89,000 acre-feet, with surface water making up 94% of the supply and rented pumping accounting for just 2%. Looking ahead to July, typically the district's highest demand month, staff project approximately 10,000 water orders and 100,000 acre-feet in lake releases.