The water season in the Oakdale Irrigation District is slated to begin with deliveries on Tuesday, March 22, in an action taken at the March 14 regular meeting of the OID Board of Directors.

OID General Manager Steve Knell said that they will start bringing the water in on Saturday, March 19 and start filling the reservoirs. He added that this was a great year for water but the hardest decision is determining when to start the first irrigation. He also said that he doesn’t believe that there will be significant rainfall in the coming week, and that starting next week is in the district’s best interest. Knell also noted that precipitation for March is down, as it was an inch more at this same time last year.

In discussion, the board heard a presentation from CalPERS actuaries that reviewed OID’s retirement plan rates, risk pooling, and mitigating costs and risks. OID’s current rates are at 6.755 percent, will likely increase to 7.7 percent next year, and continue to increase annually up to 9.3 percent in 2013-2014 due to the substantial market losses CalPERS has sustained as well as paying benefits for a longer period due to people retiring earlier and living longer. Senior Pension Actuary Rick Santos also fielded questions from the board about the uncertainty of the economy and the impacts it has on the district, changes in how CalPERS invests, and more.

The next regular meeting of the OID Board of Directors will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, March 15 at the OID boardroom, 1205 East F.