After 32 years of service on the Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors, Board member Steven A. Webb decided to step down and did not seek re election this past November. He termed out in December, noting that after so much time of giving to OID, he finally decided to devote time to his family’s needs and to being a grandparent.

Webb began his career with the Oakdale Irrigation District in 1985 and was reelected by his constituents eight times. Being an irrigation district known for its volatility in the past, this was a testament to his ability to find common ground and make common sense decisions that benefitted all of the OID.

“Mr. Webb’s knowledge and decision making skills helped transform OID into being one of the best positioned irrigation districts in the San Joaquin Valley when it comes to finances and water rights protection,” said General Manager Steve Knell.

During Webb’s more than three decades of OID service, he was very instrumental in many of the milestone projects that have benefited all of OID’s constituents. Some of those projects include: construction of the Sand Bar Hydroelectric Facility (19851987), the building of the Third Generator at Tulloch Dam (20102012), the development of the 1988 Agreement and Stipulation with the United States Bureau of Reclamation in New Melones Dam, the Vernalis Adaptive Management Plan (VAMP) (19982010) and the Stockton East Water District water sale (19982011) which generated nearly $40 million of income for OID, the construction of the Robert Van Lier Regulating Reservoir (2002) and the North Side Regulating Reservoir (2010), the expenditure of $15 million in hazard reduction projects on the South Main Canal to protect OID’s water system, the development of a Water Resources Plan (2007), the expansion of the District’s agricultural water service area by 10,000 acres, and the commencement of the $15 million TwoMile Bar Tunnel Project in 2017.

For all the major project work that benefited OID under Webb’s guidance, he and the Board still worked to end up with $58.6 million in cash and investments on the books per the 2016 audit report.

“By all standards of measurement,” noted Knell, “Mr. Webb has left a legacy that will likely not be matched again at OID. We wish him and his family the very best.”