Nevada County Life

NOAA have been warning about the warm temperatures melting the snow leading to increased run off, swollen rivers, and cold water temperatures.

On Saturday the South Yuba river at Bridgeport was definitely deeper, faster and colder than is normal at this time of year.

South Yuba River at Bridgeport

Although the air temperature was warm only a few hardy souls braved the icy waters, and those that did soon returned to the limited beach area.

As part of the Magenta Drain clean up project the Empire Mine State Park is constructing a Passive Water Treatment System to remove the pollutants from Magenta Drain.

Instead of constructing a regular water treatment facility with buildings and holding tanks this passive system will be a series of ponds and wetlands that will remove the metals and contaminants from the water.

The polluted water from Magenta Drain will be extracted from the water course, be pumped up to the wetlands, flow through the facility, and then be returned to the water course just below the extraction point.

At the current time the construction site is an unwelcome addition to what is usually a pleasant drive through the Empire Mine State Park, but the end result should be worth it. It’ll also be nice to remove the polluted water that currently flows through Memorial Park in Grass Valley.

Fall color has arrived in Grass Valley, and in the case of some trees, the color has been and gone!

Walking around the Hennessy and Empire Manor neighborhoods on Saturday October 9th there were trees just beginning to turn, some completely turned, and some that were already shedding their colorful leaves.

Over the summer there was construction work at the Memorial Park playground and a number of tall metal columns were installed.

This week shade “sails” were added to the columns, shading both the climbing structure for the 2-5 year old children, and the swings.

Even late on an early October day the difference between standing in the shade and standing in the direct sunlight was noticeable!  Should be really useful next summer though as not only will the shades protect the children from the sunlight, but they’ll also stop the equipment getting too hot in the afternoon.

It’s slow going, but moving along…the mural on the rear and side of the Del Oro Theater in Grass Valley, California. And while it looks good close up, what will it look like from the freeway? Will the detail be lost? Will it work from a distance?  Here’s a photograph of the new mural in progress taken from the Safeway parking lot.

New Del Oro Mural, November 2009

And here’s the old mural that was there previously…