Katie Patterson: A Partner in the Future of SJC Energy
Water is life, especially in agriculturally rich regions like San Joaquin County. Helping to supply growers and residents with the water they need, Katie Patterson has worked with the South San Joaquin Irrigation District since November 2021 in a dual role as their public and government relations manager, sharing information with the public and managing community outreach while also managing special projects and legislative state engagement.
“Many people are surprised to learn that our system is 115 years old,” Katie said. “It was built with the technology of the day using mules and shovels, and it remains a highly effective, gravity-fed system from Goodwin Dam, east of Knights Ferry all the way across our district to its western boundary of Airport Road in Manteca. Today, we have a 30-year capital program that includes rehabilitating pipelining across the district and will result in significant savings and will extend the longevity of our system for our customers.” This ongoing progress is only part of the good news for residents and businesses in the area.
Future Improvements
Katie observed that with regard to both water and energy, there’s a lot to look forward to. “At SSJID, we have several great projects in the works. On the water side, we are working to fortify our headworks of our irrigation system from growing risks of rock failure in the Stanislaus River Canyon. Our project will create a safer, new point of diversion that is protected, and will bypass our existing canal with a new two-mile tunnel to ensure drinking water for 215,000 south San Joaquin County residents; irrigation customers for South San Joaquin Irrigation District and Oakdale Irrigation District are protected for the continued production of food and fiber,” she said.
She also reported, “On the energy side, we are committed to becoming a public retail electric utility, to replacing PG&E, and we are committed to 15 percent savings for customers in our district, in and around Ripon, Escalon and Manteca. This project would bring immense savings to the local families and businesses with safe, reliable and affordable power. In 2016, estimates indicate the region would save $15.5 million annually with our project.
“We are a partner with Oakdale Irrigation District in the Tri-Dam Project that generates 125 megawatts through three dams, Donnells, Beardsley and Tulloch, which were built in the 1950s and support our districts through the sales of clean carbon-free power,” she added.
Rate Relief
That’s not to say there are no challenges. “While our retail electric project is exciting, it has been 20 years in the making, with more process still ahead. We are currently awaiting our eminent domain, or right to take, and valuation trials, in addition to having a Section 851 review under the California Public Utilities Commission. Every day we are delayed, our community fails to see rate relief. So, we are motivated to get results that will make a difference for our community,” she elaborated. Other threats are simpler, Katie said. “Ongoing droughts would lead to constrained resources for our customers. Thankfully, our district has excellent pre-1914 water rights that help us to smooth out drought impacts if and when they occur.”
Katie graduated from California State University, Fresno, with a bachelor of science degree in agricultural business. Her range of career experience includes a number of highlights, notably her role as program director for the San Joaquin County Farm Bureau, serving as deputy county administrator for San Joaquin County, and working as the California State policy manager for the American Farmland Trust before taking on her current position with SSJID. Katie is also a Farm Bureau Leadership Program graduate, a volunteer with CA Farmland Trust and a volunteer with Second Harvest of the Greater Valley Board of Directors, where she serves as secretary.
Background in Ag
Outside of her professional life, Katie’s relationship with agriculture extends in some fun and unique ways. “My family grows Atlantic Giant pumpkins as a hobby and we take them to compete at the Elk Grove Pumpkin Festival in October. Last year, our pumpkin was 1,534 lbs., taking fourth place.” Growing up, Katie raised a registered flock of Suffolk sheep. “I learned so many great values and hard work from that part of my life, from moving irrigation pipes to stacking hay, to staying up late in the barn for lambing season. In 2000, I won Grand Champion market lamb at the Sacramento County Fair,” she recalled.
Katie’s husband is a teacher. He has taught welding and fabrication as an FFA instructor and now teaches welding at Modesto Junior College. Her daughter McKinley, 11, has started to take an interest in riding horses, and her son Jack, 8, enjoys rock climbing and growing jalapenos in the garden. Even with her busy schedule, Katie loves cooking and baking from scratch and has taken on the process of making jam when local fruits are at their peak. “Our valley provides so much bounty that we have to catch that lightning in a jar. I didn’t grow up knowing how to do this, so I have had to be brave enough to try new things,” she shared.
Katie is thankful for the guidance she received over the years from role models and people committed to making a difference in her life. “My path was made possible by several mentors who have taken an interest in me, both women and men. I am eternally grateful for their showing me the possibilities that exist, and to be entrusted to support and represent my agricultural communities,” she shared.
