Focus on Farm Families

Niwot has a rich tradition of farming dating to the late 19th century. Many farm families still work their great-grandparents' farms and pass the tradition forward. The Courier plans to focus periodically on some of our local farm families. If you know a farm family in the Niwot-Gunbarrel area we should feature, please contact us at [email protected].

Jill Belue is a fourth generation farmer and the water records manager for Boulder & White Rock Ditch & Reservoir Company (BWRD), which was formed in 1871 to construct a ditch to irrigate farmlands north of Boulder. Belue lives just east of Niwot on a farm with her husband, Jay, and their two sons, Justin and Jonathan.

Belue is the daughter of Jules Van Thuyne, a longtime Niwot-area farmer. She and her sons will become the fourth and fifth generations to continue their family farming legacy, which began in 1916 with her great-grandfather.

Belue believes a family farm is much more than just a piece of property. It represents a life's work and often a legacy from previous generations. She currently partners with her father in their hay operation, growing alfalfa and straw, and runs a seasonal pumpkin patch off Highway 287 near Monarch Road.

Belue involves her children in 4H, a program for children to learn about agriculture and livestock, to hopefully pass on her passion for farming and to learn responsibility by caring for the animals they raise. The program teaches children, whether they live on a farm or not, to raise and show their animals at the Boulder County Fair and sell them at the end of the season. Belue said, "This is how I purchased my first car, a 2004 Ford Escape, for $5,000."

Belue decided to accept the job of water records manager with BWRD because the position was relevant to the family farming practice and gave her a work/life balance while raising her infant son. In addition to being the water records manager, she is BWRD's first female associate board member.

Belue takes approximately 500 water orders a year, manages all the water accounts and shares, and ensures all 177 shareholders receive the correct amount of allotted water. She communicates daily with water superintendents Bill Campbell and Cody Peeples, who manage water distribution from the system and are called "ditch riders" by the shareholders.

From May 1 through Oct. 1, when runoff from the snowpack flows, she provides them with water orders for the next day so they know how much water to transfer from one reservoir to another, how much to order for Colorado-Big Thompson water, and how much to release to the main ditch and the laterals. Colorado-Big Thompson water is stored water transferred from Colorado's Western Slope.

Belue's job is to make the water in both Sixmile and Panama Reservoirs work efficiently, which means ensuring that the reservoirs hold as much water as possible so shareholders receive their allotted water even during droughts. The system runs water from the Boulder Creek head gate at 12th and Broadway in Boulder, through Sixmile and Panama Reservoirs, and then east 17 miles to Weld County.

Sixmile Reservoir, adjacent to Boulder Reservoir, has some of the oldest state water rights, dating back to 1873. Panama Reservoir is located at the northeast corner of Highway 52 and Highway 287. Challenges for Belue include managing the lack of water when the backcountry lacks adequate snowpack and reservoir water levels are low. During these times, she said, "Shareholders can become testy."

Belue loves Colorado and the farming lifestyle. She has some concerns for 21st-century farmers, including growth, competition for water, traffic, weather, and inflation. But she loves farming and said, "Once you get dirt under your nails, there is no going back."