NID approves flume-replacement project
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Dave Carter
The long-awaited DS Canal flume-replacement project won final approval Wednesday (Oct. 7) from the Nevada Irrigation District Board of Directors.
The board certified the environmental impact report (EIR) and approved the project, which has been in planning for three years and includes replacement of eight 80-year-old flumes.
District officials are anxious to complete the project so a downstream moratorium on new and larger irrigation water services may be lifted. The moratorium was placed three years ago because of safety and capacity issues on the canal.
Final approval was scheduled at the board’s last meeting, but after a 75-page challenge to the EIR was delivered to NID the afternoon before the meeting, directors chose to delay their vote by two weeks.
NID legal adviser Jeff Meith said Wednesday the document presented no new information and that the district had met the requirements to move forward.
Two weeks ago, a large public hearing attracted many speakers who urged NID to approve the project, with some saying they had waited years for water supplies. Also in attendance were the owners of two properties on Banner Mountain who objected to the project, saying it would impact aesthetic values and possibly their wells.
The DS Flume project is designed to replace the last eight of 31 original wooden and metal flumes on the DS Canal, built in 1926-28. The flumes will be replaced with elevated pipeline to increase safety, capacity and fire resistance, and reduce ongoing maintenance costs.
The district expects to award a construction contract and begin the project this winter. Some of the work has to be done outside of the irrigation season (April 15-Oct. 14) so district engineers are planning a three-year construction window.
In other business, directors:
• Approved a 60-day grace period with no charges for approximately 63 water customers whose homes burned in the 49 Fire in North Auburn. Directors also authorized bill adjustments for homeowners who used their water to help fight fire in their neighborhoods.
• Heard an update from consultant Jim Lynch on the ongoing district project to obtain a new federal license for the Yuba-Bear Hydroelectric Project. NID operates the project under its original 50-year license that expires in 2013. General Manager Ron Nelson said the multiyear relicensing project is expected to cost a total $12-$15 million.
• Heard a budget presentation from Finance Manager Marie Owens who showed a preliminary 2010 Water Division budget of $25.6 million, down 0.85 percent from the current year. In weeks to come, NID directors will review the need for water-rate adjustments in 2010.
• Heard a progress report on the regional water supply project the district is planning in collaboration with the City of Lincoln. The district and city will study the concept of teaming up with the Placer County Water Agency to supply the area through PCWA’s proposed water treatment plant at Ophir.
• Approved a list of six pre-qualified contractors and authorized staff to solicit construction quotations for the Banner Cascade Pipeline Project.
NID directors will next meet at 9 a.m. on Oct. 14 for a workshop on strategic planning.The next regular meeting of the board will be held at 9 a.m. on Oct. 21. NID board meetings are held at the NID Business Center in Grass Valley and are open to the public.
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