Mar. 30, 2009 - While neighboring water districts like El Dorado Irrigation District (EID) are asking their customers to reduce water consumption on a voluntary basis, NID recently announced the availability of surplus water for sale to out-of-district entities like South Sutter Water District.
Last week (Mar. 25), NID's directors declared 2009 will be a surplus year for the northern California water district. This means that NID will also be selling district water to exclusion areas - or "islands" as they are commonly identified - which lie inside NID's boundaries but have never been formally annexed.
According to Operations Manager Don Wight, NID has limited sales to these exclusion areas in past years. Yet based on projected district water demands, carryover storage, and weather forecasts, the district feels comfortable this year in selling water outside its own customer base.
But Wight noted there must be water available for purchase from PG&E for NID to sell surplus water to South Sutter.
"Typically there's 20,000 acre feet available from PG&E," Wight told NID's board, adding that the public utility says there is roughly around 15,000 acre feet available this year for purchase.
The water district pays fluctuating rates to PG&E for this water, says Operations Supervisor Sue Sindt.
"NID pays PG&E what would be the avoided cost of power generation at PG&E's Newcastle powerhouse," Sindt explained. "The rate PG&E charges us is whatever PG&E would receive for power generation if the water went though this powerhouse."
According to Sindt, NID historically pays PG&E less than the contract rate of $25.07 per acre foot that the water district collects from South Sutter. This contract is due to expire in 2013. "Typically we pay PG&E anywhere from $14-$20," Sindt added. "But these numbers fluctuate."
Division V Director Nick Wilcox issued the solitary "nay" vote, voicing concerns over whether NID is in compliance with state law when it sells water (for consumptive use) to South Sutter which typically would be used for hydropower generation (non-consumptive use). Wilcox also noted with the current California water market hovering around $300 per acre foot, NID should be looking to sell more water out of district at higher rates. Citing a recent meeting he attended with NID General Manager Ron Nelson, Wilcox added that during a discussion on water marketing it was mentioned that farmers in Westlands Water District are willing to pay upwards of $500 per acre foot.
Banner Cascade Pipeline Project: Working out the Details
Often contentious and in the planning phase for several years, NID's Banner Cascade Pipeline project could likely see construction begin sometime the end of 2009. This according to NID Special Projects Manager Brian Powell who presented a progress report this week to NID's board on the long-awaited project.
"The project will take pressure off the 90-year old Cascade Canal," Powell advised. "It is at capacity and there will be a major rupture some day," he further warned the board.
Project scope also includes installation of 4000 feet of pipe along the Clipper Creek siphon line and replacement of the Upper Grass Valley Canal with 18" enclosed pipe. According to Powell, the district has sponsored several well-attended neighborhood meetings and public workshops throughout the design stage. An ombudsman has been present at all the meetings.
NID has also conducted meetings with individual homeowners. Final pipeline alignment has been determined, most of the necessary easements have been secured and design is 80 per cent complete. Specifications are being prepared and will be presented at the next public workshop.
Treated water will be available to properties along the project at a reduced hookup rate. Powell indicated that notices were sent out to all individuals with property fronting the proposed treated water main - and not just parties mentioned in the earlier lawsuit settlement agreement.
Discussion of well-testing programs dominated the project update. Powell advised the board that 23 wells along the Banner Cascade pipeline were initially tested for production. Of those, 4 failed to meet the established 3 gallon per minute threshold.
Meters were installed on the 23 wells and will be read monthly. The monitoring program will continue for 2 years following construction of the project.
Questions about impacts to adjacent wells due to reduced flows in the Lower Cascade Canal were also raised. It is unclear to what degree wells along the canal rely on seepage for recharge.
Flows in this canal will drop from current levels of 45 cfs to somewhere between 2-10 cfs, said Operations Manager Wight. "We will test wells with flows in the canal at somewhere between 2-10 cfs," Wight advised. "It will likely be 4 cfs," he added. According to Wight, wells within 150 feet up gradient and 300 feet down gradient will be included in the assessment.
Director Nancy Weber voiced concerns about the proposed reduced flows to the Lower Cascade Canal. "There are some people along this canal using ditch water in their homes," Weber pointed out. "For some, the only water they have is off the Cascade."
The Banner Cascade project calls for a buried pipeline down the populated southern flank of Banner Mountain which will divert some water from the Lower Cascade Canal. Intended to provide a more reliable and protected source of water for the district's Loma Rica and Elizabeth L. George water treatment plants, the project will also expand NID's ability to provide treated water to areas in western and southern Nevada County.
A small 2-megawatt hydroelectric power generation facility will also be constructed two years following completion of the Banner Cascade pipeline and will sit adjacent to the Loma Rica Water Treatment facility.
DS Canal Flume Replacement Project: Wading Through the DEIR Quagmire
Reviewing Draft Environmental Impact Reports (DEIRs) is a daunting process for even the most knowledgeable or informed individuals. Add to the scientific complexity of these reports the fact that some exceed thousands of pages but the period allowed for public comment is usually limited to 45 days.
This week property owner Dennis Manyak asked NID's board to grant an extension on the public comment period for the DEIR on the district's DS Canal Flume Replacement Project. "I have a vested interest in the outcome of this project," Maynak told the board. "The report is 1375 pages long, it is daunting and a review shows many omissions and contradictions."
NID's board agreed to extend the public comment period from this week's March 26 deadline to April 10 at 5p.m.
Last week the district hosted an informational meeting to update the public on the project's CEQA document, the DEIR. Terry Rivasplata with ICF Jones & Stokes - consultants on the project - provided a powerpoint presentation which included a history of the project's CEQA process, an overview of the DEIR's findings, discussion of impacts and mitigations and what happens after the public comment period ends.
Rivasplata noted that contaminated soils are present in the area of an old mine located where Gracie Road crosses the project and that the final EIR will allow for treatment.
Dennis Manyak also attended this meeting and pointed out that there are high levels of arsenic in the first six inches of soil in this area. He voiced concern over the potential for contamination to wells in the vicinity of this area of the project, once construction begins and soils become disturbed.
"With the irregular, fractured-rock geology of the basaltic rock in that area, when you take rain and disturbed soil from the project, there's a serious possibility that there will be seepage of arsenic-laden water into ours and other wells in and around the project area," Manyak told Rivasplata and NID staff present.
Division I Director Nancy Weber spoke on behalf of Manyak and other constituents who live along the DS canal. She asked for mitigation measures to protect these wells. "There needs to be baseline monitoring and continued monitoring during and after the project, as well as the need to identify a water source in the area in the event these wells become contaminated," Weber said.
It was also pointed out that the project is erroneously named because it is designed to replace the existing flumes with pipelines.
One property owner asked if NID planned to create a photographic record of the old flumes before they are destroyed, citing the importance of maintaining a cultural history of water conveyance in the area.
While NID has historically maintained that the project is necessary because of ongoing maintenance issues surrounding the flumes, those present at last week's meeting heard another reason. Pressed by several of the public, Rivasplata admitted that the primary purpose of the project is to improve conveyance and increase capacity in the canal.
Residents like Trevor and Susan Robbins are particularly concerned that NID does not have the legal water rights necessary for this project. "We have said all along that this project is about increasing water supply downline," says Sue Robbins. "We don't think they have the legal right to run more water down the new pipelines and the canal." The Robbins cite a letter from the SRWCB Water Rights Division issued to NID during the DEIR period for the Lower Cascade Banner/Cascade Pipeline Project. In this letter the SRWCB said that a new appropriative water right was required for this project.
While NID claimed they did, in fact, have numerous pre- and post-1914 appropriative water rights that allowed them to divert water for this project, it is currently unclear how the state viewed NID's response. Sue Robbins points out that the source waters for both the Banner/Cascade pipeline and the DS Canal are the same - The South Yuba River.
Lower Scotts Flat Lake - the source of the DS Canal - is supplied by waters from both Deer Creek and Lake Spaulding. This PG&E managed reservoir is fed directly by the South Yuba River and waters diverted from the Middle Yuba. The Cascade Canal is fed by both Deer Creek and the South Yuba Canal which is supplied entirely by Lake Spaulding.
Revisions to District Financing Agreements Streamline Rates
While NID is not officially in the banking business, it does offer two payment programs to property owners seeking to finance waterline extensions and/or connection fees and capacity charges.
Following a change approved this week, the annual interest rate charged for these programs will be 4 percent. Previous policy called for interest rates based on the Bank of America prime rate plus 2 percent.
Other revisions include adding the use of payment agreements for canal culvert replacements, running credit checks, and including legal language that ensures liens are levied against a parcel and not the property owner.
Additional Dates Offered on Popular Workshops
Citing sold-out responses on its upcoming water efficiency workshops, NID is offering two additional dates.
While the Placer County class on April 25 is full, as of this week there were a few openings for the newly scheduled April 26 workshop. Similarly, the first class scheduled in Nevada County on May 2 is full. A second workshop has been added on May 3.
Reservations for all workshops are required and can be made by calling NID at (530) 273-6185.
Current classes are designed to provide information on how farmers and ranchers can improve irrigation efficiency. NID also plans on offering an additional workshop for larger water users who practice flood-style irrigation.
The next regularly scheduled NID board meeting will be held at 9 a.m. on Apr. 8 at the NID Business Center in Grass Valley. The public is encouraged to attend.
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