March 29, 2022 at 11:39 AM Director Bierwagen reached out and clarified his comments: “I just wanted to take this opportunity to clarify points that I made at the last NID board meeting. First comments made by board members at the end of the meeting are there own personal views and are not full board opinion or direction. As we enter our third year of drought in California and see the effects of climate change on our weather patterns I continue to see water flowing out of our district With no additional way to store it. It is this frustration that led to my comments that day. With the effects of climate change on snow pack and runoff it is my view that NID and this state of California need additional surface storage. NID has initiated the plan for water study that will take a deep dive into all of the complexities of water management and our needs. I am committed to seeing the process to completion in the coming year and look forward to using the findings to help us find solutions to our water shortages.”
At the end of their Wednesday meeting, Nevada Irrigation District (NID) Directors shared their individual reports. Generally, these reports list meetings or events directors attended, or reports out of various committees. Chair Chris Bierwagen stated he didn’t have a report, but voiced his frustration that 100,000 acre-feet of water just ended up in Camp Far Reservoir. He then stated his commitment to continue to support Centennial dam.
The Centennial project is a 110,000 acre-foot reservoir, with a 275-ft high dam on the Bear River between the existing Rollins and Combie reservoirs. [source: NID Centennial project]
Director Rich Johansen chimed in, saying there would be a full complement and a surplus if the reservoir was available. Bierwagen also characterized the Bear River as a lower-elevation drainage ditch.
In late 2020, the NID Board limited the budget for Centennial to $50,000 per year, down from $2million/year and agreed to halt land acquisitions in the Bear River canyon.
The NID video of their comments is below.
