GRASS VALLEY, Calif.  September 15, 2016 – A three-year project to connect the treated water systems serving Alta Sierra and Lake of the Pines is moving into its final phase and expected to be complete by next spring.

The NID Board of Directors on Wednesday (Sept. 14) awarded a $1.7 million construction contract to McGuire & Hester, of Oakland, for the installation of nearly two miles of water main lines from Brewer Road and Lodestar Drive, through the Lodestar and Golden Oaks subdivisions, to Salt Creek Road and Pioneer Way.

The new pipeline is the final link between a new line to the north installed last year and a new line to the south installed in 2014. The three sections total nearly six miles and bring public water supplies and fire protection to an area where demand has been increasing.

NID project engineer Doug Hobbs said work is expected to begin this fall and continue through winter, weather permitting. He said water should be available to new customers next spring.

McGuire & Hester, which completed the northern pipeline last year, was the low bidder among five contractors that submitted bids for the current phase. The bids ranged to $2.1 million.

In other business, directors:

• awarded a $320,500 contract to Brown & Caldwell for design, bidding and construction services for a small hydroelectric power station on the Cascade Canal at NID’s Loma Rica Reservoir. As planned, the 1.44-megawatt station would use existing water flows to generate enough energy to power about 1000 homes. Overall cost is estimated at $5.5 million, with NID recouping its investment over a 15-year period.

• heard a briefing from Finance Manager Marvin Davis on how the district is funding its future liabilities for employee pensions and other post employment benefits. Davis said the district makes annual payments and is on track to meet all of its obligations.

• agreed to phase out the one-quarter miners’-inch raw water service size for irrigation water customers. Existing customers with quarter-inch services will be grandfathered in as the minimum service size moves to a half miners’-inch. A quarter-inch service can supply 2.8 gallons of water per minute while a half-inch service can supply 5.6 gpm. Water Operations Manager Chip Close said the small quarter-inch services are harder to maintain and require a disproportionate amount of service.

• Awarded a $184,000 contract to Central Valley Engineering & Asphalt, Inc., of Roseville, for final asphalt paving at Cascade Shores where over the past five years NID has rebuilt the water system, installing more than 8,000 feet of pipeline along with numerous water services and fire hydrants. Paving is expected this fall.

The next regularly scheduled meeting of the NID Board of Directors will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 12, at the NID Business Center, 1036 West Main St., in Grass Valley. NID board meetings are open to the public.