Board Meeting - May 28, 2008

May 28, 2008
Contact: Ron Nelson
(530) 273-6185
Or: Dave Carter
(530) 265-NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

GRASS VALLEY - Planning and design work are under way on the Banner Cascade Pipeline Project, a top water supply priority of the Nevada Irrigation District.
NID Special Projects Manager Brian Powell provided an update on the project at Wednesday’s (May 28) meeting of the NID Board of Directors.
The district plans to build a new raw water pipeline across the southern flank of Banner Mountain that will divert some of the water that now flows through the Lower Cascade Canal.
District officials said the new pipeline will provide a safer, more reliable source of water for the Loma Rica and Elizabeth L. George water treatment plants and make more water available to wide areas of western Nevada County.
Project construction is expected to impact neighborhoods in the Banner Mountain area and NID has been hosting several community and individual meetings to explain the work and efforts to limit its impacts, Powell said.
Earlier this year, the district and a homeowner group, the Banner Mountain Pipeline Committee, agreed on a plan that would bring treated water pipelines to some neighborhoods in the project area. A water well monitoring program is also being established.
Estimated at $36 million, the water improvement project is a continuation of NID’s upgrade of the Upper Cascade Canal, which was completed in 2002 at a cost of $20 million. The district is planning to complete the current project by 2011.
Information may be found at www.nidbannercascade.com.

In other business, NID directors:

heard an update on the ongoing regional water supply project to serve land within NID boundaries in the Lincoln area. NID and the City of Lincoln have been working on the project since 2005; under current planning, a new water treatment plant could be serving the area by 2015. For information, see www.nidregionalwtp.org.
learned that the district did not receive state grant funding this year for its pilot mercury remediation project on the Bear River above Combie Reservoir. General Manager Ron Nelson said the next opportunity for state funding might be in late 2009 and that in the mean time the district would look into potential federal funding sources.
congratulated veteran district employee Bill Gann who has been appointed to the new position of business coordinator. The new position was created as part of the district’s commitment to operate in an efficient and customer friendly manner.
discussed Quagga and Zebra mussels, nonnative invasive species which have been found in 17 California reservoirs, but not in the Sierra foothills. NID directors have been focused on public education and prevention and voted to ask local county officials to help in the effort.

The next regular meeting of the NID Board of Directors will be held at 9 a.m. on June 11 at the NID Business Center in Grass Valley. NID board meetings are open to the public.