Emergency water shortage depletes NID water supply

The emergency water shortage continues. Extreme hot temperatures and struggling conservation efforts are quickly depleting the limited local water delivery capacity.

In response, the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) has announced the need to implement short-term water outages for a limited number of canals. Water will be temporarily cut off on a three-day rotation to this limited area, beginning July 11, 2024.

“We appreciate the early efforts of our customers to reduce demand, however as the summer heat continues, we are compelled to implement stricter measures to ensure supplies last through the irrigation season. The District has exhausted all available measures to help minimize the impact on customers. It is now necessary to implement these rotating water outages for a limited number of canals until water supply is restored,” said Greg Jones, NID’s assistant general manager.

These outages will save water during a time when, effectively, no water supplies are flowing into the NID system. The issue is not related to water supply or drought; it is a water delivery problem caused by ongoing emergency repairs to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) infrastructure through Lake Spaulding.

Repairs continue, and PG&E recently announced an additional delay until late July,

for work to complete at the Spaulding 1 Powerhouse. Repairs to the South Yuba Pipe, which was damaged in a rockslide, are expected at the end of August.

The delay in repairs has put NID in a precarious position to deliver water to customers. NID’s operations team has done daily analysis to find a way to continue deliveries facing the water shortage.

“We will continue to do our best to minimize the impacts of these outages until NID’s water supply returns to normal levels. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we await PG&E’s completion of the infrastructure repairs,” Jones said.

Questions? NID’s customer support team is available to assist you at (530) 273-6185, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

For the latest information on the District’s water supply emergency, please visit our website at www.nidwater.com. For information on canal outages, click the Irrigation Water Outages icon.