Turlock Irrigation District modifies water conservation project
The Turlock Irrigation District board made a change this week to a water conservation project near Hilmar.
The project involves fixing up a small, abandoned reservoir to catch flows in the Highline Canal that sometimes are more than farmers can take.
The board last year approved a $2.15 million pilot project that used seven of the 25.5 acres of reservoir land. Last month, it approved a $2.5 million expansion that will bring it to full size for the 2016 irrigation season.
A board majority agreed last month that the reservoir should not have a concrete bottom for now, so the staff could see if it helps with groundwater recharge. Tuesday, directors reversed that decision, adding $915,000 to the cost but increasing the amount of surface water captured.
The expanded reservoir will save up to 9,000 acre-feet of water per year, said Matt Hazen, associate civil engineer for TID, in a report to the board last month. That is just 2 percent of average annual deliveries, but district leaders said it is worth the cost because of recurring drought and the prospect of losing some of the river water to fish.
The reservoir had been part of a treatment plant for the Hilmar County Water District, which sold it to TID last year.
The Highline Canal carries Tuolumne River water to the south part of TID and has spilled at times into the Merced River without the control in place. The captured water will go into Laterals 7 and 8, which branch off the Highline and were outfitted with their own water-saving controls last winter.
The project returned to the board this week because the environmental review it approved last month had to be amended to reflect the removal of the lining. Directors Joe Alamo and Rob Santos continued to favor an unlined reservoir, but Santos joined in a subsequent 4-1 vote to move the project along, liner included.
John Holland: 209-578-2385
This story was originally published December 10, 2015 at 3:14 PM with the headline "Turlock Irrigation District modifies water conservation project."