During the Truckee-Carson Irrigation meeting this Tuesday, Watermaster Kelly Herwick, gave a general report of the flows throughout the project, anticipating an end to the water season by August 17, conservatively and if order slow down and management of facilities allow for stretching out deliveries, it’s possible water could last through the 25th.
Currently on the Truckee Division of the Newlands Project, there is 300 cubic feet per second coming down the Truckee River at Vista, and 150 cfs at the Water Master Bridge in the Truckee Canal with less than one acre-foot of loss at Gilpin Spill. The gauge at Wadsworth is measuring 136 cfs and the target below Derby Dam is 115 cfs and currently at 136 cfs. “We’re passing about 98 cfs past Hazen to the lake,” he said and that is short for projections to meet storage targets.
On the Carson Division the gauge at Fort Churchill is at 0 cfs, and as of Tuesday morning levels in Lahontan were at 23,058 acre-feet. Releases are reflecting 683 and with the total inflows of 98 cfs, approximately 194 acre-feet in 24 hours, the lake dropped 1,250 acre-feet over Monday night. Month-end storage targets are estimated to be 117,000 af, but that would require 121,000 af of diversions to meet the Lahontan storage targets and it is not anticipated that will happen.
Project demand at this time to meet water rights is at 822 cfs, with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service requesting 100 cfs and a spot check showing 97 cfs flowing their way. The Fallon Tribe is continuing to order in unit 1, and there is 24 af in the S-Line Reservoir. TCID is currently building bays and anticipates meeting the demands of the tribe late in the day Tuesday. Nevada Department of Wildlife is ordering 70 cfs and a spot check shows 67 cfs being delivered, and Canvasback has ordered 5 cfs but because of upstream deliveries will not be met until late Tuesday. Harmon has also dropped, and Herwick said water orders are not slowing down.
“At the current rate we are about 14 days out if we don’t slow down, but there is a good chance if we can drop back, we can stretch this out until the 25th,” he said.
Rusty Jardine, general manager of TCID has provided several written responses to people who have asked TCID why Lahontan Lake is so low at this time. His answer is as follows:
“The Reservoir is not being drained for maintenance. It is being drained as water right holders exercise their rights to use the water. The simple answer is that the lake level is declining, in a water-short year, because farmers, NDOW, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and all other water users are applying water to their water righted grounds below Lahontan. The water right holders (approximately 2,500 of them) are draining Lahontan.
Even with a full reservoir (about 300,000+ acre-feet), it takes all of that volume to satisfy the water right entitlement to all water right holders below Lahontan.
If there had been more water to begin within Lahontan this season and had spring run-off contributed what had been forecast, the condition of Lahontan would naturally have been much much better! This season started with what we believed would be as much as a 90% supply. That number has declined steadily over the course of the season. We will likely see the season end next month. We will maintain a minimum pool of 4,000-acre-feet. The season will end when that level is reached. In the meantime, in really hot-dry conditions people continue calling upon their water.
Except in an emergency, the district has no legal right to "drain" Lahontan for any reason including maintenance. We do not, we cannot, wastewater. The water is not ours. As an example, in 2017, when there was such an abundance of water, we sent water about anywhere we could to prevent the flooding of homes. Even in view of possible flood conditions, if we draw down the Lake to balance the inflows, always where possible the water going out has a destination: Water righted lands somewhere in the Newlands Project.
This year is unique. Most of the Western United States, including our counties, is marked by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having exceptional drought. The USDA has declared emergencies in many Nevada counties including ours. And while most water users will have received much of their entitlement this year, my greater fear is for next year. We may be saddled with a very low reservoir and continuing dry conditions in the mountains that we depend upon for our seasonal run-off.
And, yes, if the lake level is low, it is always a good time to perform the maintenance we could not otherwise perform had there been water in our way.
In other matters, Jardine recognized Bob Baldwin who is retiring from the district after a 30-year career. “You know this project as good as anyone ever has,” he said, asking Baldwin to stand to be recognized. Board member Bob Oakden complimented Baldwin for his extensive knowledge and his dedication to the water right holders, and Lester deBraga echoed the sentiments saying, “All these years we’ve never seen anyone with this kind of talent. Bob is a real company man and always neutral. He always supported the workers and the staff and the board as well. He was also on a personal level a good friend to many, if anyone needed help, he would do whatever he could.”
Baldwin thanked the board saying, “This has been a good place to work, the people are great. I have no regrets.”
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