During the regular board meeting of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District this week, General Manager Ben Shawcroft presented a financial outlook of the ongoing projects facing the district in the course of general operation, in addition to the payments for the Extraordinary Repairs to the Truckee Canal that have been required by the Bureau of Reclamation.
The $35 million repair project on the Canal has begun and is expected to run through the year. In order to complete the lining of the canal through the Fernley Reach, the canal has been shut down and will not run water during the 2023 water season.
Shawcroft said the anticipated interest to service the debt for that project is estimated to be 1.875% with an annual payment of roughly $1,084,746. The district is also required to pay for the Environmental Impact Statement for the project, bringing the BOR payment to nearly $1.4 million annually until 2029.
TCID is working with consultants to identify potential grant funding to cover the cost and if the BOR declares the project an emergency, a significant portion will be covered. That decision has yet to be made. The repayment schedule will be determined after substantial completion of the project and is expected to begin by September of 2024.
In addition to the Truckee Canal repair project, the district is facing work on the penstock in the Lahontan Dam for $1.5 million, repairs to the tower gates at Lahontan for $3 million, management services for the TCID Works program for $130,000 a year, maintenance to the V-Line Weir for $2 million, potential work on the Truckee Tunnel for $3 million, and increase in the Public Employees Retirement System of up to a 20% increase to the health insurance policy, as well as an increase of $39,000 in the Federal Water Master Contribution.
The proposal Shawcroft made to the board to cover these costs would increase the annual Operating and Maintenance Assessment by $3 each year for the next three years. Currently, the assessment is at $47.90, and would increase to $50.90 in 2023, $53.90 in 2024, and $56.90 in 2025. Shawcroft said if the district is successful in obtaining grants, there may not be the need for the increase in 2024 or 2025. The increase will be brought back to the board each year for annual approval.
Water Right owners with less than 6.68 acres currently pay $440 and the increase would be to $460, followed by increases every July tied to the Consumer Price Index.
“There are a lot of question marks up there,” said Shawcroft, “as far as finding grants we can take advantage of. We put those projects up there so people are aware of things that are coming, where the funding will come from, we’re not sure, we’re looking at every opportunity to reduce the costs.”
A resolution regarding the potential increase to the water-user assessments will be presented to the board for a vote during the February meeting which will be held on February 7, 2023.
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