Pipeline project 5 years away in North Yuba
A ditch stemming from the Gold Rush days in Yuba County's farthest reaches is slated to eventually become a pipeline — for $23 million.
In the North Yuba Water District, the Forbestown pipe project was a topic of discussion Thursday among water managers and board members who concede the cost puts the timeline at least five years away.
"Right now, it's not in our budget," district Manager Bill Suppa said of the $23 million price tag to take the 12-mile ditch and turn it into a pipeline.
The district doesn't take possession of the ditch until 2011 from the South Feather Water & Power District; at that point, Suppa said, North Yuba may put a hydroelectric system at the line's end and use funds from selling the electricity created to pay for the pipe project.
Though the ditch, which flows at 24 cubic feet a second during the high point of the year, has served North Yuba's 800 customers since the 1960s, water's value as an ever scarcer and more precious resource means the ditch is no longer the most efficient method to move water.
Suppa said district staff estimate leaks and evaporation cause the ditch to lose about 30 percent of its flow every year, or about 2,000 acre-feet to 2,500 acre-feet. One acre-foot is enough to cover an acre of land with 1 foot of water, or about what a typical suburban family uses in a year's time.
"We want to recover those losses when we take over the ditch's ownership," Suppa said, adding contamination of the water supply is also a concern when it's exposed to the elements in a ditch.
Grants could also be used to help fund the project, from which North Yuba's customers will see no financial impact, Suppa said.
It's also possible the district will take excess water and sell it to thirsty water districts elsewhere, Suppa said. Other area water districts, such as the Yuba County Water Agency, have made such deals in recent years because of an excess supply of water.
Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeeer@appealdemocrat.com.
