Nevada County water officials cool to Garden Bar dam plan

Western Nevada County water officials offered to help meet the water needs of rice farmers in southern Sutter County, but appeared unmoved Wednesday by arguments in support of doing so by building a reservoir at Garden Bar Crossing on the Bear River.

"Agriculture needs water. I don't think there's any question in any of our minds," Nevada Irrigation District Division 2 Director John Drew said after a presentation outlining the early concepts of the reservoir.

"I don't think this is the project for that water. But if we're not doing the Garden Bar project, what are we doing to get water for agriculture that is amenable to all the folks that have concerns in this?" said Drew, who raises specialty organic produce at his Bakbraken Acres in Chicago Park.

NID directors and staff will study the reservoir project "to look at any benefit it might be to NID, look at other alternatives, and bring it back to the board," NID board president and Division 1 Director Nancy Weber said.

They will take up the matter at the 9 a.m. Nov. 8 meeting of the NID's Water and Hydroelectric Operations Committee, led by Weber and Division 5 Director Nick Wilcox.

Their recommendation will go to the full NID board at the meeting set for 9 a.m. Dec. 14.

Nearly 170 farmers grow mostly rice in the South Sutter Water District, downstream on the Bear River. The district is mostly in southern Sutter County, serving some parcels in Placer County, district General Manager Brad Arnold said.

About 3 percent of South Sutter's water supply — about 10,000 acre-feet — comes through the NID. That water comes to the NID through a 50-year contract with Pacific Gas and Electric Co., which co-operates the Yuba-Bear hydroelectric project with NID.

The contract providing that excess water expires in 2013, creating uncertainty for future water supplies for South Sutter farmers. (Aspects of the PG&E contract that could be renegotiated to benefit South Sutter will be included in NID discussions, at Drew's request.)

Most of South Sutter's water comes from wells, and nearly one-third comes from water stored at the Camp Far West Reservoir, which is fed by the Bear River. The district worked with three Southern California water districts and two Napa County districts on the $1 million preliminary study sketching out the Garden Bar Reservoir, which would be just upstream from Camp Far West.

Senior Staff Writer Trina Kleist can be reached at tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.