Tuesday September 14,
2004
CA:
CVWD Board Awards Contract For Canal
Lining
Source: Coachella Valley Water District
The Coachella Valley Water District board of directors today authorized a contract in excess of $71 million for lining the still-earthen portions of the Coachella Canal. Although the project is described as a canal lining, construction actually involves building a new, 33.2-mile section of concrete waterway that will replace the still-earthen sections once construction is completed.
The portion of the canal that is being replaced begins just north of Niland and concludes in an area north of the western terminus of the Salton Sea, east of Mecca.
The lining project is expected to create a net savings of 26,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water that currently is lost due to canal seepage. R & L Brosamer, Inc., of Alamo, CA, was awarded the contract, for $71,198,900. The company’s was the lowest of three bids received at the water district on Aug 19.
CVWD has been working on developing canal lining specifications in cooperation with the federal Bureau of Reclamation—which is responsible for overseeing the delivery of Colorado River water to local entities—and the San Diego County Water Authority. SDCWA will be receiving the saved water as a result of landmark negotiations that led to the signing last year of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.
Work is expected to begin later this year and take two to 2.5 years to complete. Construction of the 122-mile canal began in the 1930s, was interrupted by World War II and was completed in the late 1940s. Imported water was first delivered to local farms in 1949.
In recent years an average of 330,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water is delivered to slightly less than
80,000 acres of farmland, and about 15 golf courses and other non-agricultural consumers. As part of its 35-year Water Management Plan, the district plans to promote greater use of canal water in lieu of groundwater, and also will be using Colorado River water to recharge the aquifer in the lower portion of the Coachella Valley.
When the canal was built the last (northernmost) 37 miles were lined with concrete. This is the area closest to local farmland. A distribution system of more than 500 miles of underground, concrete laterals also was built, preserving farmland for production and conserving water that otherwise would have been lost to evaporation.
In 1980 the first 49 miles of the canal, beginning where it branches off of the All-American Canal in Imperial County, were replaced by a parallel, concrete waterway. Water saved from that project is used by the federal government to meet treaty requirements for the delivery of Colorado River water to Mexico.
In 1991 an experimental process was used to line about 1.5 miles of earthen canal without draining or otherwise diverting the water out of the canal. Although the process was deemed a success, it was seen as too expensive for the current project. More than $7 million already has been spent on the canal-lining project.
Project costs include fencing to keep the endangered Desert Tortoise and other wildlife out of the canal, and large mammal watering ponds since the canal will not be accessible to them once construction is completed.
Cost of lining the canal is being funded by the state of California. The saved water will be subtracted from the total diverted annually into the canal. SDCWA is paying Metropolitan Water District (MWD) of Southern California to transport the water in its aqueducts and canals into San Diego County.
Groundbreaking ceremonies are planned for October.
Contact:
Dennis Mahr
760-398-2651 Ext. 2352
dmahr@cvwd.org