TCID explains concerns

The severe drought still brings questions to the Board of Directors of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District even after water orders have ceased.

At Tuesday’s regular monthly meeting, the board explained why numerous users did not receive water after it was ordered when asked by a woman during public comment.

Director Eric Olsen explained many users were not able to take late orders since the modeling and other factors were at historic lows.

Starting from April, Olsen said the district, along with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and State of Nevada forecasted a 32 percent allotment. From there, the numbers were reduced to 26 percent to 20 to 17 percent by May 1. After numerous storms hit the Lahontan Valley from mid-May through April, the district readjusted its numbers, as did the other two entities, and allocated 21 percent on June 1.

As of June 18, Olsen said the data concluded about 2,000 acre-feet of extra water was added to the modeling. However, Olsen was at a loss as to the specific reasoning for the water not reaching its destinations.

He and several board members said they did not receive their orders along with numerous other individuals throughout the valley.

While the answer he admitted was not satisfactory, Olsen it was the best response available with the present data. He said the district will research the matter and make adjustments as necessary, should the valley encounter such historic drought levels in the future.

“I’m upset over it,” Olsen added. “We obviously got something wrong and we got to figure it out.”

The drought, meanwhile, is in its fourth year and as a result, many of the canals, laterals and ditches were dry for about nine months heading into this season.

TCID planned for losses of at least 50 percent due to saturation of the canals and evaporation. The rain did assist with keeping the canals wet, allowing some water to avoid being lost, but overall it wasn’t enough to make too much of a difference.

In other TCID news —

Chris Fisher of Enterprise Fleet Management presented his plan to the board to assist TCID with managing its fleet of vehicles.

Fisher said his company, which is part of Enterprise Rental Cars, has contracts with Washoe County and the city of North Las Vegas to cut expenses and make sure an updated fleet keeps costs down.

Fisher said at least 50 percent of TCID’s current fleet of trucks is older than 16 years, while about 70 percent of the vehicles are 10 years or older.

His plan is to reduce the monthly upkeep of the fleet, estimating he could reduce the cost by $100 per month. Fisher said the plan is to buy new vehicles, sell the old ones with TCID keeping money from the sales.

The board did not take action, while Fisher said he will gather more data from Project Manager Rusty Jardine and present TCID will a full report of the savings and management plans.

Deputy Project Manager Walt Winder presented a report from hydroelectric foreman Mark Soliniski on power generation throughout the system.

Winder, per Solinisk’s report, said as of July 3 New Lahontan produced more than 19,000 kilowatts of power, Old Lahontan tallied 1,158 kW and 26-foot Drop generated 4,058 kW.