Water outlook not good for lower Carson and Truckee

The 2010 water outlook looks to be more of the same for the Lahontan Valley.

For the past two to three years, below average precipitation has brought drought to Northern Nevada and put water delivery in a tough spot.

Kate Rutan, interim project manager for the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, and Walt Winder, operations and management foreman, presented the TCID board or directors with the findings on Monday.

According to projections from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the Truckee division has been hit the hardest this winter. The February precipitation was 65 percent of average and reservoir storage for the basin is at 73 percent of average.

Rutan said the Truckee division will have used its allocation exceedence by October, which mean there would be no water in the canal for irrigation late in the season.

"It looks real dismal for the Truckee division," Rutan said. "The most immediate effect is people who irrigate from the Truckee canal. If there's no water in the canal, you can't irrigate."

However, the Carson division doesn't project to be as dry as the Truckee. According to the NRCS, the Lahontan Reservoir storage is at 36 percent of average, down two percent from last year.

Snowpack conditions are near average and the snow water content is at 98 percent, an increase of 26 percent from last year.

"The Carson is looking good," Winder said. "We're actually ahead, a little bit, of our storage in Lahontan."

For as bad as the outlook for the Truckee, Rutan said circumstances could change, though, the region would have to see more precipitation and snow in the mountains.

However, water from the Truckee is diverted to Pyramid Lake and TCID is only allowed to divert 350 cubic feet per second of its own.

"That's only if it's available," Rutan said. "We can only take what the (Bureau of Reclamation) let's us take."

Rutan said water from the Carson division will be at 90 percent of TCID's allocation, a conservative estimate the board felt necessary because of the low projections from the Truckee.

The board also discussed the release date for water allocations to water right owners. TCID will have two public meetings on March 24-25 to announce the allocations. Water orders will begin March 29 but will not be released until 1,000 acre/feet have been ordered.

The annual water users meeting will be March 24 in Fernley and March 25 in Fallon. The Fernley meeting will be at 6 p.m. at Fernley City Hall, 595 Silver Lace Blvd.

The Fallon meeting will be at 6 p.m. at the Commissioners Chambers, 155 N. Taylor St., Ste. 110. The meetings will cover meter readings, delivery schedule, measurements and more.

The TCID office will be closed March 26.