Agencies outline fix to canal

FERNLEY " "We have had a difficult weekend."

That was how Ernie Schank, board president of the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, began Monday's board meeting.

The board viewed a slideshow showing the damage to the Truckee Canal above Fernley, which broke in the early morning hours on Saturday, sending water down a small hill and into several subdivisions.

Walt Winder, operations and maintenance foreman with TCID, said he was on scene at 5:30 a.m. At that time, the hole in the canal was only 20 feet wide at the top.

The break in the canal wall was patched by about 3:15 p.m. Saturday afternoon, with the fill coming from a state dirt pit conveniently located adjacent to the canal.

The district built a dike across the canal just east of the break and installed a 3-foot pipe to drain any existing water from the weakened portion of the canal downstream. Winder said in Monday's meeting the dike was designed so that if it blows the water will be sent upstream.

The break in the canal wall measured 48 feet across the bottom and 84 feet across the top at a depth of 17 feet.

TCID officials are in constant contact with Bureau of Reclamation officials to determine how to make a permanent fix to the canal. Engineers and a geologist from the bureau, which oversees the Newlands Project, were on scene Sunday and Monday to assess the situation. TCID held a conference call with bureau officials from all across the West on Monday afternoon to determine the next step.

"I think we're looking at the same thing Fernley wants: we want, when it goes back, to be done right and done once," Winder said.

The district was monitoring water levels carefully following Friday's rainstorm. According to Accuweather.com, one-quarter of an inch of precipitation fell in Fernley and 2.4 inches fell in Reno, which drained into the Truckee River. Schank said TCID was diverting 678 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water from the river into the canal to dump into Lake Lahontan, the Newlands Project's main reservoir.

TCID officials, mindful of the storm and concerned about Derby Dam where the water is diverted into the canal, kept a close eye on the water levels in the Truckee River and opened a gate at Gilpin Spill to dump water back into the river late Friday night. Schank said he last checked the water levels online at 3:30 a.m. Saturday morning.

"When I went to bed I was confident we were fine," Schank said Monday.

It was announced Monday that no more water will be diverted into the Truckee Canal until the bureau has determined it is safe to do so.

"Public safety will be the key factor in determining when to resume diversions," stated Betsy Reike, Lahontan Basin Area Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation.

Schank said although no more water will be sent down the canal, it will still hold water because it acts as a catch basin for heavy rain rolling down the Fernley Highland hills.

After inspection of the breach site and the scouring of the earthen canal, a plan will be presented to the bureau for a permanent fix, Schank said. The plan will be based upon a joint proposal between TCID and the bureau.

"If things go as were discussed, by the first of next week there can be a final plan approved," Schank said. "Everyone is in agreement that we want to make sure we are making a permanent fix, one that will solve the problem in that area. At the same time, it can't be a process that takes so long that it hurts Fernley's economy or compromises their safety."

TCID has an operating agreement with the federal Bureau of Reclamation to run the 31-mile-long canal that takes water from the Truckee River near Reno to farms around Fallon, 60 miles east of Reno. The contract is renewed every five years and was last renewed in 2007.

Asked whether it would be possible to strengthen the canal by lining it with cement, Schank replied, "That would be wonderful if you could come up with the money. The cost would be in the hundreds of millions, if not the billions."

Who is liable?

"I can't answer that question," Schank said. He acknowledged that TCID will undoubtedly be targeted by lawsuits, but questioned whether it was the only organization that should be held responsible, hinting that perhaps developers and the city should shoulder some responsibility.

"I think it'll be highly litigated," Betsy Rieke, Lahontan Area Basin manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation told The Associated Press. "We believe the district would be liable."

"Fernley came about because of the Truckee Canal. It was there before Fernley was," Schank said. "The canal allowed them to have trees and farms, and because it was so nice, now they have urbanization."