Status Update: Water Supply Development

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Aug 10, 2015/ 0 Comments / in Project Details, Project Updates / by

East Valley Water District is currently determining whether the Drift Creek site is suitable for a surface reservoir. Currently, the District is engaged in fish habitat studies, hydrology studies, elk and wildlife assessments, cultural resources analysis and wetland analysis to determine if the site is suitable. These studies are all necessary for the environmental permitting process. It is anticipated these studies will last until mid-2016. 

In early 2016, the District would also like to start two major analyses:

(1) Evaluation of Off-channel Storage alternatives: The District has evaluated a wide range of water supply storage alternatives including both on-channel and below ground storage. To fully understand the options available, we would like to investigate at least two off-channel water supply storage options for Drift Creek.

(2) Analyze storage required to provide ecological flows downstream: Drift Creek currently experiences extremely low flows in the summer that typically threaten fish species due to high temperatures. The District wishes to analyze the flows needed to provide ecological flows through the project to benefit fish and wildlife and other environmental benefits.

Once these studies are complete, if the site is deemed suitable, the District will start to complete important pieces of design and engineering needed to both construct the reservoir and deliver water to the District.

At this time, the District has not made any decision as to how or where the District will deliver water from the reservoir. More detailed analysis is necessary to determine the best strategy for conveying water. A full alternatives analysis will be done for this study, and all updates will be posted to this website when available.

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