WEST congratulates the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) on the successful release of the Plan for Water (PFW) Final Technical Memorandum. This accomplishment reflects NID’s commitment to achieving sustainable water management for the community’s future through a comprehensive and collaborative process.

Over the past two years, WEST, in partnership with Davids Engineering, Inc., Western Hydrologics, and HDR, has supported NID in their public collaboration process to develop this PFW. Specifically, the WEST team developed three advanced numerical models outlined in the Memorandum. These are essential for understanding and managing NID’s water delivery system:

• Hydrological Model: Simulates watershed performance and future runoff conditions based on climate projections.
• Demand Model: Estimates water requirements over a 50-year horizon, considering various demand scenarios influenced by local data.
• Operations Model: Assesses the operational efficiency of NID’s storage and conveyance systems. In particular, it simulates different climate scenarios to evaluate their potential impact on meeting customer demands.

Additionally, the Memorandum explores seven strategic alternatives aimed at mitigating projected unmet water demands, highlighting the Rollins Reservoir storage increase as the most promising option for enhancing water deliveries.

Contributing to such a significant and complex project was both a privilege and a deeply rewarding experience. The active collaboration of NID board members, management, staff, and stakeholders with the WEST team underscored the community’s deep commitment to securing NID’s water future.

~Vice President, Luciana Kindl da Cunha, PhD, PH

Participate:

NID invites the public to review the Memorandum and participate in the NID Board meeting on September 25, 2024. There, recommendations regarding these alternatives will be discussed.

Learn More:

WEST, an internationally recognized water resources engineering firm, has offices in Arizona, California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. With a team of 70 highly trained professionals, WEST specializes in addressing sustainable water management and other complex water resource challenges.

A 5-member elected Board of Directors governs Northern California’s Nevada Irrigation District. For 100 years, NID has been reliably delivering high quality water to its customers. NID has a commitment to meeting the community’s demand for water over the coming decades. Additionally, the independent public agency is a leader among Northern California water agencies in the production of clean, renewable hydropower.

Read more about the PFW process here.