Irrigation Leader February 2018

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Coming Together in a Crisis: Leadership at the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District Resolving old disputes and hard feelings is a difficult but necessary step toward ensuring lasting cooperation. The Truckee-Carson Irrigation District (TCID) had to do precisely that to forge a better relationship with the Bureau of Reclamation, which allowed the district to improve its water infrastructure, address urgent emergency situations, and protect its communities. TCID General Manager Rusty Jardine and Board President Ernie Schank were among those who led the effort to resolve the district’s disputes with Reclamation and other stakeholders. They have also helped pave the way for new leadership to lead the district into the future. Mr. Jardine and Mr. Schank spoke with Irrigation Leader’s editor-in-chief, Kris Polly, about the origins of the district’s challenging relationship with Reclamation, how it was able to overcome those disputes, and the benefits that the improved dynamic has brought to the district and its water users. Kris Polly: Can you give us an overview of the size of your district, its water sources, and the number of people you serve? Ernie Schank: This district is approximately 60,000 acres. The original project size was 72,800 acres, and it was all agricultural land at that time. We serve the Fernley area and all of the Carson Desert Sink, which is in the Fallon area. We have 350 miles of canals and laterals that serve water, as well as the exact same amount of drainage ditches. That makes us responsible for approximately 700 miles of ditches either for delivery or drainage. The project has one major dam, the Lahontan Reservoir, which has a capacity of 312,000 acre-feet of water when completely full. We can also divert water from the 720,000 acre-foot reservoir of Lake Tahoe for drought protection purposes. Rusty Jardine: We have approximately 2,500 water users in the district, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) is our biggest water user due to the government initiatives

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In late November 2016, Lahontan Reservoir was storing only 4,000 acre-feet of water.

IRRIGATION LEADER


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