Background

Bard Water District was formed to operate and maintain the Reservation Division (Bard Unit and Indian Units) of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Yuma Project. Located on the Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona, the members of Bard Water District farm just under 15,000 irrigable acres, which consists of 7,556 acres of land on the Quechan Indian Reservation and 7,120 acres of private land. The principal crops cultivated are lettuce and other produce during the fall and winter months, and dates, wheat, cotton, hay and melons during the spring and summer months.

Constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, the Yuma Project is one of the USBR’s oldest projects, and as such is greatly in need of repair. Many of its unlined canals and other structures are badly deteriorated.

Description

The project consists of the rehabilitation of 19.8 miles of canal to be carried out over a two-year period as follows:

1. Rehabilitation of 10.6 miles of canal and replacement of 52 turnouts and 14 checks in 2004; and
2. Rehabilitation of 9.2 miles of canal and the replacement of 47 turnouts and 14 checks in 2005.

Most of the work in the Bard Water District entails lining deteriorated earthen canals with concrete. The only exceptions are the completion of the pipelining of the Supai (SU-3) and Pueblo Canals and the pipelining of the high public use area of the Supai (SU-1) and Waco Canals, which will increase system safety.

It is worth mentioning that the District plans to rehabilitate an additional 11.1 miles of earthen canals in 2006, as a separate project financed entirely by the US Bureau of Reclamation.

Benefits

Replacing the earthen canals with concrete lined canals and pipeline will reduce water losses from seepage and evaporation, saving an estimated 5,911 acre-feet of water a year. These improvements, along with the replacement of deteriorated irrigations structures, will also increase water efficiencies and service to water users.