Auburn, Calif.,- The Placer County Water Agency has received a $443,750 state grant to improve portions of the Boardman Canal in a remote area above Colfax, it was announced at the August 1st meeting of the PCWA Board of Directors.
Director of Field Services Mike Nichol said the funding will be used to line a difficult 6000-foot section of the canal in steep terrain near Cape Horn. He said the work is planned over a three-year period and would prevent the loss of an estimated 250 acre-feet of water per year and would improve system reliability.
PCWA obtained the funding through Proposition 50, the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water, Coastal and Beach Protection Act, a bond issue passed by California voters in 2002.
The grant continues PCWA's success in gaining funding for water system and operational improvements. Over the past several years the agency has received nearly $1.1 million in grants for canal system upgrades and another $300,000 for reduction of vehicle and equipment emissions.
The water agency has aggressively pursued grant funding for necessary system upgrades that would otherwise have to be funded by the agency's ratepayers.
In other business, directors:
- moved forward with a public outreach program as part of the agency's ongoing effort to protect Placer County water supplies and usage as the downstream Bay-Delta planning process moves forward. The PCWA board approved a budget amendment of $50,350 which will be used to hire three firms to help carry the agency's message to state planners and decision-makers.
- heard an update from Director of Technical Services Brian Martin, whose staff is preparing to meet increased demand for public water supplies brought on by a renewed pace of residential growth in the county.
Agency officials are contemplating what could be the first water rate increase in five years.
PCWA board meetings are open to the public.