NID to profit on water sales to valley farmers
By Laura Brown, laurab@theunion.com
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12:01 a.m. PT Mar 27, 2008
Extra runoff in the mountains this year means Nevada Irrigation District can purchase inexpensive water and then sell it to farmers in Wheatland for a profit.
The district buys water from Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for $1.25 per acre-foot on one contract and $15 per acre-foot on another. One acre-foot is equal to one acre covered by one foot of water - about what a household of four people uses in a year.
NID then sells the water to South Sutter Water District near Wheatland, charging the irrigation rate plus 25-percent, totaling $24 per acre-foot.
The sale could bring in as much as $400,000 to the water district, agency officials said.
"It's a good revenue source and helps offset rates," water operations manager Don Wight said.
Directors voted to approve the sale Wednesday.
NID typically buys 20,000 acre-feet of water from PG&E, when it's available as run-off. Of that, NID typically sells 15,000 acre-feet to the South Sutter Water District.
Next week, PG&E could announce another 5,000 acre-feet is available, Wight said. Water experts are still analyzing how much snow is in area mountains after a winter of heavy snow; in NID's watershed mountains, an early March measurement showed the snowpack was 122 percent of average.
Buying and selling surplus water has no affect on NID customers, Wight said.
Last year's dry conditions resulted in a lack of surplus water, and Central Valley rice farmers were forced to turn to ground water sources instead, NID director John Drew said.
As an extra bonus for the environment, water delivered to Wheatland farmers passes through a stream known as the Auburn Ravine, boosting habitat for salmon and steelhead, Wight said.
To contact Staff Writer Laura Brown, e-mail lbrown@theunion.com or call 477-4231.
