Background
Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD) owns and operates raw water storage and delivery systems and treated water storage, pumping and distribution facilities, which serve communities including Georgetown, Cool, Pilot Hill and Auburn Lake Trails. Water is supplied from GDPUD’s Stumpy Meadows Reservoir. Raw water is delivered to irrigation services and to water treatment plants through a system of open ditches and closed conduits. GDPUD water treatment plants, supplied by the GDPUD ditch system, include the Walton Lakes Water Treatment Plant and the Auburn Lake Trails Water Treatment Plant.
Problem
GDPUD operations, inspections, and recent studies have identified areas of major leakage. The District’s annual average water losses for the past 19 years are almost 40%, which is for all sources within the entire water system operations. GDPUD estimates that over 3,000 acre-feet of water a year is lost due to leaks and percolation throughout its entire ditch system.
Solution
This project will line a 2.3-mile segment of canal that leaks so extensively that water leakage along this relatively small segment makes up over half the total water lost throughout the entire system due to leakage. It is estimated that, when the project is complete, it will conserve 1,504 acre-feet of water per year as well as increasing in-stream flows to nearby Pilot Creek.
Current Status (December 2016)
Planning for this project is ongoing, including CEQA documents and permits. Preliminary and final design for project implementation is underway, and both the NOE and preliminary plans have been submitted. Construction has not been initiated, and ongoing quarterly reporting and invoicing will continue.
Lead Agency: Georgetown Divide PUD
Contact: Steve Palmer, General Manager, 530-333-4356, spalmer@gd-pud.org
Measurable Physical Benefit: Water Supply, Environmental Benefits
Watershed: American
County: El Dorado