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- Newlands Project
Newlands Project
State: Nevada
Region: Mid-Pacific
Related Documents
Newlands Project History (91 KB)
Related Facilities
Related Links
Lahontan Basin Area Office
Lake Tahoe Dam
Lahontan Dam
Carson River Diversion Dam
Derby Diversion Dam
Weather Conditions (NOAA)
Precipitation
Carson River near Fort Churchill, Nevada (USGS)
Truckee River at Vista, Nevada (USGS)
Spring and Summer (NRCS)
Mountain Snowpack Maps for Great Basin and California
Palmer Drought Index Map
Explanation of Palmer Drought Severity Index (Text)
Middle Carson
Lahontan Dam
Lake Tahoe Dam
Sheckler Dam
Carson River Diversion Dam
Derby Diversion Dam
Truckee
General
The Newlands Project covers lands in the west-central Nevada counties of Churchill, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe. Water for the project comes from Lake Tahoe, which lies on the California/Nevada border, the Truckee River which drains Lake Tahoe, and the Carson River. Annual precipitation in the region is less than 4? inches and temperatures range from a low of -17 degrees to a high over 100 degrees. The Upper Truckee River begins in California`s Sierra Nevada and flows into the southern end of Lake Tahoe. The Truckee River originates at the outlet of Lake Tahoe, flows about 105 miles through northeastern California and northwestern Nevada, and terminates in Pyramid Lake. The Truckee River basin includes the area that drains naturally to the Truckee River and its tributaries, into Lake Tahoe, and into Pyramid Lake. It is linked to the Carson River basin via the Truckee Canal, which extends about 32 miles from Derby Diversion Dam to Lahontan Reservoir. Part of Truckee River water is stored in Federal and non-Federal reservoirs located in California. The Federal reservoirs are Lake Tahoe (Newlands Project) and Boca, (Truckee River Storage Project) [http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/truckee.html] Prosser Creek, Stampede, and Martis Creek Reservoirs (Washoe Project) [http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/washoe.html]. The non-Federal reservoirs are Independence Lake (owned and operated by Sierra Pacific) and Donner Lake (owned and operated by Sierra Pacific and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District). Operation of the reservoirs facilitates distribution of water in the Truckee River system throughout the year. The Newlands Project, formerly the Truckee-Carson Project, was one of the first Reclamation projects. Construction began in 1903. It provides full service irrigation water from the Truckee and Carson Rivers for about 55,000 acres of cropland in the Lahontan Valley near Fallon and bench lands near Fernley in western Nevada. In addition, water from about 6,000 acres of project land has been transferred to the Lahontan Valley wetlands near Fallon. The drainage basins contain nearly 3,400 square miles with a combined average annual runoff of about 850,000 acre-feet of water. Lake Tahoe Dam, a small dam at the outlet of Lake Tahoe, the source of the Truckee River, controls releases into the river. Downstream, the Derby Diversion Dam diverts the water into and the Truckee Canal and carries it to the Carson River. Other features include Lahontan Dam and Reservoir, Carson River Diversion Dam, and Lahontan Powerplant.
History
The early settlers of the project area irrigated by simple, diversions, relying on natural flow for their water supply. The 1860s was a period of rapid growth and settlement along the Truckee River. In the early 1860s, the first irrigation ditches began to appear. Numerous dams were constructed on the Truckee River to divert water for irrigation or to power mills. Throughout the later part of the 1800s, growth along the Truckee River continued at a rapid pace. More dams were constructed, increasing diversions from the river and further limiting migration of fish. Industrial and municipal wastes flowed untreated into the river. Before the authorization of the project in 1903, there were 20,000 acres of land under cultivation that had natural-flow water rights. By the time the Reclamation Service authorized construction of the Truckee-Carson Project in 1903, the waters of the Truckee River were virtually all appropriated. During the first irrigation season in 1905, 108 farms were settled by 674 people. Their experiences during that first season would be repeated for many years to come. There was a lack of water for project lands during the late months of the irrigation season. Although there were markets for produce and hay, it took several years before a farm could produce an adequate crop. When Reclamation opened project lands for settlement in 1904, 800 parcels were made available. By the beginning of 1908, only 300 parcels were occupied. In 1910, due to lack of water, project lands were closed to new settlement pending construction of storage facilities on the Carson or Truckee Rivers. Following completion of Lahontan Dam in late 1914, the project was reopened to settlement. Settlement gradually increased throughout the first part of the century. By 1950, the number of irrigated farms on the project had grown to 896, covering a little more than 55,400 acres. In 1950, the farm population was 3,500 people with another 4,000 people living in towns. This increased still further. By 1980, the number of farms on the project had risen to 1,200 with just over 73,000 acres holding rights to project water. The number of people living on project lands in 1980 was 8,000. The gross value of crops in 1980 had soared to $26,139,881. In 1992, the Newlands Project served 144 full-time farms averaging 143 acres each, and 4,041 part-time farms each averaging slightly less than 13 acres. The total population served in 1992 was just under 18,000 people including 2,200 non farms users.
Construction
The idea was a simple one: irrigate more than 400,000 acres of land in western Nevada using the combined waters of the Truckee and Carson Rivers. To accomplish this, construct a small dam at the outlet of Lake Tahoe, the source of the Truckee River, to control releases into the river, while downstream, a small dam would divert the water into a canal that would carry it to the Carson River where the combined flows would help bring almost a half a million acres of desert land to life. A simple idea that resulted in almost a century of conflict and controversy punctuated by numerous legal and legislative battles that are not yet fully resolved. The Newlands Project covers lands in the west-central Nevada counties of Churchill, Lyon, Storey, and Washoe. Water for the project comes from Lake Tahoe, which lies on the California/Nevada border, the Truckee River which drains Lake Tahoe, and the Carson River. Annual precipitation in the region is less than 4? inches and temperatures range from a low of -17 to a high over 100.(1) Humans have occupied the areas along the Truckee and Carson Rivers in western Nevada for over 10,000 years. Archeological evidence indicates that the earliest human activity in the region focused around the pursuit of game along the shores of the long dry Lake Lahontan. Over time, climactic changes forced the inhabitants of the region to conform to new patterns of subsistence. A lake-based subsistence pattern gradually shifted to the new realities of life in the arid Great Basin. By the time the first Europeans entered the region in the early 1800s, the primary inhabitants were the Paiute Indians.(2) The first Europeans to enter western Nevada were explorers and trappers. In 1827, Jedediah Strong Smith, leading a party of trappers for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, passed through the region some 75 miles south of Truckee Meadows. The following year, Peter Skene Ogden, while exploring for the Hudson`s Bay Company, discovered the Humboldt River near Winnemucca. Driven by poor weather, Ogden and his party moved east to the area Salt Lake City without having explored the Humboldt to any great extent. The following spring, Ogden returned to the river and followed it to its end in the Humboldt Sink. While camping on the river near Lovelock, local Indians described to Ogden the Truckee River and told of the abundance of large trout. Discouraged by the report that no beaver inhabited the river, Ogden chose not to explore the Truckee River further.(3) In early 1844, Lieutenant John Fremont, leading a party for the U.S. Bureau of Topographical Engineers, became the first white man to view Pyramid Lake, naming the lake for a large rock formation on its eastern shore. From Pyramid Lake, Fremont followed the Truckee River to where it turns to the west near present day Wadsworth. Continuing south, Fremont first crossed the Carson River then the Walker River before turning to the north-west and heading up into the Sierra Nevada. In mid-February, after considerable effort, Fremont`s party reached the top of the Sierra where they were able to look down upon Lake Tahoe. Due to harsh weather and the difficulty encountered getting to that point, Fremont did not continue on to the lake, but turned instead to the west and on to Sutter`s Fort, arriving there in early March.(4) In the spring of 1844, the Stevens-Murphy-Townsend emigrant party departed Council Bluffs, Iowa headed for California. They would become the first party to use the direct route to California along the Humboldt and Truckee Rivers and Donner Pass. When the party reached the headwaters of the Humboldt River, they met an Indian guide named Truckee who offered to help them. Instead of traveling south to the Carson Sink, the guide directed the party west to the Truckee River. In appreciation of their guide`s services, the party named the river in his honor. The party continued up the river to Donner Creek where they turned, and followed the creek to Donner Pass and into California. It has been reported that several members of the party left the main group and continued up the Truckee River and became the first white men to reach Lake Tahoe. Two years later, the infamous Donner Party, for which Donner Lake and Pass are named, would become stranded near Donner Lake. Word of the party`s misfortune would discourage use of the Truckee River route for several years.(5) The discovery of gold at Sutter`s Mill near Sacramento in 1848 signaled the beginning of an unprecedented period of expansion throughout the west. Many who traveled to the California gold fields chose either the Truckee River/Donner Pass route or the more southerly route along the Carson River and through Sonora Pass. Both routes proved difficult, but the lure of the gold fields helped travelers overcome the obstacles. With the influx of immigrants to the region, settlement soon began. In 1852, the first permanent settlement along the Truckee River was established with the opening of `Jamison`s Station` in the Truckee Meadows near the site of Reno. In 1854, Asa L. Kenyon and his wife, Catherine, established a station on the Carson River. Known as Ragtown, the station prospered throughout the 1850s, serving as a stage and mail station on the route from Salt Lake City to California.(6) In June 1859, gold was discovered near Virginia City in Storey County. Early prospectors soon discovered that silver, not gold, would be the primary ore mined in the region. The Comstock Lode, as it would come to be called, began an influx of settlers to northern Nevada that would place heavy demands on the region`s natural resources, including water and timber. Water to supply the growing needs of the Comstock mines was diverted from the Truckee River and Lake Tahoe Basins, marking the beginning of interbasin water diversions. The demands for lumber to supply the mines and railroads led to the rapid growth of logging and milling operations throughout the Sierra Nevada. Before long, the rivers and streams in the area became clogged with sawdust and logging debris, preventing fish migration and seriously degrading the quality of water in the Truckee River.(7) The 1860s was a period of rapid growth and settlement along the Truckee River. With the growth came conflict and controversy. The 1860 Pyramid Lake Indian War resulted in the deaths of over 150 Indians and 75 whites. The City of San Francisco began to look to the water of Lake Tahoe to supply the needs of the growing city. Logging and mining continued to pollute the rivers and streams. Sawdust bars blocked rivers preventing fish from migrating upstream to spawn, and silt washed from hillsides stripped of trees fouled the waters. In 1861, Congress granted Nevada territorial status. Among the first acts of the Territorial Assembly was to pass a requirement that all dams constructed in Nevada allow for the natural transit of fish. Unfortunately, this requirement was frequently overlooked.(8) In the early 1860s, the first irrigation ditches began to appear. The Pioneer and Cochran Ditches diverted water from the Truckee River to irrigate lands in Truckee Meadows. Numerous dams were constructed on the Truckee River to divert water for irrigation or to power mills. In 1870, the California Legislature authorized the Donner Lumber and Boom Company(9) to improve the channel of the Truckee River from the outlet of Lake Tahoe to the California/Nevada state line. The company constructed a rockfilled timber crib dam at the outlet of the lake, controlling the outflow of the lake for the first time.(10) Throughout the later part of the 1800s, growth along the Truckee River continued at a rapid pace. More dams were constructed, increasing diversions from the river and further limiting migration of fish. Industrial and municipal wastes flowed untreated into the river. The drinking water of Reno and other towns was alive with bacteria and other organisms, requiring the residents to boil the water before using it. By the time the Reclamation Service authorized construction of the Truckee-Carson Project(11) in 1903, the waters of the Truckee River were virtually all appropriated.(12) The United States Geological Survey (USGS) began investigations into possible irrigation projects in the Truckee and Carson River Basins in the late 1880s. In 1902, the newly organized United States Reclamation Service took over investigations. On March 14, 1903, the Secretary of the Interior authorized the Truckee-Carson Project, making it one of the first projects authorized for construction by the Reclamation Service (13) Work on the Truckee-Carson Project began in mid-1903. The original plan proposed reclamation of over 300,000 acres of land in western Nevada. The plan called for the diversion of water from the Truckee River to the Carson River where it could be used to irrigate lands in the Carson River Basin. To accomplish this, a diversion dam constructed on the Truckee River would divert water into a 30-mile long main canal that would convey it to the Carson River. A second dam constructed on the Carson River would divert water into project canals for delivery to project lands. To ensure an adequate supply of water during the late portions of the irrigation season when the flows of the rivers were at their lowest, water would be released from Lake Tahoe and several storage reservoirs to be constructed on the Truckee and Carson Rivers. To control the release of water from Lake Tahoe, Reclamation would construct a dam at the outlet of the lake. The dam would control the top six feet of the lake providing storage for more than 700,000 acre-feet (af) which would be released as needed to supplement the natural flow of the Truckee River. To provide additional storage, as many as five reservoirs would be constructed on the Truckee River, and an equal number on the Carson River. Construction of the project was directed by Leon H. Taylor. Taylor joined the Reclamation Service in 1903 after serving as a hydrographer for the USGS in the 1890s. Taylor spent years studying irrigation possibilities along the Truckee and Carson Rivers and was instrumental in selection of the site of the Truckee-Carson Project. The initial phase of the plan called for the construction of canals and diversion dams. Construction of the storage facilities would begin at a later date. Construction of the main canal to convey water from the Truckee River to the Carson River was divided into three divisions. Division 1 included the Derby Diversion Dam on the Truckee River, Truckee Canal headworks, and the first six miles of canal. Division 2 covered miles seven through thirteen, and Division 3 covered the remaining 17 miles of the canal. Bids for construction of the dam and canal were opened in Washington by the Secretary of Interior on July 15, 1903. The contract for Divisions 1 and 2 was awarded to C.A. Warren & Company with bids of $324,967 for Division 1, and $415,020 for Division 2. The contract for construction of Division 3 was awarded to the E.B. & A.L. Stone Company who submitted a low bid of $250,700. The contracts for the diversion dam and canal were among the first contracts awarded by the Reclamation Service.(14) Construction of the diversion dam required the labor of over 500 men. A temporary diversion channel around the site of the dam and an earthen embankment protected the site. Once the dam site was free of water, the foundation area was cleared and excavated, exposing bedrock which would serve as the foundation for the structure. Then the contractor erected concrete forms and placed concrete for the gate structure. Work on the dam was completed in early 1905. The Derby Diversion Dam is an earthfill embankment structure 31 feet (ft) high and 1,300 ft long with a concrete control structure. It contains more than 35,000 cubic yards (cy) of material and has a diversion capacity of 1,500 cubic feet per second (cfs). Flow into the canal is controlled by 9 slide gates. The Truckee Canal was constructed at the same time as the diversion dam. Excavation and construction of the 32-mile long canal required more that 1,000 men and two years to complete. Started in September 1903, excavations were carried out using three large drag-line excavators. In addition to more than 30 miles of canal, three tunnels were constructed on the canal route. The tunnels range in length from 309 feet to 1,521 feet and are 15.3 feet in diameter. Work on Division 3 was completed September 30, 1904, followed by Division 2 on February 2, 1905, and Division 1 on May 20, 1905. The Truckee Canal is 31.2 miles long and has an initial bottom width of 20 feet with a capacity of 1,500 cfs and a maximum depth of 13 feet. At several points along its route, the canal has control gates to release water for irrigation of lands adjacent to the canal. The canal then terminated at the Carson River where the flow discharged into the river via a timber chute that was later replaced by a concrete chute.(15) While the Derby Diversion Dam and Truckee Canal were being constructed, the Carson River Diversion Dam and project canals were also under construction. The Carson River Diversion Dam is located about five-miles downstream from where the Truckee Canal empties into the Carson River. Reclamation designers divided construction of the Carson River Dam and project canals into four schedules. Schedule A covered canal excavations and embankment work. The contract for schedule A was awarded on September 9, 1904, to the Pacific Coast Construction Company, which bid $195,887. Work began on September 1, 1904 and continued until completion on May 31, 1905. The contract for schedule B, which covered construction of the concrete headworks, was awarded to R. C. Mattingly of San Francisco on September 17, 1904. The winning bid was $52,168. Work under the contract began on December 1, 1904, and was completed on September 20, 1905. Schedule C covered spillways, drops, lateral headgates, and other minor structures along the canals. The winning bid of $43,219 was submitted by the San Francisco Construction Company. Reclamation awarded the contract on September 17, 1904, with work commencing on December 1. All work under the contract was completed on July 21, 1905. Reclamation awarded Schedule D, which covered construction of several bridges over the canals, to Clarence W. Swain of Ione, California. The winning bid was $4,288. Work began on September 13, 1904, and continued through July 21, 1905.(16) The Carson River Diversion Dam is 241-feet long with a 225 ft long, 31-ft high, concrete control section, and has a diversion capacity of 1,950 cfs. It was completed in 1906. Two canals carry water from the Carson River Dam to project lands. The `T` Canal serves lands on the north side of the river. It is 9 miles long with a bottom width of 10-feet, and has a capacity of 450 cfs. The `V` Canal serves lands on the south side of the river and is 27 miles long. It has a bottom width of 22-feet and a capacity of 1,500 cfs. In addition to the primary canals, more that 300 miles of laterals and almost 350 miles of drains have been constructed since work on the first laterals began in 1904.(17) On June 17, 1905, a congressional delegation led by Senator Francis G. Newlands, sponsor of the 1902 Reclamation Act, dedicated the Derby Diversion Dam and Truckee Canal. Upon the opening of the headgates, water flowed into a federally controlled reclamation project for the first time. The first water deliveries to project settlers began in February 1906.(18) Reclamation began preliminary work on the Lake Tahoe Dam in 1905, but work was immediately halted when power companies that held previously existing water claims filed an injunction against the government. This action was simply the latest in a series of actions that had been going on since 1902. In 1902, following passage of the Reclamation Act, the government began negotiations with the Donner Boom and Logging Company, owners of a small dam at the outlet of Lake Tahoe. Unknown to the government, downriver power companies were also negotiating with the Donner Company, and in September 1902, The Truckee River General Electric Company purchased the dam for $40,000. Following the transfer, the government began negotiating with the power company and in April 1903, agreed to purchase the dam for $100,000 and a guarantee of sufficient water flows to generate electricity. Government officials in Washington believed the price to be too high and opted to condemn the dam and take control via the courts. In July 1904, Reclamation gained control of 63 acres just below the existing dam and began plans to construct a new dam to control flows from Lake Tahoe. The contract for construction of the Lake Tahoe Dam was awarded to Edward Malley of San Francisco on July 19, 1905. The contract price was $32,200. This action caused great concern among the owners of land along the shores of Lake Tahoe. Rumors began to circulate that the new dam would allow the lake to be drained to a level five feet lower than the existing minimum level, while the storage level would be raised more than ten feet above the current maximum. Despite assurances that existing maximum and minimum levels would be maintained, when construction began in 1905, legal action was taken to halt construction.(19) While the Reclamation Service studied alternative approaches to gain control of Lake Tahoe, water use on project lands increased. In 1908, water use reached the point that the combined flows of the Truckee and Carson Rivers could not meet late summer irrigation demands. To provide a more secure water supply, Reclamation planners investigated several sites on the Carson River for construction of a dam and reservoir. One site, known as the Lower Carson Reservoir site, was near the point where the Truckee Canal emptied into the Carson River. In December 1910, after several years of water shortages and the inability of the government to gain control of the waters of Lake Tahoe, the Secretary of Interior approved construction of Lahontan Dam at the Lower Carson site.(20) Construction of the Lahontan Dam began in February 1911. The remote location of the site prompted construction of a hydroelectric powerplant to provide power for construction activities. The design of the powerplant took advantage of the more than 100 foot fall of the Truckee Canal into the Carson River. Work on the plant began in late March 1911, and was completed in early November. Water was supplied to the two, 500 kilowatt generators by a single, 500-foot long, 72-inch diameter, steel penstock originating near the end of the Truckee Canal (the penstock system would later be replaced by a system that supplies water to the powerhouse from Lahontan Reservoir). Water not used for power generation was discharged into Lahontan Reservoir. The generators, supplied by General Electric, are driven by Francis turbines manufactured by the Pelton Waterwheel Company.(21) Work on the dam itself began in early 1911 and was carried out by government forces. Blasting for the trench for the cut-off wall near the upstream toe of the dam began in late March. Designed to prevent seepage of water under the dam embankment, the bottom of the wall extends between 30 and 60 feet below the original ground surface with the top of the wall extending 6 to 8 feet above the surface and into the dam embankment. Additional protection was provided by pressure grouting the areas surrounding the cut-off wall.(22) Control of the Carson River during construction was achieved by first constructing the outlet conduit and then diverting the river through the conduit. The outlet works consisted of two reinforced concrete conduits each nine-feet in diameter that discharged into the spillway pool. Flow into the conduits was controlled from the outlet tower which is located upstream from the dam. The tower consists of two reinforced concrete barrels, each 14-feet in diameter. At the base of each barrel there is a cylinder gate that controls flows into the conduits. Water is admitted into the barrels by two sets of three vertical lift gates located at different elevations along the sides of each of the barrels. The slide gates and cylinder gates are operated from a control house atop the tower. The total capacity of the outlet works is 2,000 cfs. Access to the control house is via a 220-foot long suspension bridge from the top of the dam. Excavations for the outlet conduit began in early May 1911 and were completed by mid-August. Concrete placement in the conduit began in mid-February 1912, with placement of the invert section of the left conduit. The left conduit was completed from the base of the tower to the spillway pool on June 13, and the river diverted through it on November 20, 1912. The right outlet conduit was completed in late December.(23) A unique feature of Lahontan Dam is the twin spillways, one at each end of the main dam, that discharge into a common stilling pool. Each spillway has an uncontrolled concrete crest approximately 250-feet long with an open channel that curves nearly 90 before ending at the stilling pool. The pool, located at the base of the dam, is 230-feet across with an area of almost one acre. The spillway system was designed so that the energy of the flows will cancel one another when they converge in the pool. The combined design capacity of the spillway system is 30,000 cfs. Excavations for the left spillway began June 12, 1911, with work on the right spillway commencing on August 10. Construction of concrete forms in the left spillway began in late June 1912, with the first placement of concrete on July 13. Concrete was delivered using a 1,600-foot long cableway with a capacity of 15-tons. Some 70,000 cy of concrete were used in the spillways, outlet works, and other structures. Excavations for the spillway pool were completed in late November 1912. Both spillways and the stilling pool were completed by the beginning of 1915.(24) Embankment placing operations began in early November 1912. Stripping of the dam site was carried out just in advance of embankment placing. The embankment is composed of two zones of compacted fill material. The downstream zone consists of gravel fill, while the upstream zone is made up of a mixture of earth and gravel placed in layers, wetted, and rolled by 10-ton, steam powered traction engines. The materials were transported from storage bins to the center of the embankment by a 925-foot long conveyor belt. The materials were then spread out using horse drawn dump wagons, moistened, and rolled into 3-inch layers. The entire embankment is protected by a 12-inch layer of gravel. In addition, the upstream slope is covered by a 2-foot layer of riprap. The embankment was completed December 15, 1914. Lahontan Dam is a earth and gravel structure 162-feet high and 1,300-feet long. The embankment contains more than 730,000 cy of material. The design capacity of Lahontan Reservoir is 273,600 af. The use of flashboards across the spillway crests brings the storage capacity up to more than 310,000 af with a surface area of 11,200 acres and almost 70 miles of shoreline.(25) While the Reclamation Service progressed with work on Lahontan Dam, efforts to gain control of Lake Tahoe continued. Because of severe drought conditions in 1912, the Reclamation Service was forced to close the downstream gates of the Derby Diversion Dam, diverting the entire flow of the Truckee River into the Truckee Canal. As a result of this action, the stream bed for several miles below the dam became clogged with dead and dying trout. Eventually, the Reclamation Service and the Truckee River General Electric Company, whom many believed were intentionally withholding water from the farmers, sent a party of workers to Lake Tahoe to dredge the channel and cut down the rim to release more water. Although the action was blocked by a court injunction, the incident is typical of the kinds of activities that surrounded the controversy.(26) In 1913, the controversy surrounding construction of the Lake Tahoe Dam was finally resolved when the Reclamation Service and the power company agreed to complete construction of the dam which had been started in 1905, but delayed by the protracted legal battle. The dam was completed in late 1913, and is a concrete slab and buttress dam, 109-feet long and 18-feet high. Flows are controlled by seventeen, 5-foot by 4-foot gates. The dam controls the top 6 feet of the lake. With a surface area of 120,000 acres, the effective storage capacity is over 730,000 af.(27) The completion of Lahontan Dam in early 1915 marked the end of construction of the major features of the Truckee-Carson Project, but construction of distribution canals, laterals, and drains continued for several years. In January 1915, the Canyon Power Company, operators of the Lahontan Powerplant under a lease agreement with the U.S. Government, began installation of a third, 500 kw generating unit. The installation was completed on June 20, 1915, bringing the capacity of the plant up to 1,500 kw.(28) On July 1, 1915, based on a June 4, 1915 consent decree issued in federal court (United States v. Truckee River General Electric Company), the United States assumed control of the dam at Lake Tahoe. The decree, known as the Truckee River General Electric Decree, gave the Reclamation Service an easement to operate the dam and use the surrounding property, subject to certain restrictions. Under the agreement, the Reclamation Service was to guarantee certain year-round flow rates to support hydropower operations downstream. These flow rates, known as `Floriston Rates`,(29) would be used as the basis for future Truckee River water use agreements. After more than a decade of controversy and conflict, the Reclamation Service had finally gained limited control of the waters of Lake Tahoe.(30) Construction began in 1903, the same year the project was authorized. The first construction specification Reclamation issued was for the Truckee River Diversion Dam, now the Derby Diversion Dam, which was completed by June 1905. By September 1905, the Carson River Diversion Dam and main distributing canals for the Carson Division had been completed. The Truckee Canal and a timber chute to the Carson River (the chute was later replaced by one of concrete which discharges into Lahontan Reservoir) were completed in November 1906. This permitted the diversion of Truckee River water for use in the Carson Division for the first time in 1907. Construction of Lake Tahoe Dam was completed in 1913. An extensive draining system was built from 1916 to 1928. Tunnels were repaied in the late 1920s. From 1947- 1954, the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District upgraded the Lahontan Powerplant and incresaed the total capacity to just under 4,000 kilowatts. The total project capacity was increased in 1955 when the `V` Canal Powerplan was completed. For hundreds of years, Pyramid Lake has been the focus of life for the Indians that have lived upon its shores. Fed by the waters of the Truckee River, the lake supported several varieties of fish and waterfowl. Each season, hundreds of fish, some as large as 40 pounds or more, would make their way upstream to spawning grounds far up the Truckee River. Starting in the mid-1800s, development has cut off the spawning grounds. Over-fishing, poor water quality, and inaccessibility to spawning grounds led to the extinction of at least one species of indigenous trout. As more and more water was diverted from the river, the level of Pyramid Lake began to fall. In 1906, with completion of the Derby Diversion Dam, flows into the lake were cut in half. In 1967, the level of Pyramid Lake reached its lowest point in recorded history, 87 feet lower than when diversions began at Derby in 1906, and prevented Pyramid Lake fish species from migrating upstream to spawn. Beginning in 1968, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Indian Tribe began a series of law suits aimed at halting the decline of Pyramid Lake. These suits led to the February 1973 Gesell Opinion, which contained new requirements for operation of the Newlands Project. In 1982, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe won an important decision that obtained dedicated water rights for restoration of endangered Pyramid Lake fish species. The decision grants the Secretary of the Interior the authority to designate the rights to all stored water in Stampede Reservoir, completed in 1970 as part of the Washoe Project, to preserve the endangered species of Pyramid Lake and directs that Stampede Reservoir be used benefit the Pyramid Lake fisheries. The future of Pyramid Lake is tightly entwined with that of the Newlands Project. Decisions and changes that effect one will likely adversely affect the other. Factor into the situation the needs of other water users along the Truckee River, and the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribes on the Carson River whose culture and reservation are intimately linked to the Stillwater Wetlands, and the controversy becomes even more complex. The final solution to the controversies will involve striking a balance between the needs of each party. The near record runoff in the spring of 1995 helped raise the level of Pyramid Lake almost 4 feet. While helping to restore the waters of Pyramid Lake, the runoff provided little or no relief from the controversies that surround the lake and the use of Truckee River water. The current control and beneficial use of the Truckee River are the result of a long history of constructing and managing water storage and diversion facilities. The operating constraints of these facilities are defined by the exercise of water rights, court decrees, agreements, and regulations. Some key operating constraints include the Truckee River General Electric Decree, Truckee River Agreement, Orr Ditch Decree, Tahoe-Prosser Exchange Agreement, Newlands Project Operating Criteria and Procedures (OCAP), and the Preliminary Settlement Agreement (PSA). The PSA, entered into in 1989 by Sierra Pacific and the Pyramid Lake Tribe, is an agreement to change the operation of Federal reservoirs and the exercise of Truckee River water rights to (1) improve spawning conditions for the Pyramid Lake fishes and (2) provide additional M&I water for the Reno-Sparks area during drought periods. Many provisions of the PSA have not yet been implemented and will be implemented only through the Truckee River Operating Agreement (TROA). The Truckee River Operating Agreement is expected to be completed in late 2000 after almost 10 years of negotiation. TROA will allow more flexible use of a series of Truckee River reservoirs, resulting in an array of new benefits including: 1. Substantial drought protection for the Reno metropolitan area 2. Municipal and industrial storage to aid Fernley 3. Improved instream flows in the Truckee River 4. Improved recreational levels in California reservoirs 5. Federal revenues from storing water dedicated to wetlands restoration and fish recovery 6. A permanent interstate allocation between California and Nevada of the waters of the Truckee and Carson Rivers and Lake Tahoe 7. Release of the Pyramid Lake Tribe`s economic development fund which, with interest, is now over $50 million. Newlands Project water is mostly used for agriculture. Since its inception, the Newlands Project has been home to many different types of crops. Now, principal irrigated crops are alfalfa hay, grass hay, irrigated pasture, barley, wheat, corn, oats, and sorghum. The project can provide service to approximately 6,200 acres of fertile bench lands adjacent to the Truckee Canal west and south of Hazen, and another 66,700 acres on the north and south sides of the Carson River near Fallon. In 1992, 73,859 acres were available for irrigation with 55,182 acres receiving project water. The primary crop grown on project lands is alfalfa, which is raised on just over 35,500 acres. Cereal crops are raised on another 9,950 acres, with a small amount of acreage devoted to corn, melons, squash and berries. In addition, there are 4,000 acres of irrigated pasture on the project. The total crop value for 1992 was $13,291,921. The Lahontan Reservoir (http://www.recreation.gov/detail.cfm?ID=85) area offers swimming, picnicking, camping, boating facilities, and fishing for trout and warm water fish. In 1992, over 116,000 visitor days were recorded at Lahontan Reservoir. Overnight lodging accommodations are located nearby. Recreational activities at Lahontan Reservoir are administered by the Nevada Division of State Parks and the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. The Fernley and Stillwater Wildlife Management Areas are also in the boundaries of the Newlands project and provide numerous recreational activities including hunting, fishing, and sightseeing. These areas are administered by the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the Fish and Wildlife Service. Truckee-Carson Irrigation District has built 73 miles of 33-kilovolt transmission lines to convey power from Lahontan Powerplant to the city of Fallon; towns of Fernley, Wadsworth, Hazen, and Stillwater; Indian reservations; and most of the rural areas of the project. Distribution facilities were constructed by the district and local improvement districts. The Lahontan plant and distribution system is interconnected to the Sierra Pacific Power Company system and operated by the power company.
Plan
Water for the Newlands Project is diverted from the Truckee River into the Truckee Canal for irrigation of the Truckee Division and for conveyance to Lahontan Reservoir for storage. Water stored in Lahontan Reservoir or conveyed by the Truckee Canal is released into the Carson River either directly or through Lahontan Powerplant, and is diverted into the `V` and `T` Canals at Carson Diversion Dam for irrigation of the Carson Division. Lake Tahoe Dam controls the top six feet of Lake Tahoe. With the surface area of the lake, this creates a reservoir of 732,000-acre-feet capacity and regulates the lake outflow into the Truckee River. Completed in 1913, Lake Tahoe Dam is a concrete slab and buttress structure with 17 vertical gates. It is 18 feet high and 109 feet long. Flows are controlled by 17 gates, each 5 ft by 4 ft. Reclamation modified Lake Tahoe Dam in 1987 under the Safety of Dams program. Reclamation constructed reinforced concrete stabilizing walls in the existing embankments, concrete embankment caps over both embankments, and reinforced embankment and slope protection. Each stabilizing wall is 44 feet long and extends about 20 feet down into the embankment. A cut-off wall was added to provide increased stability to the dam and embankment in a severe earthquake. Lahontan Dam and Reservoir on the Carson River store the natural flow of the Carson River along with water diverted from the Truckee River. The dam, completed in 1915, is a zoned earthfill structure 162 feet high. To prevent seepage, a cutoff-wall extends 30 - 60 feet below the original ground surface and 6 - 8 feet above the surface and into the embankment. The dam has twin spillways, one at each end of the main dam, that discharge into a common stilling pool. Each spillway has an uncontrolled concrete crest approximately 250-feet long with an open channel that curves nearly 90 before ending at the stilling pool. The pool, located at the base of the dam, is 230-feet across with an area of almost one acre. The spillway system was designed so that the energy of the flows will cancel one another when they converge in the pool. The combined design capacity of the spillway system is 30,000 cfs. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 295,500 acre-feet. When 20-inch flashboards are installed on the spillway crest, up to 23,900 acre feet of additional storage capacity is available in some years. Lahontan Powerplant, immediately below Lahontan Dam, has a capacity of 1,920 kilowatts, and facilities to use water from either Lahontan Reservoir or the Truckee Canal. The plant was completed in 1911. The design of the powerplant took advantage of the more than 100 foot fall of the Truckee Canal into the Carson River. A 1,128-foot long, 72-inch diameter steel pipe runs through the left outlet conduit from the base of the intake tower, under the left spillway and onto the powerhouse. A 66-inch fixed-cone valve bypasses flows into the spillway pool when power operations are suspended. In 1949, the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District installed diesel equipment adjoining this plant to generate 2,000 kilowatts. In 1988, a second powerhouse was constructed at Lahontan Dam for a single 4,000 kilowatts generator. The Truckee Canal extends 32 miles from Derby Diversion Dam to the Lahonton Reservoir. It has an initial bottom width of 20 feet and an initial capacity of 1,500 cubic feet per second and a maximum depth of 13 feet. The canal has three 15.3-feet-wide tunnels ranging from 309 feet to 1,521 feet long. The Truckee Canal has an ending capacity of 900 cubic feet per second. The Carson River Diversion Dam is on the Carson River 5 miles below Lahontan Dam. The dam diverts water into two main canals to irrigate Carson Division lands. The Carson River Diversion Dam is 241-feet long with a 225 ft long, 31-ft high, concrete control section, and has a diversion capacity of 1,950 cfs. It was completed in 1906. Derby Diversion Dam, on the Truckee River about 20 miles below Reno, diverts water into the Truckee Canal for conveyance to Lahontan Reservoir and for irrigation of the Truckee Division lands. The dam is a concrete structure 31 feet high. Two canals carry water from the Carson River Diversion Dam to project lands. The `T` Canal serves lands on the north side of the river. It is 9 miles long with a bottom width of 10-feet, and has a capacity of 450 cfs. The `V` Canal serves lands on the south side of the river and is 27 miles long. It has a bottom width of 22-feet and a capacity of 1,500 cfs. The `V` Canal powerplant is on a drop in the `V` Canal about 6 miles west of Fallon. It has two 400 kilowatt generators. Overall, the project has 68.5 miles of main canals with a combined diversion capacity of 2,000 cubic feet per second. In addition to the primary canals, more that 300 miles of laterals and almost 350 miles of drains have been constructed since work on the first laterals began in 1904. Storage water in Lake Tahoe and Boca Reservoir in the Truckee Storage Project (http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/truckee.html), is regulated in accordance with the provisions of the Truckee River Agreement, to which the United States, the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, the Washoe County Water Conservation District, and the Sierra Pacific Power Company are parties. This agreement was made to stabilize and supplement the natural flow of the Truckee River, for which Donner Lake storage also is available. The Truckee-Carson Irrigation District and the Sierra Pacific Power Company have acquired storage rights in Donner Lake for joint use and Truckee River regulation. Donner Lake on Donner Creek has a capacity of about 9,500 acre-feet. Under terms of the contract of December 18, 1926, the operation and maintenance of the project were transferred to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District on December 31, 1926. The United States and The Truckee-Carson Irrigation District entered into a new contract for opration and maintenance of the project on November 25, 1996. Reclamation will assume responsibility (http://www.usbr.gov/mp/mp140/news/1999/MP-99-43.html) for operating and maintaining Lake Tahoe Dam in 2000.
Contact
Contact
Title: Area Office ManagerOrganization: Lahontan Basin Area Office
Address: 705 N. Plaza Street, Room 320
City: Carson City, NV 89701
Phone: 775-882-3436
Contact
Title: Public Affairs OfficerOrganization: Mid-Pacific Regional Office
Address: 2800 Cottage Way E-1705
City: Sacramento, CA 95825-1898
Fax: 916-978-5114
Phone: 916-978-5100
Contact
Title: Public Affairs OfficerOrganization: Commissioner`s Office
Address: 1849 C Street NW
City: Washington, DC 20240
Fax: 202-513-0575
Phone: 202-513-0305
Contact
Organization: Truckee-Carson Irrigation DistrictAddress: PO Box 1356
City: Fallon, NV 89407-1356
Fax: 702-423-5354
Phone: 702-423-2141