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The new structure is anticipated to reduce seepage water losses of approximately 150 to 250-acre ft/yr.
Using a combination of water conservation grants for engineering design, followed by construction implementation provided by the Bureau of Reclamation, Bard Water District (BWD) recently completed construction of its Five Gates Structure Capital Improvement Project to replace a series of deteriorated culverts near Imperial Dam.
Following development of initial designs in FY 2019, BWD received $300,000 ($642,294 of the total project cost) from Reclamation to install the new regulating structures near the Mohave Canal Turnout along the Reservation Main Canal.
Construction of the new headgate structures started in May 2021 with substantial project completion occurring in September 2021 – with BWD’s cost-share obligation coming from in-kind technical support and field work contributions.
The canals and related infrastructure being improved or replaced by BWD using grant funds obtained from Reclamation were selected based on evaluations of a combination of their existing conditions, maintenance needs, and other operational constraints.
Bard Water District lies within the boundaries of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation along the lower Colorado River near Yuma, Arizona. The Reservation Division consists of approximately 14,700 irrigable acres; of which 7,100 are in the Bard Unit and 7,600 acres in the Indian Unit. 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.
In working with Reclamation to fund and construct this new canal regulating structure, it is anticipated that the BWD will reduce seepage water losses ranging from 150 to 250-acre ft/yr. – thus delivering water more efficiently by eliminating a major bottleneck early in the system and reducing water deliveries from the Colorado River.
Constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, BWD (a component of the Yuma Project) is one of Reclamation’s oldest irrigation projects, with much of the infrastructure greatly in need of repair.
