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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Role of Canal Company Under a secondary water supply scenario, the ditch company becomes the primary raw water provider for urban development in the canal historical service area. The canal company would acquire the water shares associated with the lands under development, and retain these shares as treasury stock in the company. Through the continuation of the beneficial use of water rights within the canal service area, a change in use and subsequent devaluation of the rights would not occur. Therefore water rights and their associated value would not be impacted through the secondary supply process. A primary conclusion of the Dual Systems Study is that there is a direct connection between canal companies that provide secondary water service and the strengthening of the economic standing and preservation of irrigated agriculture in the state (Dual Systems Study, Executive Summary). Through the process of providing secondary supply, canal companies can generate revenues from residential and traditional agricultural users to financially and physically improve the canal system. These efforts will not only preserve, but will improve the operational efficiency and economic viability of canal companies. Secondary supply systems provide a mechanism for valuable income transfer to irrigated agriculture, but in a way that actually involves a reduced cost to residential water users as well (Dual Systems Study, Executive Summary). DesiQn and Operation Concept Secondary supply systems can vary in design and operational advancement. They can be as simple as the maintenance of the existing irrigation system with improvements in basic canal infrastructure to as complex as the complete replacement of the canal with pressurized piping. A sound engineered approach to secondary water management includes a detailed design of the infrastructure piping and the irrigation system, and due consideration to long-term system operation and management. Secondary supply may also afford significant opportunities for the canal company to modernize its 100-year-old plus canal infrastructure. Modernization may include both structural and operational improvements, the benefits of which can complement the ditch company's provision of secondary supply for urbanization. Key engineering design criteria for a secondary system include annual landscape and crop water requirements, water delivery alternatives and constraints, water storage requirements, determination of peak demand flows, pump station and control requirements, primary distribution system layout, service connections for residential/commercial customers, system operation including supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) monitoring and control, and system maintenance. These engineering criteria can enhance the overall secondary supply scheme, or conversely, detract from it if they are not properly addressed. Design considerations and contingency operational plans for drought management are also important. There are basically three ways that secondary supply irrigation systems can be operated. They can be operated on-demand, on a fixed rotation, or some combination thereof. "On-demand" means that the residential or commercial user of the secondary system is allowed to irrigate any time of the day or night. "On-rotation" means a fixed period of time in which certain tracts or divisions of the system are allowed to irrigate. A Aqua Engineering, Inc. November 17,2004 Canal Modernization Study -4-