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Today, lack of knowledge of the whereabouts of the drainage structures makes it difficult for the <br /> drainage districts to schedule maintenance and plan for long-term rehabilitation. Some of the subsurface <br /> drains have"boiled up"in unexpected localities,while surface collector drains have contributed to local <br /> flooding of homes. <br /> The proposed study would involve developing and/or updating maps of the drainage systems, <br /> conducting an assessment of their current condition,determining the approximate cost of rehabilitation <br /> where it is needed,and exploring the possibility of consolidating many of the districts under a new <br /> drainage district authority. The formation of a Lower Arkansas Valley drainage district rehabilitation <br /> committee by the Sociology Water Lab will assist in the investigation of these various options. This <br /> committee will be responsible for overseeing the study and is already represented by members of the <br /> project's study team. <br /> The Colorado Institute for Irrigation Management,in cooperation with the Sociology Water Lab, <br /> both located at Colorado State University,will conduct the study. It will be coordinated with on-going <br /> and extensive hydrologic modeling being conduced by other Colorado State University researchers. The <br /> drainage district rehabilitation advisory committee has also secured some matching funds for the study <br /> from various drainage districts in the Arkansas Valley. Two private engineering firms will be on the <br /> study team to provide consultation during the study as well. <br /> LESSONS LEARNED <br /> In preparation for the writing of this proposal,the Sociology Water Lab visited a world-class <br /> drainage program in the State of Washington to obtain ideas on how to approach the study of drainage <br /> system rehabilitation in the Arkansas Valley." Much can be learned from visiting well-managed drainage <br /> systems, such as the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District,that is relevant to a long-term Arkansas <br /> Valley drainage rehabilitation program. <br /> The South Columbia Basin Irrigation District(SCBID),located in Pasco,Washington is part of <br /> the larger U.S.Bureau of Reclamation's Columbia Basin Project(CBP). The CBP includes over a <br /> million total authorized acres for irrigation in the State of Washington. The South Columbia Basin <br /> Irrigation District was formed to irrigate about 200,000 acres of this large federal project. <br /> Very few of Reclamation's post-World War II projects in the West were provided with the kind <br /> of drainage systems found on the CBP and are some of the most unique drainage systems in the world. <br /> The SCBID is the only district within the CBP with a specific subsurface drain maintenance program and <br /> crew. <br /> Agriculture is highly productive in the 200,000 acre SCBID service area,with orchards, <br /> vineyards,vegetables,hay,corn and other crops. Drainage is recognized by most growers as essential to <br /> future production. Groundwater can be as high as 8'to 10' feet below the surface in some areas of the <br /> district,mirroring some of the conditions in the Lower Arkansas Valley. <br /> The SCBID drainage system comprises 1200 miles of buried concrete,tile and PVC drains(about <br /> the driving distance from Denver to San Francisco). The drainage system has 3000 manholes,about 30 <br /> percent of which have been buried over the years at landowner requests,or through damage. The <br /> "A videotape of the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District's drainage program was prepared by the Sociology <br /> Water Lab and presented to Arkansas Valley drainage district board members at a meeting on July 8,2004. <br /> 10 <br />