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The Tribe’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) recently completed the administration of a project that improved the timeliness and volume of irrigation water deliveries to over 600 acres of farmland on the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation by replacing two check structures and a culvert under Arnold Road that were constricting the flow of water. In 2016, EDA worked with the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) and its Technical Service Center to complete a canal capacity assessment of the Indian Unit, the irrigation system serving Reservation farmland. Through the assessment, the constrictions were identified, and EDA began seeking resources to remedy them.

EDA worked with Natural Resource Consulting Engineers, Inc. (NRCE), a firm retained by the Tribal Council to provide technical assistance concerning irrigation system improvements and in 2019 applied for grant funding for the project. In 2020, BOR notified EDA that its application was selected for award, and the Tribal Council accepted the grant funding. Soon thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic occurred and slowed down progress. In 2021, EDA oversaw a competitive selection process for engineering design services, recommending that the Tribal Council award a design services contract to NRCE. NRCE completed its design work in 2022, and EDA’s attention turned to constructing the improvements. In 2023, EDA issued a Request for Proposals for construction services, and through this competitive process, recommended the Tribal Council select the Bard Water District (BWD) to perform the work. EDA also obtained from BOR additional grant funding to help cover the proposed construction cost. In 2024, EDA negotiated a Memorandum of Understanding with BWD regarding the construction services it would provide and the grant funding that the Tribe would provide and obtained Tribal Council approval.

With sufficient resources brought together by EDA, construction work could now begin. Demolition began in July 2024, beginning with the culvert under Arnold Road. To minimize the closure of Arnold Road, BWD quickly installed the prefabricated box culvert sections and relocated the Tribe’s domestic water main, then restored the roadway cut with new asphalt within six working days. Construction then focused on the demolition and construction of the first check structure, followed by the headwalls for the culvert and the second check structure. The new structures also included safety features that the original structures lacked, including a trash rack, safety rope, ladders, railings, and warning signage. In September 2024, EDA and BWD performed a punch list walkthrough of the project and found all scope of work items substantially complete, and all punch list items were resolved by December 2024. BWD provided the Tribe with as-built drawings which were then shared with BOR for its records. The completed project required no expenditure of Tribal funds and eliminated the existing bottlenecks and increased capacity, resulting in less operating time and reducing seepage losses by about 40 acre-feet per year.

(The five photos show the newly constructed first check structure, the construction underway on the second check structure, the newly constructed south headwall for the Arnold Road culvert and the second check structure, the completed north headway for the Arnold Road culvert with safety features, and the finished first check structure with water flowing through it.)

(The first three photos show the project site location and the condition of the check structures and culvert before demolition and construction of their replacements.  The fourth and fifth photos show the new culvert and relocated water main and the restored pavement on Arnold Road.)