CACHE WATER RESTORATION PROJECT
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October 3 Flow Testing
7/12/13 Construction Update
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11/1/12 Construction Update
10/30/12 1500 North Construction Update
10/26/12 Construction Update
10/19/12 Construction Update
10/13/12 Construction Update
10/6/12 Construction Update
9/27/12 Construction Update
9/14/12 Construction Update
9/1/12 Construction Update
8/18/12 Construction Update
Construction Status Map
4/2/13
Construction Progress Reports
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Week Ending Jan. 26, 2013
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Week Ending Dec. 29, 2012
Week Ending Dec. 22, 2012
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Week Ending Dec. 8, 2012
Week Ending Dec. 1, 2012
Week Ending Nov. 24, 2012
Week Ending Nov. 17, 2012
Week Ending Nov. 10, 2012
Week Ending Nov. 3, 2012
Week Ending Oct. 27, 2012
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Week Ending Oct. 6, 2012
Week Ending Sept. 29, 2012
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Helpful Links
Feb. 2014 - LHPS Shareholder Update
Feb. 2014 - CWRP Financial Update
May 2013 CWRP "Media Day" Video
3/4/13 Project Update - Logan & Northern Canal Co. Stockholder Meeting
CWRP Video Overview
CWRP Fact Sheet
September 2012 Newsletter
Tree/Vegetation Removal/Trimming Area Exhibit (East Bench Corridor)
Tree/Vegetation Removal/Trimming Area Exhibit (600 E. - 800 E. Corridor)
Bonneville Shoreline Trail Closure
CWRP Landscape Restoration Guidelines
August 2012 - 1500 North Construction Update
Spring 2012 Newsletter
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the purpose of the project?
The Cache Water Restoration Project (CWRP) was initiated in the aftermath of the July 2009 landslide on the hillside below 400 North in Logan which breached a section of the Logan and Northern Canal. Due to public safety concerns associated with the unstable hillside, a section of canal was closed indefinitely, preventing water distribution to shareholders. The CWRP seeks to manage the design and construction of measures to restore water to shareholders and provide safe and reliable water delivery solutions.
What is the project history?
In the aftermath of the 2009 landslide on the hillside below 400 North, federal funds were procured and an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for water restoration was completed and approved in 2011. The EIS included an open public process and was conducted in accordance with National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. The study established a purpose and need statement for water restoration, identified a preferred alternative and evaluated potential impacts and mitigation measures for the natural and human environment.
Click here to view the Final EIS.
Click here to view the EIS Preferred Alternative.
Why have water restoration measures been classified as an “emergency”?
Since the canal breach in 2009, shareholders of the Logan and Northern Canal, including farmers and homeowners, have had limited or no access to water. In many cases, this has significantly impacted the livelihoods of stakeholders who rely on the water for agricultural and other purposes. The urgency of restoring water delivery is especially felt by these individuals and affects the community as a whole both economically and culturally. Proposed measures are aimed at restoring service in the most timely, safe and efficient manner.
What is the project area?
The EIS proposed modifications to the Logan and Northern as well as the Logan, Smithfield, Hyde Park Canals.The canals are located in an unincorporated area of Cache County and the communities of Logan, North Logan, Hyde Park and Smithfield. Click here to view a map of the project area.
What is the scope of the project as proposed in the EIS?
Click here to view a map of proposed water restoration measures outlined in the EIS. Proposed measures are conceptual and subject to refinement during the final design process within the project purpose and need outlined in the EIS.
What is the purpose of enclosing the canal in box culvert and piping?
Enclosure of the existing canal in box culvert and pipe will restore safe and reliable service to water users. Public safety will be significantly improved in unstable areas where open canal is now exposed. Additionally, canal capacity will be more efficient as less water will be lost to seepage and canal maintenance needs will be reduced.
Why isn’t the canal being restored in its original location?
The EIS included a rigorous evaluation of project purpose and need and possible alternatives to address the need. Through this process, it was determined that public safety is the overriding impetus for proposed water restoration measures. Considering the known instability of the hillside below 400 North and history of landslides in the area, reconstruction of the canal through the breached area in an open or piped conveyance system would pose significant risks to public safety and liability issues for the canal companies. Cost to permanently repair the hillside also presents risks given the many geotechnical unknowns. Restoration measures proposed in the EIS protect public safety while improving water delivery methods to shareholders in the process.
What is the project schedule?
Project design is expected to be completed by spring 2013. Construction began in late summer 2012, with total project completion expected by spring 2014. Construction will be adapted to preserve canal flow during the principal irrigation season.
What approach will be used to design and build the project?
Cache County hired a program management team to determine project goals, coordinate with stakeholders, complete preliminary geotechnical surveys and conceptual design, recommend the most efficient method of project delivery and develop procurement packages for potential designers and contractors to bid on the project.
The process of hiring a project designer and contractor was competitive, with equal opportunity for all qualified consultants, vendors and contractors. The process followed state procurement guidelines and the eventual selection was based on both cost and qualifications.
The project is being designed and constructed according to a contracting method called Construction Management General Contractor (CM/GC) which utilizes an integrated "Team" approach applying modern management techniques to the planning, design, and construction of a project in order to control time and cost, and to assure quality for the project owner. The CM/GC method includes both pre-construction and construction phase services. The CWRP CM/GC Team includes the owner (Cache County, NRCS), program manager (J-U-B Engineers, Inc.), design engineer (Montgomery Watson & Harza) and contractor (Whitaker Construction Co.), who are all working in tandem to deliver a quality project.
What is the construction schedule?
Following is the tentative construction schedule:
- 1500 North (Logan and Northern Canal – 1800 East): Construction began in mid-August 2012 and is expected to continue through December 2012.
- 600 East corridor (1500 North - 400 North) – Construction began in October 2012.
- Canyon Section (Logan River diversion – mouth of Logan Canyon): Construction began in October 2012.
- East Bench (mouth of Logan Canyon - 1500 North): Construction began in October 2012.
- Canyon Road (First Dam - Laub Diversion): Construction began in November 2012.
I am an irrigation water shareholder. How will my irrigation schedule be affected by construction?
Irrigation flows for most shareholders concluded on Oct. 1, 2012 and are expected to resume in late spring 2013. Shareholders along Canyon Road are expected to have access to irrigation water through Oct. 31, 2012.
How is the project being funded?
Federal funding procured through the Natural Resource Conservations Service’s (NRCS) Emergency Watershed Protection Program is expected to fund 75% of the project. Local entities including the Logan and Northern Irrigation Company, Logan Hyde Park Smithfield Canal Company, Logan City, North Logan City, Hyde Park, Smithfield and Cache County will share costs of the remaining 25%.
Why are local municipalities participating in project costs?
The cities of Logan, North Logan, Hyde Park and Smithfield all utilize the canal system to convey storm water. The project will restore conveyance capacity that has been lost since the canal breach and will allow further conveyance options in the future. Since municipalities will benefit, each is contributing to the local cost share.
Will the project incur costs to water shareholders?
Federal sources will fund 75% of project costs. The remaining amount will be funded by the irrigation company shareholders, municipalities and Cache County.
What are the project features?
(Oct. 2012)
- Logan Canyon (Canal Diversion on the Logan River to the Mouth of Logan Canyon): A box culvert (6’ x 5’ and 5’ x 5’ concrete) will be constructed in the bed of the existing canal channel and then backfilled with soil.
- East Bench (Mouth of Logan Canyon to 1500 North): A gravity-flow transmission pipeline (66” reinforced concrete), distribution line and storm water collection line will be constructed in the bed of the existing channel and backfilled with soil. A storm water drainage system including an open channel and gravel maintenance access will run parallel to the pipeline in this section.
- 1500 North Corridor (Logan Hyde Park Smithfield Canal to the Logan and Northern Canal): A pressurized pipeline (42” PVC) will be buried in a new alignment underneath 1500 North.
- 600 – 800 East Corridor (1500 North to 400 North): A pressurized pipeline (4”-16” high-density polyethylene, HDPE) will be buried in the west bank of the existing Logan and Northern Canal channel between 1500 North and 550 North; and the south bank of the canal channel above Canyon Road from 600 East to 700 East. The pressurized line and 36" concrete storm drain pipe will be buried in the existing canal channel between 400 North and 550 North. The existing canal channel will remain open north of 550 North to convey storm water and a gravel maintenance access will run parallel to the pipeline.
- Canyon Road (First Dam to the Laub Diversion): A gravity-flow pipeline (18” HDPE) will be installed in the existing canal channel between First Dam and the Herm’s Inn area and in the south bank of the channel between there and the Laub Diversion. The existing open canal channel will be maintained to convey spring and storm water and a gravel maintenance access will run parallel to the pipeline. Logan City is considering options to improve this section of canal for collection of spring water and drainage.
- Concrete water control structures and turn-outs will be built at diversion points along the canal to restore water usage to shareholders.
- Erosion control and landscaping measures on and around new construction.
I live along the canal. How will my property and landscaping be affected by construction?
Most construction activities will be confined to canal property and existing easements. The project team is evaluating possible impacts to existing landscaping within canal right-of-way, easements and adjacent private property. Compensation or in-kind replacements will be provided to property owners for landscaping impacts on private property. Foliage and other vertical obstructions on the edge of the canal within the easement will be removed for installation of the irrigation pipeline and a gravel maintenance access road. The project team will coordinate with property owners prior to any removals. Following construction, disturbed areas will then be largely vegetated with native grasses except in areas where adjacent property owners wish to place turf grass, sod or other flat improvements that will not inhibit the access, operation and maintenance of the canal. For more detailed information on project landscape restoration guidelines, click here.
What does the canal companies' prescriptive easement entail? Why is it there and where is it located?
Irrigation canals have served farmers and other irrigators in Cache Valley for over 100 years. The legal right to the use of the underlying land for ownership and canal operation has been acquired by prescriptive use under Utah law, and entails the inherent legal right to use the adjoining land as is necessary to maintain, repair and replace the canals. The prescriptive easement varies in width along the canal corridor but has a maximum width of approximately 20’ from the toe of the slope on either side of the canal embankment.
Why is the access road needed and what will it look like?
Under Utah law, the owner of a canal has a clear and affirmative duty to maintain the canal so as to prevent waste of water, to prevent injury, and to prevent damage to the property of others. Through the CWRP, access is being restored to maintain, repair and replace the canals. The gravel access road will be approximately 9’-12’ wide and run parallel to the canal within the existing easement. Following construction, it will largely be vegetated with native grasses. The canal company or others as outlined in agreements will be responsible for maintenance of the access road.
Is the pipeline safe? Will adjacent homeowners be required to purchase flood insurance?
Pipeline installation is being done by an experienced contractor with third party oversight per current construction standards and requirements. The pipeline is adequately designed to hold the operating pressures. It is made of PVC material that has been tested and is regularly used for pressure pipe applications. Insurance requirements must be determined by individual homeowners’ policy providers.
How will the spring water along the hillside above Canyon Road be addressed?
The existing open canal channel will remain open to collect and convey spring and storm water run-off. The CWRP will not provide any improvements to the existing channel to collect spring water. Any improvements after the project is complete would be performed by Logan City.
Does the project include pedestrian trail additions or improvements?
No trail additions or improvements are planned with the project. Local municipalities may consider trails in the future as separate projects.
As outlined in the EIS, the existing open canal system through the golf course will be modified. To address aesthetic and course functionality concerns, the project team is working with the golf course to identify possible mitigation measures. Construction activities will also be phased to minimize impacts to golf course operations.
How will the hydroelectric facility at the mouth of Logan Canyon be impacted by the project?
The facility’s power generation capacity will be reduced with project implementation as flows from the Logan River that have historically entered the Logan and Northern Canal below the facility will be diverted above the power plant. There is an existing agreement between the irrigation company and Logan City addressing the impacts.
Where can I get more information?
Public involvement will continue to be an important component of the project as it progresses. Cache County has employed a project-dedicated public involvement team to coordinate stakeholder concerns and keep the public informed throughout project design and implementation.
