GEI Consultants to design rehabilitated Arizona irrigation canal

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —” The San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District (SCIDD) selected GEI Consultants, Inc., to provide engineering services for rehabilitation of the San Carlos Irrigation Project, which diverts and conveys irrigation water to growers in central Arizona. The project—s technical objectives are to rehabilitate approximately 50 miles of main canal and to improve the district—s lateral canal system to manage sediment, conserve water, minimize operation and maintenance costs, and improve overall operational effectiveness of the water system.

The rehabilitated system will provide appropriate capacity for flood control, system storage, hydropower generation, and groundwater management with an eye for potential urbanization. Approximately $108 million in 2008 dollars has been allocated from the Lower Colorado River Basin Development Fund (LCRBDF) for project implementation; funds are being administered by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

—It is a tribute to the district and its partners that they have been able to realize their goal of obtaining necessary funding for this long-needed rehabilitation and improvement effort,— said David Miller, project manager for GEI Consultants, who has been involved in this project since the early 1990s.

The Agreement Among the Gila River Indian Community, the United States, and the San Carlos Irrigation and Drainage District presents a conceptual framework for the rehabilitation project. In addition to addressing technical objectives, the agreement provides guidance to the district, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and neighboring Indian communities and municipalities on the roles they will play.

GEI will draw upon its experience in planning, design, and construction management of agricultural and municipal water supply and distribution systems to assist SCIDD in the project. GEI will be supported by a key local subcontractor, George Cairo Engineering of Mesa, Ariz., which will provide civil and agricultural engineering, water resource, and land surveying services.