Current Status of the Centennial Water Supply Project:

The Board of Directors has directed staff to focus on the Plan for Water, the District's long range planning process.  As such, the District does not anticipate any significant activity related to the Centennial Water Supply Project until the Plan for Water process has been completed.  The Plan for Water will look at potential limitations of the District's available resources, and assess future demands.  For information regarding the Plan for Water and to learn how you can participate in the Board Workshops, see the Plan for Water webpage.  You can also Join Our Mailing List at the tab below to sign up and select the notifications you would like to receive.

The Board of Directors have suspended property purchases related to the Centennial Water Supply Project.  There is currently no budget for this project.

Purpose, Location, and Description of the Centennial Water Supply Project:

NID is proposing to implement the Centennial Water Supply Project (Proposed Project) to provide drought  and climate change-mitigation, meet projected future water supply needs, and improve water supply  reliability for NID’s customers. The Proposed Project involves the construction of a new 110,000 acre-foot reservoir, on the Bear River between the existing Rollins and Combie reservoirs. The Proposed  Project would extend upriver from just above the existing Combie Reservoir for slightly over six miles to a point west of the Town of Colfax, approximately two miles downstream of the existing Rollins Dam.

NID has determined that its current water system is over-reliant on runoff from the annual mountain snowpack, resulting in an urgent and greater need for mid-elevation storage to capture runoff from rain storms as well as snow storms. The Proposed Project’s location is at a site that was initially identified in 1926 as part of an early NID reconnaissance project on the Bear River and found to be a superior water storage location. The region’s climate and precipitation patterns are changing, bringing more rain and less snow resulting in an increase in the need for mid-elevation storage within NID’s water system. The proposed reservoir is designed as a storage recovery project, rather than an expansion project. The Proposed Project would provide drought-mitigation and recapture water lost due to changing climate and reduced snowpack. The Proposed Project would also allow NID to continue to meet existing water delivery commitments and to bring more flexibility in meeting the future water supply needs of customers in all parts of NID’s service area.                               

The Proposed Project would involve construction of a new dam and associated facilities.  The anticipated water  depth at the dam would be approximately 255 feet, and the height of the dam would be approximately 275 feet.  NID anticipates that low impact public recreational opportunities (e.g. five-mile per hour maximum speed on the reservoir, pedestrian trails, swimming, and kayaking) are also anticpated to be included with the Proposed Project.