Yuba Water approves grants for flood reduction, infrastructure

Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·2 min read

May 7—The Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors approved $912,000 in community impact grants on Tuesday to support water infrastructure improvements, water safety and continued flood risk reduction work in South Yuba County.

Among these grants was $605,000 awarded to the Olivehurst Public Utility District (OPUD) to support a sewer consolidation project, which will help convert nearly 150 homes from septic to sewer. Officials estimate that the utility district will save more than $5 million in implementation and construction costs by combining water and sewer upgrades into a simultaneous effort rather than separate construction projects.

"It's great to see OPUD leveraging funds from Yuba Water to improve efficiencies and help save millions down the line — that's exactly how our grant program is designed to work," Yuba Water Agency Vice Chairman Gary Bradford said in a statement.

The board also committed $15,000 to help open the Olivehurst Public Utility District swimming pool this summer to encourage residents to swim safely in community pools instead of area rivers.

Additional grants totaling $292,000 will also support continued flood risk reduction work in Reclamation District 784, which primarily manages levees and pumps around Linda, Olivehurst and Plumas Lake, officials said. A $150,000 grant will help the district rebuild two drainage pumps in Linda, and a $142,000 grant will fund an erosion and risk analysis for a site along the south bank of the lower Yuba River.

The board also heard an update from Yuba Water Chief Dam Safety Engineer Tim Truong, who outlined several maintenance and dam safety projects planned in the years ahead. Yuba Water Agency owns and operates several dams as part of the Yuba River Development Project, multipurpose flood risk reduction, water supply, hydroelectric power generation, fish habitat and recreation initiative for the Yuba River.

Alongside weekly inspections, the dams undergo comprehensive external reviews by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Water Resources' Division of Safety of Dams. According to the Agency, the state rated all of Yuba Water dams as "satisfactory" in their most recent listing of California's major dams, which is the highest issued rating.