On September 25, 2024, the Nevada Irrigation District (NID) Board of Directors voted four to one to abandon its proposed Centennial Dam Project. The resolution was brought forward by NID staff, who had analyzed years of data and determined that the proposed project would be too costly and ineffective in supplying additional water to meet demand.
NID proposed to build Centennial Dam on the Bear River. The dam would have flooded six miles of the river and would have destroyed recreational opportunities and riparian habitat that is treasured by many, including Native American Tribes.
The California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (CSPA), along with a broad coalition of environmental groups, local residents, indigenous leaders, and recreational enthusiasts, fought to protect the Bear River from the project for the past decade.
NID’s decision is a win for rivers and fish. It is also a win for smart water policy generally and, thus, a win for NID.
The Centennial water rights proceeding before the Administrative Hearings Office of the State Water Resources Control Board, which has been pending for three years, will now end without going to a formal hearing. The decision will also preserve flow requirements in the Bear River that CSPA and others spent close to a decade negotiating with NID in the relicensing of NID’s Yuba-Bear Hydroelectric Project.
Much of the impetus for NID’s change of direction came about because of NID’s 3-year planning process called Plan for Water. The process generated technical data that showed that NID’s future water supply was likely in better shape than some at NID had previously thought. The study also highlighted vulnerabilities to NID’s water supply that Centennial Dam would not have addressed. CSPA was a regular participant in the Plan for Water planning process.
Judging from statements of NID Board members before voting, cost, and lack of benefits to many NID customers in Nevada County, also played a key role in the Board’s decision.
NID will now consider possible alternatives to Centennial Dam, such as raising the dam on Rollins Reservoir. CSPA will continue to participate in proceedings on possible alternatives and will encourage NID to pursue water management solutions that do not come at the expense of the environment.
The forthcoming withdrawal of the Centennial water rights application is the culmination of a ten-year campaign. The campaign was truly a coalition effort. CSPA wishes to acknowledge the pivotal role of several people: Traci Sheehan, coordinator of the Foothills Water Network coalition and now Policy Director at the South Yuba River Citizens League (SYRCL), and the ringleader of the campaign; Allan Eberhart, Sierra Club volunteer extraordinaire and advocate for the Bear River, who mobilized widespread opposition to Centennial even as he brought people together in the broader community; Melinda Booth, former Executive Director of SYRCL, who expanded her organization’s mission to take on the Bear River; and Bear River local residents Dianna Suarez and Otis Wollan, who were tireless and effective from start to finish.