Federal funding will help renovate the Boise Bench sewer system

The Treasure Valley’s irrigation system is currently being upgraded, funded by federal grants and loans. The project will rehabilitate six miles of canals on the Boise Bench, part of a 41-mile irrigation system that supplies water to approximately 165,000 acres of farmland in the Treasure Valley.

The New York Irrigation District will receive $50 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and a $12.5 million loan from the Bureau of Reclamation.

The Boise Project Board of Control has worked on the canals about 400 feet at a time when they are not in use during the winter. Project manager Bob Carter says the funding will accelerate the project, which is expected to be completed in six years instead of 50.

“This will help us expedite this process and get this done in about a mile per year by engaging an outside contractor who has a larger workforce,” he explained.

“We put in a geocomposite membrane and then attached it. There’s six inches of reinforced concrete on top, so it’s almost like building a half pipe,” Carter added.

The New York Canal sits above thousands of homes on the Boise Bench and was completed in 1909. It was recently designated an “Urban Canal of Concern” by the Bureau of Reclamation due to its age and potential risk of leakage.

“It serves over 1,500 miles of other canals and branch canals,” Carter said. “So it’s very, very important to keep it in top shape.”