In the American West, the fight of a city against the repair of a canal

For the small town of Fernley in the western United States, repairing an old canal that caused severe flooding might have seemed like a no-brainer. But when the Federal State wanted to undertake this work, the inhabitants initiated legal proceedings.

The situation illustrates the thorny issue of water management in the American West.

Because this city, nestled in the desert lands of Nevada, ensures that the water that seeps from the decrepit canal is essential to its survival.

Residents say a new concrete liner, which would prevent dangerous ruptures in the future, would dry up the wells they’ve depended on for decades.

“It would be like going to the emergency room with a broken ankle and the doctor’s solution is to amputate the leg,” says lawyer David Rigdon, who represents the residents of Fernley.

“The cure is worse than the disease,” he adds.

No one disputes the need for repairs to the Truckee Canal.

Its levees broke in 2008, flooding hundreds of homes.

The canal operator was then sued for negligence and a financial settlement was reached for $20 million.

– Lands become lush –

The Federal State wants to carry out the repairs urgently for security reasons, but also because it claims that the city is not entitled to appropriate the water that escapes.

In return, Fernley residents and farmers argue the very reason for the historic existence of the canal.

Nearly 120 years ago, the Truckee Canal was part of a major project by President Theodore Roosevelt, who wanted to irrigate the American West.

The settlers were encouraged to settle in formerly arid regions, and to cultivate lands that had become luxuriant.

The canal that crosses Fernley has its source in Lake Tahoe and thus irrigates vast fields of alfalfa and melons.

The town of Fernley itself was founded along the canal in 1904, when farms and ranches were growing there.

Water flowing from the canal to seep into the ground has since created a robust groundwater table allowing Fernley to grow and now reach nearly 25,000 residents.

– “Salvation board” –

Now Fernley finds herself battling the same federal agency that built the canal more than a century ago, the Bureau of Planning (BoR).

“They’re the ones pulling the rug out from under us,” says local rancher David Stix.

“They deprive us of our lifeline,” he said.

Using a legal remedy called “estoppel”, the inhabitants’ lawyers argue that if they have had to rely on a resource, such as water, then the entity that provided it in the first place is not entitled to withdraw it later.

Lawyer David Rigdon concedes that the situation is “quite unique”.

Asked by AFP, the BoR said it would not comment while the case was ongoing.

Despite attempts by Fernley residents to delay the deadline, work to resurface is already well underway, and the canal has remained empty for several months.

Underground, water levels began to decline.

“The project has to end – we have to have water in the Truckee Canal again, we have to move forward,” said David Stix.

But the inhabitants would like the plans for the new canal to be modified so that it can feed the water table, as before.

Otherwise, “the lining of the canal will destroy our environment”, laments the 58-year-old breeder, “perhaps not in my lifetime, but in that of my children”.

“It will be devastating.”