Paul Deveau: Hydro project is wise for Valley

At the turn of the 20th century, Boiseans boasted the completion of Arrowrock, the tallest dam in the world. It provided much-needed flood control while storing liquid gold for a growing Treasure Valley. With the later construction of Anderson Ranch and Lucky Peak dams, our Valley has continued to prosper. Tens of thousands of both agricultural and residential water users benefit from these great amenities to the Boise River.

Since the creation of the Boise Project Board of Control in 1926, its directors have recognized the tremendous potential of the Boise River. The dream of many was first realized with the completion of a 101-megawatt Lucky Peak Power Plant in 1988.

Maintaining affordable water in the future will always be a challenge. Retrofitting Arrowrock Dam with hydropower certainly makes good sense. The process to obtain the Arrowrock license began more than 20 years ago, but we are finally under construction of the 15-megawatt plant scheduled for completion in 2010. The dollars generated will not only pay for the construction of the project but will help keep the costs of providing water more reasonable. For local producers, it allows them to be more competitive in the world marketplace. For thousands of homeowners in the Treasure Valley, these new revenues will help hold down costs of irrigating their yards.

We were able to take an existing water storage project that was used for irrigation, flood control and recreation and add a power component. That new source of electricity will be put into the regional grid providing a new long-term power source for one of the fastest growing regions in the nation. The power project has the additional benefit of helping reduce evaporation which keeps more water in the system.

We are very proud of this new project and our ability to serve our patrons in an environmentally and economically sound manner. At the same time, we are continuing to deliver water in a timely manner for irrigation, help provide critical assistance in flood control to protect our communities and generate hundreds of thousands of recreational visits every year.

The Boise Project Board of Control is an operating entity for a total of 167,000 acres, including the New York, Boise-Kuna, Nampa and Meridian, Wilder and Big Bend irrigation districts.

Paul J. Deveau is project manager of Boise Project Board of Control.