Flume 48 Utility and Infrastructure Replacement Project

The District owns and operates the El Dorado Hydroelectric Project, which is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as Project 184. Project 184 includes various conveyance structures (e.g., flumes, canals, tunnels, siphons) to convey approximately 1/3 of the District’s total drinking water supply to over 125,000 residents in El Dorado County, California, and also provides clean renewable energy through a 21-megawatt hydroelectric generation facility. Flume 48 is a component of this critical water conveyance system. The Project would replace an existing wooden flume (i.e., Flume 48), which is highly susceptible to damage from wildfire and other natural hazards, with a more durable ignition resistant concrete conveyance structure (i.e., U-shaped concrete canal). The Project requires the removal of approximately 448 linear feet of wooden flume, spillway, wooden substructure, and a historic hand-stacked rock wall. Construction of the new water conveyance structure involves construction of a cast-in-place reinforced concrete U-shaped canal built on a Mechanically Stabilized Earth bench. Construction of the Project is scheduled to occur during the District’s annual canal maintenance outage, which typically occurs annually from October through December. The Project would be completed over the course of two annual outages, with construction being suspended during the regular operational period of the canal (mid-December through September).