Valley Pipeline and Irrigation Development Plans

The Venables Valley Irrigation Project will construct an irrigation system to harness the limited water resources of the valley in such a way that approximately 250 acres of high value organic crops can be produced in the future. The initial goal of the project is to divert water from White Mountain towards Venables Valley lake. This will clean out and replenish the lake and act as a reservoir for future irrigation needs. The second goal of this project will be to construct a pipeline and irrigation system. An 8 to 9 km pipeline will bring in fresh water to the valley.
The proposed physical water infrastructure would include a new water intake structure in the Upper Venables Creek. A flow gauging weir may be incorporated into the intake design. A 1 foot, or 300mm, diameter low pressure pipeline will convey water over a distance of 2.2 km along the old wooden flume route to a reservoir (water tank) on the upper portion of Lot 10. The aim of this large diameter pipeline is to capture the larger snow melt freshet flows during April, May and June each year in order to transport this water to the Venables Lake to re-establish this storage unit as an irrigation supply. An open flume would be used to convey this water the rest of the way to the lake. Project Background: The project has been put forth by Saranagati Village Holdings Inc and the Venables Valley Producers Co-op. Funding will come from Valley residents, international devotees and government. One meter of the pipeline can be sponsored for $108. The Venables Valley Water Resources Development and Irrigation Water Supply Feasibility Study was conducted during 2005/2006 to determine the location and viability of sustainable sources of surface and groundwater, which can be made available to the Valley to expand agricultural production from 15 to 250 acres. The water levels in the valley have decreased dramatically and now the water cannot be used for agriculture. The diversion and pipeline will bring forward the water needed to revitalize the land and community. Once the pipeline is in place a seed bank, nursery and soil improvement/compost center will be built. The Co-op will also value-add and market products grown in Venables Valley. More information about the Co-op