Texas Water Resources Institute Texas A&M University

1 downloads 0 Views 2MB Size Report
claimed if an additional investment would be required to realize the water savings. ... many of these key components are more than 100 years old, outdated and in need of ..... Calculations Documenting Energy Use and Expenses for Hidalgo County ... Costs per kwh of Energy-Saved Sensitivity Analyses – BTU of Energy.
TR-242 October 2003

Economic and Conservation Evaluation of Capital Renovation Projects: Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 1 (Edinburg) – North Branch / East Main – Final

M. Edward Rister Ronald D. Lacewell Allen W. Sturdivant John R. C. Robinson Michael C. Popp

Texas Water Resources Institute Texas A&M University

TR-242 October 2003

Economic and Conservation Evaluation of Capital Renovation Projects: Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 1 (Edinburg) – North Branch / East Main – Final

Authors’ Note: The original analysis reporting on the North Branch / East Main was contained in a twocomponent report (i.e., TR-205) which was published in November 2002 and subsequently reviewed by the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR). Subsequent to the original report’s release, the BOR established guidelines which disallowed water savings being claimed if an additional investment would be required to realize the water savings. In addition, Hidalgo County Irrigation District No. 1 (HCID #1) and their consulting engineer (i.e., Melden & Hunt, Inc.) improved estimates of other water-saving categories and operation and maintenance expenses. Also, the initial construction cost estimate used in this analysis includes cost items (approximately $100K) previously not included in the original analysis/report. This Final document incorporates the revised data, as well as minor edits to the text. This and the aforementioned report (i.e., TR-205) were developed to assist HCID #1 in their submitting of project materials to the BOR, Border Environment Cooperation Commission, and North American Development Bank. Distribution of this report will initially be limited to HCID #1 and their consulting engineer, the BOR, and the TWDB. Only after the BOR has scored and finalized the next grouping of irrigation districts’ proposed capital-rehabilitation projects will the final results for this HCID #1 project be made available to other stakeholders and the public. This is anticipated to occur sometime in late 2003 or early 2004.

M. Edward Rister Ronald D. Lacewell Allen W. Sturdivant John R. C. Robinson Michael C. Popp

Rio Grande Basin Initiative is administered by the Texas Water Resources Institute of the Texas A&M University System with funds provided through a federal initiative, “Rio Grande Basin Initiative,” administered by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement Numbers 2001-45049-01149 and 2003-3446113278.

Preface1 Recognizing the seriousness of the water crisis in South Texas, the U.S. Congress enacted Public Law 106-576, entitled “The Lower Rio Grande Valley Water Resources Conservation and Improvement Act of 2000 (Act).” In that Act, the U.S. Congress authorized water conservation projects for irrigation districts relying on the Rio Grande for supply of agricultural irrigation, and municipal and industrial water. Several phases of project planning, development, evaluation, prioritization, financing, and fund appropriation are necessary, however, before these projects may be constructed. The Bureau of Reclamation is the agency tasked with administering the Act, and it has issued a set of guidelines for preparing and reviewing such proposed capital renovation projects. Based on language in the Act, the “Guidelines for Preparing and Reviewing Proposals for Water Conservation and Improvement Projects Under Public Law 106-576 (Guidelines)" require three economic measures as part of the Bureau of Reclamation’s evaluation of proposed projects: < <