A water district serving 130,000 people in California's Sierra foothills is replacing an exposed, storm-damaged flume with an underground tunnel, using $750,000 in federal disaster recovery funds from the 2021-2022 winter floods.
El Dorado Irrigation District's Flume 48, part of a gravity-fed system built decades ago, was damaged when a series of atmospheric rivers hammered Northern California in late 2021 and early 2022. Those storms ended a severe drought but caused billions in damage across the state. El Dorado County saw heavy flooding and debris flows, exposing how vulnerable open-channel flumes are to the extreme weather swings California now faces regularly.
The district is replacing the damaged flume with a tunnel designed to withstand future storms, wildfires, and debris flows. Open flumes sit aboveground and carry water downhill from higher elevations. When storms hit or wildfires strip vegetation from slopes, debris can clog or damage them, cutting water to thousands of residents with no easy backup.
The project is funded through FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which pays for infrastructure upgrades after disasters to prevent worse damage next time. The district is contributing about $250,000, with the federal government covering the rest.
El Dorado County has been hit hard by California's climate whiplash: severe drought, then the 2021 Caldor Fire, then massive winter storms, all within 18 months. Much of the district's infrastructure dates to the 1950s and 1970s, built for a smaller population and less volatile weather. A different flume nearly failed in 2018, temporarily cutting water to thousands.
The grant was posted in September 2024, more than two years after the storms. Construction timelines have not been announced.
