Cause of Truckee Canal break still a mystery

Source: Lahontan Valley news
By MARTIN GRIFFITH, Associated Press Writer
January 27, 2008

RENO, Nev. (AP) - Three weeks after a canal break swamped hundreds of homes in the northern Nevada town of Fernley, authorities are still puzzled over the cause of the rupture. Betsy Rieke, area manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, said separate teams of outside experts and government personnel are investigating possible causes.

"We may never be able to pinpoint the specific cause," Rieke told The Associated Press. "The evidence in that specific area where the break occurred has washed away."

Officials have speculated about causes, including structural weaknesses in the century-old earthen irrigation canal, rodents such as gophers and muskrats that could have punched holes in it, and unusually heavy rain. Rieke said her agency will try to come up with permanent solutions to prevent future breaks after the teams issue separate reports later this winter. The Jan. 5 rupture was the sixth in the canal's history.

"We need to be sure that the canal will be safe before water is again delivered into it," Rieke said. "We don't know yet when water can flow again in the canal."

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