Risch, Merkley Advocate for Urban Canal Repairs

Introduce Bill to Expand Access to Existing Aging Infrastructure Funds for Repairs?

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced the Urban Canal Modernization Act to allow Bureau of Reclamation aging infrastructure funding to help address repairs for urban canals with extraordinary maintenance issues.

"Failure to address and repair many urban canals could pose substantial danger to the communities that have been built around them," said Risch. "My Urban Canal Modernization Act is a commonsense fix to allow these much-needed infrastructure repairs to move forward. Maintaining these canals will protect our property and our way of life in the West."

"The A Canal in the Klamath Basin was first constructed in 1906 and, like many of the canals running through our cities and towns, is aging and requires ongoing maintenance for all who rely on it," said Merkley. "Our bipartisan bill unlocks federal grant dollars to help make badly needed repairs to these aging infrastructure projects and ensure that they can continue to serve our agricultural economy and communities for years to come."

Across the West, once-rural canals have become increasingly surrounded by urban infrastructure. In Idaho, the New York Canal, which carries water 41 miles from the Boise River to Lake Lowell, was originally surrounded by farmland. Today, it's located amid one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country.

Urban canals provide important agricultural and municipal uses. However, many canals on converted agricultural land face significant challenges to performing extraordinary maintenance. Their proximity to urban areas complicates access to funding, hindering efforts to make these necessary repairs. The Urban Canal Modernization Act would fix this by allowing Reclamation funding to be used for certain urban canal maintenance issues.

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