Dalton Gardens irrigation district advances $8.1 million LID plan

Residents in a 942-acre slice of Dalton Gardens are being asked to shoulder most of an $8.1 million irrigation overhaul, with the district warning that waiting much longer could put irrigated water at risk. The Dalton Gardens Irrigation District board approved resolution 2026-2 on Monday, moving the Local Improvement District plan forward and setting up a June 22 public hearing that will test how much property owners are willing to pay to protect the system.

Under the proposal, grants are expected to cover 34% of the project cost, while the remaining 66% would be paid by residents inside the LID. District officials estimate the upfront burden at roughly $5,000 to $6,000 per acre, and they are examining financing options for owners who cannot pay the full amount at once. Written comments will be accepted until 3:30 p.m. June 22, and the public hearing is set for 6 p.m. that day.

The district has framed the work as a necessity rather than a wish list item. Without the LID, leaders said, the current infrastructure would keep aging until it reached the end of its useful life, and residents could eventually lose access to irrigated water. About 60 people attended the earlier town hall, a sign that the cost and the consequences are drawing close attention in a community where irrigation has long been tied to property value, landscaping and the basic character of the neighborhood.

The present debate rests on a system with deep roots. The Dalton Gardens development began as a private irrigation venture around 1905, was reorganized as an irrigation district in 1917, and was later folded into a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation project. The district was formed in 1953 to irrigate 991 gross acres, and the original system was designed and constructed in 1954. Reclamation rehabilitated the project in 1954-1955, with additional pipe rehabilitation completed in 1962-1964.

A 2024 water supply improvement study by Jon Baune, P.E., and Cody Peters, E.I., outlined the system’s deficiencies, alternatives, phasing, cost, funding and next steps, laying the groundwork for the current vote. Reclamation says the Dalton Gardens Project now supplies about 980 acres through a pumping plant, equalizing reservoir, main line and distribution system. That history underscores the central question now before the district: whether property owners will pay now to keep a long-running system functioning, or face a more expensive failure later.