The quarter-mile stretch of the Valley Ranch canals between Ranch Trail and Red River Trail has been in need of some attention.
"We have erosion everywhere and it’s just running off into the streets," said CCMC-Valley Ranch community manager Chris Schappaugh.
Schappaugh said it’s the oldest area of Valley Ranch, and with water restrictions, the association decided to test the area to see how much water they can conserve.
"With the water restrictions also come water cost. And even though we can probably save money with the water restrictions we need to plan way far in advance for the water cost to go up," he said.
"Our goal is to save up to 50 percent of our current bill. And we're steadily approaching that with other initiatives that we have, but our goal is 50 percent at this time."
Valley Ranch resident Michael Desai said he moved next to the canal because he wanted a reminder of home in California.
"It's always nice to be near water. Sometimes it's cooler. You get a nice breeze. You go down there there are turtles, there's carp in there. There's catfish in there, and you can always see them," he said.
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While he understands construction will keep the stretch of the canal by his home inaccessible to foot traffic for about two seasons, he's willing to deal with the temporary inconvenience.
"You're always going to have to put up with some upheaval whenever you’re trying to make a place better or whenever you're trying to develop a place. So, you have to put up with that a little bit," he said.
Schappaugh said the test program, if approved by the master board on Sept. 16, could begin as early as this fall.
He said the $400,000 investment will determine whether or not the rest of the five-mile canal system will also receive similar renovations.
