PROJECT INFORMATION:
The Goshen Irrigation District serves 52,484 acres and approximately 345
landowners. The present assessment is $18.76/acre.
In 1992, the GID requested an evaluation of a small (1000 acre feet)
re-regulating reservoir. The reservoir was planned to be located on Horse
Creek, upstream of siphon #4. A small reservoir at this location would
enable the district to better regulate delivery of water to lands at the
end of the system. In addition, a dam at this site would store water
when storms allow water deliveries to be reduced. At the present time,
water in the canal is wasted when calls for irrigation water are reduced
due to rain. Six thousand (6,000) acre feet of water could be saved
annually if the reservoir was constructed.
The recently completed Level II study evaluated several alternate dam
sites. The original site at the Horse Creek Siphon was determined to be
the most cost effective. Conceptual designs and cost estimates were
prepared. A final report was completed in December, 1993.
Negotiations between the district and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation,
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department
and the Gering Fort Laramie Irrigation District must be successfully
completed if the project is to proceed. The district has decided to
postpone any further planning for this project until institutional
constraints involving water rights and wetland mitigation issues are
resolved.
RECOMMENDED LEGISLATIVE ACTION:
It is recommended that the project be retained at Level II-Hold status.