PROJECT INFORMATION:
The Goshen Irrigation District serves 52,484 acres and approximately 355 irrigators.
The present assessment is $18.76/acre.
In 1992, the GID requested an evaluation of a small (1000 acre feet) reregulating
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.
