Repairs required after high flows on the Weiser River damage Galloway Canal

By: 
by Steve Lyon

High flows on the Weiser River last week caused some damage to the upper end of the Galloway Canal, and Weiser Irrigation District officials are working swifty to make the repairs so water deliveries can start to farmers.
 The irrigation district was in the process of getting ready for the 2019 irrigation season when the Weiser River began to rise to flood stage last week. The damage occurred, according to WID official Jay Edwards, when the river flowed over the diversion structure’s gates and caused heavy erosion to the canal banks.
 The Galloway diversion structure on the Weiser River is about five miles upstream from Weiser. Water is diverted from the river into the Galloway canal for irrigation of about 15,000 acres of crops around Weiser.
 Edwards said the district brought in a contractor with heavy equipment to fix the banks that sloughed into the canal. He said the repair work would be done this week.
 “We need to get water in the canal as soon as we can,” Edwards said.
 Farm fields around Weiser are still muddy in places and there has not been a big demand so far this spring for irrigation water. That could change quickly with wind that causes fields to dry out and warmer temperatures.
 The recent snowmelt and runoff filled Crane Creek Reservoir, which can hold about 50,000 acre-feet of water. Farmers call on that stored water when the Weiser River gets low, usually in July.
 While it looks like a good water season ahead for irrigators, Edwards said he is concerned that the recent runoff that filled the Weiser River to flood stage is water that irrigators may need later on in the season.

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Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

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