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Goshen Irrigation District

Repairs on track for collapsed irrigation tunnel near Torrington

Published on in News/Agriculture
Goshen Irrigation Canal water
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By Ike Fredregill, Cowboy State Daily

As repairs move forward on an irrigation tunnel near Torrington, the Oregon Trail Community Foundation (OTCF) is slated to disperse donations to affected farmers.

“We’re working on the repairs that the (U.S.) Bureau of Reclamation is requiring, so we can run water next year,” Goshen Irrigation District Manager Rob Posten said. “We have to put in some more support ribs and do some void grouting (between the tunnel wall and surrounding soil) still.”

Built by the Bureau of Reclamation more than 100 years ago, the Gering/Fort Laramie Irrigation Canal collapsed in July, cutting irrigation water off to more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Goshen County and Nebraska.

To help farmers recover losses to crops resulting from the collapse, the OTCF announced it would soon start dispersing $300,000 in donations raised by various organizations and events in the area.

On the tunnel repair side, funding is still in the works, Posten said.

“The Bureau of Reclamation hasn’t paid for anything, but they have offered us some loans,” he explained. “We did get some funding from the Wyoming State Land and Investment Board — about $4 million.”

The long-term loan was given at a 2.5 percent interest rate and could pay for about half the cost of repairs, which Posten said were estimated to be about $8 million.

The boards of directors for both the Goshen and Gering-Fort Laramie irrigation districts are considering applying for additional funding from the State Land Investment Board in the near future, he added.

While the initial estimates for economic impact of the collapse varied wildly, Brian Lee, a University of Wyoming Extension agriculture economist, said the affected area’s economical outlook is much brighter than originally estimated.

“I don’t think the damage to the crops was as bad as it could have been,” Lee explained. “I think a lot of people got water at the end of the season, right when they needed it.”

Based out of the James C. Hageman Sustainable Agriculture and Research Extension Center in Goshen County, Lee co-authored a report estimating a total loss of all the crops irrigated via the tunnel could run about $90 million. The report assumed crop insurance would not cover losses, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency has since decided crop losses would be covered by insurance.

“Rather than a payment per acre, which was previously speculated,” Lee said, “(ag producer’s) insurance will work with them on their losses based on the insurance coverage they had at the beginning of the season.”

While the situation is better than predicted, the area could still suffer.

“There’s going to be a cost with all these tunnel repairs, and some of that will come back on these farmers with increased irrigation costs,” Lee explained. “We’re talking long-term loans that are going to be around for awhile.”

Beginning at the Whalen Diversion Dam near Guernsey, the Goshen and Gering-Fort Laramie irrigation districts’ main canal runs through three tunnels on a 129-mile stretch across Goshen County and Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.

To prevent future collapses, Posten said the district boards voted to upgrade the tunnels with permeation grouting, which could cost an additional $3.5 million.

Once funding is secured for both the current repairs and future upgrades, the projects could be complete in 2021, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln reported.

As the two states work toward preventing future collapses, Lee said ag producers could be considering additional protections.

“I think a lot of people — midway through the season — they didn’t have any water and got to thinking about different ways to get water to their plot or different crops to plant next season,” he said. “In the future, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a little more risk mitigation crops going in.”

Center pivots for irrigation — in which water is pumped to sprinklers that move in a large circle — could be another option, Lee said, but the statutes regulating water usage by center pivots are so complex the equipment might not be viable without new legislation.

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Water flows through irrigation canal again

Published on in News/Agriculture
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Water has returned to the Goshen Irrigation District canal that was breached in mid-July, leaving more than 100,000 acres of land without water.

The Goshen Irrigation District began running water down the Fort Laramie Irrigation Canal, which serves farmers in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.

A 100-year-old tunnel on the canal collapsed on July 17, backing up water behind the collapse and causing a breach in the canal.

Crews worked for more than a month to repair the tunnel and canal before releasing water the canal on Aug. 28. Since then, the irrigation district has been slowly increasing flows through the canal, said Manager Rob Posten.

“We have just been bumping it up slow and taking it easy and trying to monitor thing and trying not to do something stupid and wash out what we got done,” he said.

Repair costs are estimated at around $4 million and Posten said there is some thought being give to making more extensive repairs to the tunnels and canals at a cost of up to $10 million.

As reported by Cowboy State Daily, in August the U.S. Department of Agriculture affirmed that farmers who had purchased insurance against crop damage would be able to seek some compensation for damages caused by the canal’s breach.

But Cactus Covello of Points West Community Bank said not all the farmers will be fully compensated for losses to their bean, sugar beet, corn and hay crops.

Go deeper: Irrigation canal repairs nearly complete, Goshen County to turn water back on

“There’s going to be a monetary damage to all those farmers that count on those crops to make their payments and for their livelihood,” he said.

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Irrigation canal repairs nearly complete, Goshen County to turn water back on

Published on in News/Agriculture/Business
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Look back at how this water crisis began and see a view of the situation on the ground in Torrington with this report from Cowboy State Daily’s Robert Geha and Mike McCrimmon when the tunnel first collapsed.

By Ike Fredregill, Cowboy State Daily

Tunnel crews cleared the Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation Canal tunnel Monday, and water could start flowing to crops as early as later this week, Goshen County Irrigation District Manager Rob Posten said.

Full capacity irrigation, however, won’t be restored immediately, he added.

“We’ll go a little at a time until we get there,” Posten said. “It might take another week — it usually takes 7 to 10 days to bring the water into where we want it.”

Irrigation water was cut off to more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Goshen County and Nebraska on July 17 after the Gering-Fort Laramie Canal tunnel collapsed about a mile south of Fort Laramie.

Torrington Mayor Randy Adams said Posten’s announcement was well received around the community.

“Apparently there is no sidewall damage, which would have prohibited running water through it this year,” Adams said. “People in the community who’ve driven around the canal area have said the crops are looking better than expected.”

Prior to the U.S. Department of Agriculture stating Friday that crop losses caused by the canal collapse would be insured, the mayor said the incident could cost the community as much as $250 million during the next few years. Adams said he wasn’t sure how the USDA announcement would affect prior economic predictions, one of which predicted a total loss to crops that could cost Wyoming and Nebraska about $90 million.  

“The USDA is going to have to wait until those farmers harvest and turn in the crop, so they know how much they’ll pay out,” he explained. “I haven’t been a farmer for over 20 years, but crop insurance is basically a means for you to get back on your feet and plant the next crop. It’s better than getting nothing.”

Crop loss

Turning the irrigation back on could reduce overall crop loss, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher said. Xin Qiao, an irrigation management specialist at the UNL Panhandle Research and Extension Center, produced a report in July detailing the potential crop losses in the area served by the Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation Canal. The report predicted 100 percent loss of corn, more than 90 percent loss of dry edible beans and a 50 percent to 60 percent loss of sugar beets if the tunnel was not repaired by Aug. 13.

“I don’t think that number is accurate anymore,” Qiao said. “Any rain they got (since) could reduce the overall impact. It’s the total amount of rainfall that matters and the timing. I don’t have a concrete analysis at this point.”

At his research facility in Nebraska, Qiao said his team turned off irrigation to their own sugar beat plots after the canal collapsed to study the potential effects on the crop. Unfortunately, he said a recent hail storm killed the plots before he could observe the lasting effect on the plants of removing irrigation.

“I definitely think they won’t have that much loss from the original prediction,” he said. “My (new) prediction is it will be less, but I don’t think the numbers will be that far over.”

Legislative support

Sen. Cheri Steinmetz, R-Torrington, said the tunnel reopening was great news for everyone involved.

“It’s a testament to the work of the problem solvers on the ground and both of the irrigation boards,” Steinmetz said. “(Locals are) overjoyed to have water flowing back through the canal.”

On the policy side, she said legislators are looking into potential ways for the state to help Goshen County ag producers and Wyoming residents affected by similar disasters in the future.

“The Select Water Committee will be taking up this project through the omnibus water bill,” Steinmetz said. “We’ll be advancing that to a construction phase in the 2020 (Legislative) Session.” 

The omnibus water bill allows legislators to approve and transfer funds from state accounts into priority water projects around Wyoming.“We’re also looking into an emergency account when issues like this arise similar to the fire suppression account,” Steinmetz added.

The emergency fire suppression account bill was adopted by the Legislature this year. It allows unspent, unobligated general fund monies appropriated to the Division of Forestry to revert to a revolving account for emergency fire suppression.

Questions of responsibility

Despite an outpouring of support from Wyoming agencies in response to the tunnel collapse, Steinmetz said there is still a question of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s responsibility in the collapse.

Bureau spokesperson Jay Dallman said the agency constructed the tunnel in 1917 as part of the North Platte Project, then signed over the responsibility for maintenance and use to Goshen Irrigation and Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation districts.

“The agency response (to questions of responsibility) is under that 1926 agreement, the (irrigation) districts are responsible for operation and maintenance,” Dallman said. “However, we’re certainly supportive or our districts, and we’re trying to work with them to figure out solutions to the problem.”

The bureau authorized up to $4 million in loans for temporary repairs to the Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation Canal tunnel, he said. While Dallman did not have the exact amount requested by the districts on hand, he said it was about $2 million.

Posten did not have an estimate on the tunnel’s cost of repairs.

Dallman said the loan was on a 50-year term at about 3 percent interest, and the districts would only be responsible for paying back 65 percent of the loan value.

About 100 years ago, the bureau also built the Interstate Canal System, which leads out from Whalen Diversion Dam and serves farmland in Wyoming and Nebraska.

“One could easily conclude this has been an eye opener for all of us,” Dallman said. “We will probably be not only continuing inspections with the (irrigation) districts, but also looking for ways to improve on the technology used in those inspections.”

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Crop insurance to cover losses after Goshen County irrigation canal failure

Published on in News/Agriculture
USDA crop insurance approved
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By Ike Fredregill, Cowboy State Daily

Crews continue repairs on an irrigation tunnel collapse as Goshen County residents prepare for a potential hit to their economy, which could be lessened by crop insurance payouts.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a news release its Risk Management Agency concluded the July 17 collapse of the Gering-Fort Laramie Canal tunnel was weather-related and as a result was an insurable cause of loss. 

“The (Risk Management Agency) will reinsure, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Standard Reinsurance Agreement, production and prevented planting losses if the approved insurance providers pay the full amount of the claims to producers in accordance with the provisions of their 2019 crop policies,” the news release states.

The news release said the area received up to twice its normal rainfall in the 30 days leading up to the collapse.

Prior to the announcement, Torrington’s economic forecast looked dire.

“We’re used to tightening our belts — the people are resilient,” Adams said. “We’re hopeful, and we’re going to get through it.”

The mayor’s comments come on the heels of an economic analysis report produced jointly by the Nebraska Extension and University of Wyoming Extension. Created prior to the USDA’s decision, the report assumes a total loss of crops, no insurance payout and estimates the collapsed Gering-Fort Laramie Canal could cost both states about $90 million combined.

Economic analysis report co-author Brian Lee said Goshen’s share of the loss could be about $24.5 million with another $1 million in spillover losses between Goshen County and Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska.

“The model assumes a total loss if you were going to take corn all the way to grain,” Lee explained. 

Alternatively, some Goshen corn farmers, who mostly grow to feed livestock, could chop the corn early for silage, reducing losses, he said.

Alfalfa and corn raised for grain make up more than 60,000 acres of the more than 107,000 acres in the affected area. Whereas corn on the Nebraska side accounts for about 24,000 acres and alfalfa accounts for about 11,000, in Goshen County, the two are flipped with alfalfa consisting of about 25,000 acres and corn accounting for about 12,000 acres, the report states. Goshen County’s next largest crop in the affected area is “other hay” at about 8,000 acres, followed by edible beans at more than 4,000 acres.

Much of the farming data for 2019 is not yet available, so Lee said the team working on the report made several assumptions.

“The biggest challenge was tracking down what data we thought were correct,” Lee said. “We had to go back to previous years and assume previous cropping patterns were similar to what was planted this year.”

Because of fluctuating market prices, cropping patterns can vary year to year.

“Most of the crops grown in Goshen county along that canal are grown for use on the farm,” Lee said. “We were comfortable making the assumption that the cropping wouldn’t be very different from previous years.”

Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska, however, has more non-feed crops, like dry beans and sugar beets. 

“Sugar beets are often on contract, so roughly, the same amount of acreage is going to be grown (each year) to meet those contract shares,” Lee explained. “We also assumed dry bean producers would have the same equipment this year and produce dry beans again.” 

Adams said the impact could be far greater than $90 million during the next few years.

“We know that revenue turns over about 7 times in a community … so it could be about $250 million spendable revenue in the county,” he said. “Down the road in two to three years, we’re going to have a sales tax impact in Torrington and all the little municipalities in Goshen County.”

It’s been a rough year for Torrington, Adams added. Western Sugar Co-op closed in March, removing about 90 part-time positions and 200 full-time jobs, he said. 

“The area’s main retail store, Shopko, closed a few months ago,” Adams said. “This community has taken some hits.”

The latest being the irrigation canal, which collapsed July 17 about one mile south of Fort Laramie. The canal facilitates the irrigation of about 52,000 acres of farmland in Wyoming and another 55,000 acres in Nebraska. Without water, nearly all the crops could be lost, according to a report by the University of Nebraska Lincoln Panhandle Research and Extension Center.

Laying out the potential weekly impact of lost irrigation, the report lists corn as a 100 percent loss, dry edible beans as a greater than 90 percent loss and sugar beets as a 50-60 percent loss after Aug. 13, the last predicted date provided.

Rainfall, however, could reduce the losses, the report states.

In Cheyenne, National Weather Service Meteorologist Rob Cox said the agency recorded 2.2 inches of rainfall during July in Goshen County, which is about one-half inch above normal. But August’s current rainfall is less than one-half inch, about one-half inch below normal, he said.At the canal breach, Goshen Irrigation District Manager Rob Posten said the tunnel crew was making progress.

“They are past the first cave-in, which was the small one,” Posten said. “They are into the second cave-in now, and I’ve not heard of any other cave-ins, but we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Excavation crews above the tunnel are nearly complete, but he said he does not have a timeline for potentially reopening the canal.

“I’m still hoping for this season,” Posten said. “But there’s so many unknowns in tunnels that it’s nearly impossible, I’m learning, to predict completion.”

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Parched: 102-year-old irrigation canal collapse threatens livelihood of 800 farm and ranch families

Published on in News/weather/Agriculture
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Over 100,000 acres of farm and ranch land in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska have been without irrigation water for more than two weeks after an 102-year-old irrigation canal collapsed.

For the roughly 800 farm and ranch families whose operations straddle the Wyoming-Nebraska state line, the situation is dire and the clock is ticking.

“It was the worst timing in the world,” Goshen County Irrigation District manager Rob Posten said. “17th of July when it’s 90 degrees everyday and not much rain. Couldn’t have been any worse timing.”

“It’s my worst nightmare,” Posten added.

Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts have both signed emergency declarations allowing the use of state resources to get the old canal repaired and running water.

“I have been in crop insurance for 20 years, and I have never seen anything like this.”

CSD: Crop insurance might not cover irrigation canal collapse losses (July 29, 2019)

The massive canal, constructed during World War I, runs 85 miles through Wyoming and another 45 miles in Nebraska.

“If there was a hundred year warranty it ran out last year,” said Shawn Madden with Torrington Livestock Auction.

There is hope to salvage at least part of the year’s crop yield as Wyoming meteorologist Don Day predicts some rain may be on the way for eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. The bad news, Day warns, is that late August in Wyoming tends to be bone dry.

For the livelihood of 800 families, the window to get the canal operational is small and getting smaller.

However, Cactus Covello of Points West Bank said the farming families of the region will find a way through the crisis.

“Agricultural people in Nebraska and Wyoming, they’re the most resilient you’re going to come by,” he said. “They’re tough. They’ll find a way. We may lose some, but you won’t lose many. They’ll find a way to survive.”

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Crop insurance might not cover irrigation canal collapse losses

Published on in News/Agriculture
Wyoming irrigation canal collapse
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By Ike Fredregill, Cowboy State Daily

An irrigation canal collapse in Goshen County could devastate more than 100,000 acres of crops and producers may be left without compensation for the loss, a Farm Service Agency (FSA) spokesperson said.

“The cause of loss being failure of irrigation system is a covered cost,” FSA Insurance Officer Vanessa Reishus said. “But, the cause of failure has to have an underlying cause that was a natural occurrence.”

The canal tunnel is located about 1 mile south of Fort Laramie and facilitates the irrigation of about 52,000 acres of farmland in Wyoming and another 52,000 acres in Nebraska. Its collapse last week halted the delivery of water to the land and both states have declared the situation an emergency.

Reishus said the area did receive above-average precipitation this year and excess water load on the tunnel is being reviewed as a possible cause of the collapse.

However, the tunnel was built in 1917 and if engineers determine the structure failed as a result of age, FSA insurance would not compensate producers for their lost crops.

“Crop insurance is a government program, and they subsidize it,” Reishus explained. “But, the farmers pay pretty high premiums to have access to it.”

The cause of the collapse will be determined by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, she said. Because two states are involved, offices in both Billings, Montana, and Topeka, Kansas, will submit paperwork on the collapse. If the two offices disagree about the cause, the paperwork could be sent to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a final determination, Reishus said.

“What the (Corps of Engineers) will do is gather the information from the Bureau of Reclamation and review the engineers’ information about what happened and why it happened,” she added.

Brian Lee, a University of Wyoming Extension agriculture economist, said some producers could be hit harder than others.

“The majority of the affected crops are dry bean, alfalfa and corn, but there is some sugar beets and other small crops in there, too,” Lee said. “Most farmers have livestock in this area, and you produce your corn and your alfalfa to feed it to your livestock.”

Without feed for livestock, producers may need to purchase feed elsewhere.

Additionally, Reishus said alfalfa is not generally insured, so those growers would not receive compensation either way.

“I have been in crop insurance for 20 years, and I have never seen anything like this,” she said. “Most of the crop loss causes are a lot more simple than something like this. In our area, (insurance) is used a lot for hail and freezes.”

Lee, who works at the UW Sustainable Agriculture Research and Extension Center near Lingle, said the uncertainty of the insurance payment is the worst part for many people. 

“I think this is more detrimental than a hail event, because when hail comes through, you immediately have an answer — it’s a covered loss,” he explained. “Right now, we are all waiting to find out if the canal can get fixed, and if so, how soon.”

Goshen Irrigation District Manager Rob Posten said Thursday professionals were called in from St. Louis to repair the canal. He did not immediately return a request for comment on the status of repairs Friday.

Lee said cool temperatures and heavier spring rainfall this year prevented producers from planting as early as they would have liked.

“We were late putting the crops in, and that could prove detrimental without water during a heat wave,” he explained. “It’s a really sandy soil, so it’s more imperative to have water on a crop. It will definitely affect yield on the back end if they go a good amount of time without irrigation.”

Because the insurance payout is based on each producer’s premium, Reishus said she did not have an estimated total the insurance might pay if the cause was determined to be natural.

“It could easily be $1000 an acre on sugar beets and $500 $600 an acre on corn and beans,” she said. “With 100,000 acres, the cost of payout could be very high.”

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