Irrigation District planning diversion dam near Superior

A letter distributed this week to irrigators served by the Superior Canal reported the Bostwick Irrigation District in Nebraska is now considering the construction of a Republican River Diversion Dam and pumping station to be located south of the Aurora Cooperative’s Superior East elevator.

The water taken from the river will be pumped into the Superior Canal about one-half mile east of Superior. The district letter said this will result in a large water savings due to losses currently incurred by running water from the Harlan County Reservoir through approximately 40 miles of canal. This will translate into 3 to 4 thousand acre feet of water left in the lake.

The district, along with the State of Nebraska, applied for and received a WaterSMART grant that will “drastically” reduce inefficiencies on the east end of the Superior Canal. It is hope construction can begin in early summer.

The district has used grant money to fully automate the headgates for the Superior and Courtland canals at the Guide Rock diversion dam. The system is now operational and expected to also conserve water as a ditch rider will not be required to go to the dam and manually adjust the gates.

When the letter was written on Jan. 20, the Harlan County Reservoir had only about 39,000 acre-feet of water available to the irrigators. Thus the district expects to impose a 6 acre-inch allocation this year. However, that could change if we have a wet spring and the lake level rises.