North Platte River

The Sierra Madre Mountain Range Snowpack in 2016. (Photo by Gary Stone)

The North Platte River — Multi-use Water, Part 4

August 3, 2022

In this installment of the series, Nebraska Extension Educator Gary Stone reviews the history of the Kortes Unit, which was part of a program that managed water use for the entire Missouri River Basin.

**Figure 1.** Seminoe dam and reservoir were built in the 1930s, specifically to provide hydropower generation.

The North Platte River — Multi-use Water, Part 3

July 19, 2022

In this installment of the series, Nebraska Extension Educator Gary Stone reviews the history of the Kendrick Project, which resulted in the Seminoe and Alcova dams.

**Figure 1.** The Pathfinder Dam spillway overflow when there was an excess of water.

The North Platte River — Multi-use Water, Part 2

July 7, 2022

The second article in Nebraska Extension Educator Gary Stone's six-part series on the North Platte River features history on the Pathfinder, Guernsey and Whalen dams.

The North Platte River — Multi-use Water, Part 1

June 30, 2022

The first of a six-part series focused on the dams, reservoirs, power generation and some diversion dams located on the North Platte River.

Figure 1. Snowpack on the Snowy Mountain Range that feeds the North Plate River system. The US Bureau of Reclamation monitors snowpack to estimate the amount of water in the North Platte Basin likely to be available this growing season. (Photo by Gary Stone)

North Platte River Basin Snow Melt Runoff Update for 2020

April 13, 2020

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Wyoming Area Office has released their forecast for spring snow melt runoff for the North Platte River drainage. The forecast calls for above average snow melt runoff.

Figure 1. An aerial view of the sink holes created by the July 17 tunnel collapse on the Gering-Fort Laramie/Goshen Irrigation District canal. The larger sink hole is approximately 100 feet across and 50 feet deep. (Photo by Justin Burkart, Goshen Emergency Management Association)

Update on Efforts to Restore Water to North Platte River Valley Canal

July 26, 2019

The Gering/Ft. Laramie Irrigation District and the Goshen Irrigation District (Wyoming) held stakeholder meetings this week to discuss the status of canal damage and repairs and how to restore irrigation water to 100,000+ acres. Initial canal repairs have started, with tunnel repairs expected to start soon.

Irrigation canal washout from tunnel collapse — Figure 1. Area where the North Platte River Canal breached July 17, flooding nearby fields. Water flow to the canal was stopped and won't be continued until repairs can be made, possibly cutting short the crop season. (Photo courtesy of Chabella Guzman of KNEB Radio)

Wednesday A.M. Meeting to Focus on Prospects for Collapsed Irrigation Tunnel

July 23, 2019

The Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation District will host a public meeting Wednesday, July 24, in Scottsbluff to share information about the disruption of water deliveries caused by a tunnel collapse along the irrigation district’s main canal on July 17. It will be at 10 a.m. at the university's Panhandle Center.

Area of the North Platte River canal where the break occurred July 17. — Figure 1. Area where the North Platte River Canal breached July 17, flooding nearby fields. Water flow to the canal was stopped and won't be continued until repairs can be made, possibly cutting short the crop season. (Photo courtesy of Chabella Guzman of KNEB Radio)

Growers in North Platte Valley Face Critical Water Loss with Canal Damage

July 18, 2019

Surface-water irrigators in the North Platte River Valley south of the river in western Nebraska and eastern Wyoming have lost their water supply due to a washout in the main supply canal early Wednesday morning (July 17). The Bureau of Reclamation is assessing the damage.

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