Lawson: Will tremendous recovery continue?
By Sandra Hansen
While 2009 was an incredible year for area surface water irrigators, there is no guarantee that 2010 will follow that path. In fact, John Lawson, area manager at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Mills, Wyo., says, "The bottom line is, I have no idea what is going to happen."
While 2009 was an incredible year for area surface water irrigators, there is no guarantee that 2010 will follow that path. In fact, John Lawson, area manager at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Mills, Wyo., says, "The bottom line is, I have no idea what is going to happen."
Lawson spoke during the annual meeting of the Goshen Irrigation District at the Rendezvous Center in Torrington Tuesday evening. In addition to showing photos of the construction of Pathfinder Dam beginning in 1904, Lawson also reviewed recent precipitation issues. He began with the Feb. 1 water supply forecast that has an expected runoff between April and July of 500,000 acre-feet. The 30-year-average amount for that time frame is 706 acre-feet.
However, Lawson showed figures from recent years showing how far off predictions have been, and said the 50-year-average ending in 2009 is 1,110,000 acre-feet, down from the first 50-year average of 1,219,000 acre-feet. "The second 50-year average has declined considerably, and the last 10 years have been really bad. It's a definite trend, and we don't know how long it will continue."
Lawson told the group of irrigators that Pathfinder ownership now stands at 700,000 acre-feet. This is a tremendous recovery from the Sept. 30, 2002, ownership of 10,900 acre-feet. He congratulated the producers on their management practices that played a big part in retaining water in their account. Of course, he said, the unusually wet spring and summer of 2009 made it possible for farmers to keep from drawing on their water, so the carryover this year is good.
"You've done a tremendous job," Lawson said. "Now you can let me horde it, so you can have it later when you need it."
Unsettled weather conditions are causing some concern for irrigators along the North Platte River. Snow water equivalent in the Upper North Platte reach was 111 percent on Feb. 22, 2009, and stood at 89 percent on Feb. 22, 2010. The Lower North Platte was the same on Feb. 22, 2009 and 2010, at 86 percent.
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