April 25, 2022 |
The Town of Saratoga is exploring options to deal with the call that was placed on the North Platte River earlier this month. A priority call on the North Platte remains in effect through Saturday.
Junior water rights upstream of Pathfinder Reservoir, including Saratoga’s, are affected.
The Wyoming State Engineer announced the call to protect Pathfinder’s senior water rights, which date to 1904. The Bureau of Reclamation triggered the call because forecasted flows into Pathfinder are below 1.1 million acre feet.
In a statement, the state engineer’s office said that multiple years of drought have resulted in low storage carryover from year to year in Pathfinder. This spring is no difference. Current storage levels, combined with a less-than-robust snowpack and forecasted runoff, are expected to produce below-average water supplies in the North Platte system.
According to archived stream data for April, inflows into Pathfinder fell during month. After three weeks of steady declines, inflows finally began to rise at the end of last week. Storage content in the reservoir stood at 644,000 acre feet on Sunday April, 24th. Through April, however, the reservoir dropped from a peak of 667,000 to 638,000 acre feet of water. The forecast for the 2022 season totals 958,376 acre feet.
State Engineer Brandon Gebhart said the forecast, which fall short of the 1.1 million acre storage capacity of Pathfinder, required the administration of water rights junior to Pathfinder. The call, which went into effect on April 7, is required by the terms of the North Platte River Decree.
With irrigation season not starting until May 1, the impacts from the call mainly affect municipalities, industries and storage reservoirs that may divert or store water from the North Platte. One of those impacted municipalities is Saratoga. Public Works Director Jon Winter told town council last week that under the terms of the North Platte decree, the town must replenish any of the water it uses during the call.
Pictured above: File photo of the Upper North Platte River. Photo by Bigfoot 99.
One way the town can “replenish” what it draws from the wells is by purchasing so-called “paper water” through the Wyoming Water Development Commission. Winter said $750 will more than cover the cost of the water town will use last three weeks of April.
The “paper” water comes from a 500,000 acre feet reserve account the WWDC maintains in Pathfinder. Winter added that the town can enter into a long-term contract with the WWDC at the same fee. The longer contracts serve as insurance policies against calls lasting longer than a few weeks. Winter said the annual cost of a three-month insurance policy against calls on the North Platte would run between $3,000 and $4,000 a year.
Mayor Creed James said council should study the long-term contract as part of the strategy of dealing with future calls.
Another part of a long-term solution is studying whether the groundwater well-field in the North Park Aquifer east of Town is tied to the North Platte River hydrologically. The town has pumped water from the aquifer for its municipal supply since 2009. Saratoga is required to supply monthly diversion reports and return flows to the State Engineer’s office each year. Council discussion indicated that questions exist over whether the well-fields are connected hydrologically to the river or not. If not, they should be subject to a call.
Different documents appear to contradict each other on the issue. A watershed study written in 2015 by Anderson Consulting of Fort Collins makes the argument that Saratoga’s wells in the North Park aquifer are not hydrologically connected. The state operates on a different standard. Winter said the wells are considered connected by default.
Researching a definite conclusion on whether the Saratoga’s groundwater well system is connected to the North Platte River will be one of the long-term strategies under review. In the meantime, Councilman Jon Nelson said $750 is a small price to pay to cover the call.
The call ends this weekend. The call comes off with the beginning of irrigation season on May 1. The town’s public works director noted that water users in town will not be affected by the priority administration. Pathfinder Reservoir is 60% full, according to the Wyoming Water Resources Data System. Seminoe is at 31%.
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