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Boysen Division, Boysen Unit, Wyoming

Authorization: by the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944, Public Law 534, which approved the general comprehensive plan set forth in Senate Document 191, as revised and coordinated by Senate Document 247, 78th Congress, 2d session

The Boysen Unit is located along the Wind River in Fremont County about 20 miles south of Thermopolis, Wyoming. Project facilities consist of Boysen Dam, Reservoir, and Powerplant.

The unit provides regulation of the streamflows for power generation, irrigation, flood control, sediment retention, fish propagation, and recreation development. Although direct irrigation from the unit is not provided for, the reservoir does provide storage for irrigation in the Wind River Basin above the reservoir and the Bighorn Basin below the reservoir. The powerplant has an installed capacity of 15,000 kilowatts. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 802,000 acre-feet and a total flood capacity of 892,296 acre-feet.

Construction on Boysen Dam and Powerplant and relocation of the CB&Q Railroad began on September 19, 1947, and was completed on December 11, 1952.

• • • • Bull Lake
• Bighorn River Basin
  • • • Anchor Reservoir
      • Bighorn Lake
• Heart River Basin
  • • • E.A. Patterson Lake
      • Lake Tschida
• Grand River Basin
  • • • Shadehill Reservoir

Cheyenne Division, Angostura Unit, South Dakota

Authorization: included in Senate Document 191, 78th Congress, 2nd session; reauthorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944, Public Law 534

The Angostura Unit is located on the Cheyenne River at the southeast edge of the Black Hills. It lies within Custer and Fall River counties in southwestern South Dakota. The Angostura Dam and Reservoir are located about 9 miles southeast of Hot Springs, South Dakota. The unit lands consist of 12,218 acres extending along the Cheyenne River 24 miles downstream from the dam. They are served by the Angostura Canal, with a capacity of 290 cubic feet per second, and 39 miles of laterals and 34 miles of open and closed drains.

The unit primarily supplies irrigation water for the production of forage and grain crops (alfalfa and corn, among others). It also provides other benefits, including flood control, fish and wildlife conservation, recreation, and sediment control.

Construction of Angostura Dam began on August 23, 1946 and was completed on December 7, 1949. Irrigation began in 1953.

Kanaska Division, Almena Unit, Kansas

Authorization: approved by the Flood Control Act of 1944 (Public Law 534, 78th Congress, 2nd session), published as Senate Document 191, April 1944, and authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1946 (Public Law 526, 79th Congress, 2nd session); a water right for 1,600 acre-feet per year was granted by the State of Kansas to the city of Norton in 1963

The Almena Unit is located along Prairie Dog Creek in Norton County in northwestern Kansas. Norton Dam is 2.5 miles upstream from Norton, Kansas which receives its municipal water supply from the reservoir. Almena Diversion Dam is located 8 miles northeast of Norton and about 11 miles downstream from Norton Dam. The Unit serves 5,763 acres of project lands.

Water released for irrigation purposes is diverted by Almena Diversion Dam and then carried by the Almena Main and South Canals and a system of laterals to lands in Prairie Dog Creek Valley extending from 2 miles southwest of Almena to 3 miles east of Long Island. Twenty mile long Almena Main Canal, with a capacity of 100 cubic feet per second, serves 3,830 acres of land on the north side of the creek and terminates just west of Woodruff. Serving 1,520 acres of land on the south side of the valley, Almena South Canal, with a capacity of 36 cubic feet per second, originates at the main canal below Almena and extends to a length of 8.3 miles. The lateral system—17 laterals with a total length of 14.3 miles—serves 2,450 acres, and 2,900 acres are served by turnouts from the canals.

In addition to irrigation and municipal water, the unit provides flood control and offers opportunities for recreation, conservation, and the development of fish and wildlife resources. Prairie Dog State Park lies along the shores of the reservoir. Keith Sebelius Reservoir (formerly Norton Reservoir) has a storage capacity of 134,738 acre-feet; it was named for Keith Sebelius who was a lawyer and U.S. Congressman from Norton.

Construction of Norton Dam began in 1961 and was completed in 1964. Almena Diversion Dam was constructed in 1967.

Upper Republican Division, Armel Unit, Colorado

Authorization: by the Flood Control Acts of December 22, 1944, and July 24, 1946

The Armel Unit, formerly the St. Francis Unit, is located on the South Fork of the Republican River in Yuma County, near Hale in eastern Colorado.

The unit provides flood control in the upper reaches of the Republican River with a total flood capacity of 307,050 acre-feet. It also provides for recreation and fish and wildlife conservation. Water released to Hale Ditch serves 750 acres, including 400 acres owned and operated by the State of Colorado as a fish hatchery and wildlife habitat area. Irrigation of 24,000 acres was originally to be included in the plan, but it was found to not be economically feasible. The reservoir has a total capacity of 170,160 acre-feet.

Construction of Bonny Dam began December 8, 1948 and was completed May 4, 1951.

Bostwick Division, Kansas and Nebraska

Authorization: by the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944, Public Law 534, which approved the general comprehensive plan set forth in Senate Document 191 and 475, as revised and coordinated by Senate Document 247, 78th Congress, 2d session

The Bostwick Division extends along the Republican River through seven counties from Orleans, in south-central Nebraska, above Harlan County Lake, to Concordia in north-central Kansas. Harlan County Dam and Lake are located on the Republican River in Harlan County, Nebraska, and Lovewell Dam and Reservoir are located on the White Rock Creek three miles northwest of Lovewell, Kansas. The division consists of four units: Franklin and Superior-Courtland in Nebraska and Courtland and Scandia in Kansas. The division serves 86,240 acres with an additional 18,000 potential.

The division provides benefits for flood control, irrigation, sediment control, fish and wildlife enhancement, and recreation. The Franklin Unit facilities serve 14,944 acres and include the 47.9-mile-long Franklin Canal, Naponee Canal, and the 4.9-mile-long Franklin South Side Pump Canal which receives water directly from the river through a pumping plant 17 miles downstream from Harlan County Dam. The Superior-Courtland Diversion Dam is located on the Republic River three miles west of Guide Rock, Nebraska. The diversion dam along with the 30-mile-long Superior Canal and the Courtland Canal system serves 7,843 acres in the Superior-Courtland Unit and 62,000 acres in the Courtland Unit. The storage capacity of the lake is 840,561 acre-feet and of the reservoir is 92,150 acre-feet.

Construction began in March 1949, and the existing features were completed in June 1968. Harlan County Dam was completed on December 2, 1952.

Sandhills Division, Ainsworth Unit, Nebraska

Authorization: August 21, 1954, by Presidential approval of Public Law 612, 83rd Congress, 2nd session (68 Stat. 757)

The Ainsworth Unit is located on the Snake River 14 miles upstream from its confluence with the Niobrara River in Cherry County southwest of Valentine, in north-central Nebraska. The irrigable lands extend 22 miles from west to east and 14 miles from north to south, beginning near Johnstown and continuing eastward to a point near Long Pine, all in Brown and Rock counties.

The unit's primary purpose is to provide a full water supply for the irrigation of 34,540 acres of land, but additional benefits include recreation, fish and wildlife, and water quality control. Project facilities include Merritt Dam and Reservoir, the 52.9 mile long Ainsworth Canal, a system of laterals with a total length of 170 miles, and surface and subsurface drains. Ainsworth Canal is a cement-lined canal with an initial capacity of 580 cubic feet per second extending eastward from the dam through the Sandhills to the project lands. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 74,486 acre-feet, and the total drainage area contribution above the dam is about 600 square miles.

Construction of Merritt Dam began in August 1961, with the storage of water beginning in February 1964, and was completed in May 1964. Merritt Dam and Reservoir were placed in operation and maintenance status on March 10, 1965. The irrigation distribution system began construction in April 1962 and was completed in June 1966, and it was placed in operation and maintenance status on September 1, 1966.