The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-12-03
Fort Hall Indian Reservation ~
Irrigation Project and Farming,
By Richard ]. Ward, Superintendent of Irrigation


The Fort Hall irrigation project
Is located in Bingham and Bannock
counties, Idaho, in townships three,
four, five and six south ranges 80,
"a and 35 east of the Boise meridian.
The project covers $4,000 acres of
land, $4,000 of which are Indian
lands on the Fort Hall reservation
and $4,000 acres, white lands, To-
Gated on the coded tract between
the city of Pocatello and the reserva-
tion line on the north.
The project obtains its water from
two sources, 10000 inches from the
Snake river and the stored food
waters of the Blackfoot river.
The delivery of the Snake river
water is controlled by set of con-
crete headgates located at point
about one and half miles west of
Shelley, Idaho. These gates are five
in number and are five feet wide
and eight feet high and will deliver
600 cubic feet per second. The
water is carried by the Idaho canal
to the Blackfoot river to a point
about four miles above the Blackfoot
diversion. This canal Is 80 feet wide
on the bottom and has banks six
feet high built on slope of 2:1.
This canal has an average grade of
.03 feet per 100 feet.
There are but four structures on
the Idaho canal owned by the gov
eminent, though 1t is crossed by
numerous bridges, fumes, syphons,
etc., owned by canal companies, and
individuals. The government owned
structures are the head-gates, rat
ing flume, sand creek waste gates,
and a double barrel steel flume over
the Eastern Idaho canal. A concrete
rating section is built about 1000
feet below the head-gates and is used
for the purpose of gaging the canal
In accordance with the requirements
of the state water commissioner.
The Sand creek waste gates are
used to control the flood waters of
Sand creek, which discharges
through the Idaho canal These gates
are built of concrete with steel shut
ters. It is the present intention of
the government to place a syphon
under Sand creek and do away with
these gates, as Sand creek is being
used as waste-way for irrigation
water by the various irrigation dis
tricts in the upper valley and the
government cannot successfully cope
with the situation owing to the vari-
able head coming down the creek
The Idaho canal crosses over the
Eastern Idaho canal by means of a
double channel Maginnis steel flume.
which has a concrete inlet and outlet
and is supported on concrete piers.
The food water of the Blackfoot
river are stored by means of a dam
and reservoir located about AZ miles
southeast of Blackfoot. The dam is
of the loose rock and hydraulic filled
type and is located near the center of
section ~, township five south, range
40 east. where the Blackfoot river
enters basalt canyon. Above this
point for about / 6 miles the river has
an average fall of eight inches to the
mile and the reservoir when full
creates lake II miles in length and
i've and a half miles across at it's
widest point.
The dam. at the base from shore
to shore of the old channel, has a
ACu6IH VI lev lOCC, aAu at luo GicoL,
a length of $50 feet. The elevation
of the crest is 40 feet above the
bed of the river. The rock filed
portion has top width of five feet,
the lower face of which is built on
a slope of III " and the upper face
on slope # III.
A basalt bed rock was found at
a depth of three feet below the bot
tom and extended entirely acros the
stream, rising quite abruptly at each
end of the dam to about so feet
at the north end and 70 feet at the
south end.
A trench was excavated to depth
Of four feet into this rock and a
concrete cutoff wall built across the
main channel and carried up the
sides to the elevation of the bottom
of the spillway.
The hydraulic Ell has top width
OF 10 feet, sloping /. 3. The material
for this fl was found at the north
end Of the dam, owe. ing the lava