Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1923-02-09

on Big Wood river and a large filing
on the waters of Big and Little Wood
rivers.
On Little Wood river the priorities
range in date from 1877 to 1918, Of
which, the Carey Act users on the Big
Wood project own SO second feet of
decreed priority rights and 302 second
feet covered by permits.
Silver creek has it's source in flat
area of land south of the town of
Gannett The ground water percu-
lating down through the gravels of
the upper Big Wood river valley
strikes an impervious barrier in the
range of hills at the south end of the
valley which stops the lateral flow
and causes it to appear as surface
stream. The flow varies from about
l25 second feet to 225 second feet.
The minimum flow being during the
last half of May and the first half Of
June. The maximum occurs in Au-
gust and September.
Quite a complete ground water in
vestigation has been made covering
period of two years. The investi-
cation was made for several reasons;
a section of Big Wood, river below
| the town of Bellevue has very heavy
losses at times and it was desired to
find where this water was going to-
The possibility Of constructing a canal
to bring the waters Of Silver creek
into the channel of Big Wood river
and storing same in the Magic reser-
voir during the winter months and
| the effect of this canal on the water
table of the valley was one Of the
reasons that led to the investigation.
Also. for litigation purposes, relative
to certain drainage rights which will
be explained later.
the ground is of a swampy nature.
A number of small streams rise and
flow in a southeasterly direction unit
ing and forming the main channel of
the creek. A number Of persons have
constructed drainage bitches to drain
certain portions of the land and have
| obtained DEGREES for the water which
they claim to have developed. The
| total amount of decreed water thus
obtained amounts to over so second
feet which is delivered into the chan
mel of Silver creek and diverted at
points lower down.
The irrigated lands lying adjacent
to the channels of Big and Little Wood
rivers contribute a varying supply
from the surface run-off and cause
"a fluctuation in the channel losses.
A decree of 1872 second feet of the
waters of Big Wood river was OBJ
tanned by Little Wood river water
users. This water is brought over
from Big Wood river through a canal
and allowed TO mingle with the waters
of Little Wood river and at points
lower down diverted into several diff
ferent canals
The Big Wood project consists Of
four separate tracts with their differ
ent canal systems. Two Of these
tracts, the North Gooding and Sho-
shone tract and the RichfieId tract
with cultivated acreages Of 1878 and
16,4S7 acres, are irrigated by canal
systems diverting from Big Wood riv-
er. Storage water and natural flow
is brought from the Magic reservoir
and Big Wood river through canals
and delivered into the channel OF
Little Wood river and thence through
canal systems irrigating the Dietrich
and South Gooding tracts which had
irrigated acreages IN 1922 OF S,5i2 and
i26ss acres,
some 2.6o7 acres Of additional Carey
Aci land was irrigated through smeli
ipdiyiduai and community canals in
1879
wan the many o0mplieafod eondl
ilons existing a ~ neeessely a. mRinr
tam complete apd efficient sals ~
organizations ~ pel ln 1he operation
~ ihe streams Nnael fnp supervision
~ ilf sieif Af 'he pffaie unneff
Wew NJ lhf hsleS Aei ppieat
p fhp fall H lpN nnN p Rfa ~
Nlapi op lNf leli N 'NN siaiN ~ eff
lh4i sulahlf Wresaflpe afsf# Hpa
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