Glacier County chief., 1939-06-02

Tongue river dam, largest water
conservation project constructed
In Montana by the state water con-
servation board, was completed.
AS a result there will be a new
lake on the map. 1t nestles within
the confines of Tongue river val
ley, near Decker. This lake will
cover five square miles and it will
supply water for supplementary
irrigation for maturing crops along
200 miles of the Tongue river bottoms
This lake conServeS the spring run
off water of the region. Practically all
the normal flow Of Tongue river is
taken up for irrigation and during one
dry season after another the waters
of the river have been exhausted, with
the result that in August there have
been heavy crop losses due to the fail
ure OF the water. Hereafter a large
part of the early season runoff will
be stored in the lake to be let down
gradually as the natural flow of the
river declines.
No Water Shortage
Farmers whose crops have been en-
dangered each summer by water fail
ure will find themselves henceforth
secure. The project is a magnificent
example OF the endeavor to supply
adequate amounts of water in an area
under intensive cultivation. It also
makes use OF the flowoff waters
which, unchecked, have heretofore
added to flood conditions below.
The lake will extend about eight
miles up the river from the dam reach
ing nearly to the Montana Wyoming
state line and have a miXimum width
OF one mile. One travelling along the
the Shoreline would have to make a
trip of about 80 miles to encircle the
5000 acres of submerged area
:. Several miles of road and telephone
line had to be relocated on higher
ground and the county bridge across
Tongue river at Decker had to be
elevated to higher piers.
The benefits to be derived are far
reaching-much further than improv-
ing the immediate lands susceptible of
/ irrigation. Many thousands of acres of
excellent grazing land flank the valley
the entire length of the river which
could not be fully utilized in the past
because the valley was not able to
supply enough forage crops to feed the
herds OF cattle and sheep that could
have grazed the adjoining prairies in
the summer time. The completion of
this project makes it possible to strike
an even balance. so far as stockmen
H
+ grazing areas and the production of
| forage crops for winter feeding on the
home ranches.
Benefits for Downstream
At the lower end of the valley in
the vicinity of Miles City no longer
will there be shortage of late irri-
CATION water to mature the more in
tensified agricultural crops such as
sugar beets, beans, etc. The enormous
loss to farmers the past few years on
! account of water shortage has been
dlscouraging.
/ Not only will the reservoir supply
this need but it will iron out the flow
OF Tongue river and prevent future
loss of lives and property during high
water periods.
| Another existing value of the prof.
ect which is secondary is the asset
to the sportsman. Within an area
/ hitherto short of water there will now
exist a large lake where fish can be
propagated and wild life encouraged
not to mention the recreational ad-
vantages.
The reservoir is designed to store
10000 acre-feet of water, about half
of which will be used each year Water
released during July and August will
serve about $4,000 acres of land lying