Havre City Council hears update on St. Mary Diversion

Milk River Joint Board of Control Project Manager Jennifer Patrick gave Havre City Council an update Monday about the repairs taking place at the St. Mary Diversion.

Progress has been made with construction, which began about a month ago at the St. Mary Diversion and Conveyance Works to repair the concrete structure that collapsed, Drop 5 near the end of the 29-mile system of dams, dikes, canals, gigantic metal siphons and concrete drop structures, as well as another structure, Drop 2, that was regarded as in danger of catastrophic failure.

Work on Drop 2 was planned for this year, and the work on Drop 5 was added after it failed May 17.

Patrick said the total estimation for the project in 2014 was about $200 million to rehabilitate the entire system, which would have included those and the other drop structures.

Patrick said the project is estimated at $8 million right now.

"It is a 100-year-old system infrastructure system," she said. "... What failed is Drop 5. It is the last drop before it drops into the north fork of the Milk River, so that it is what we are tackling right now."

The diversion was built more than 100 years ago by the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the irrigation system the Milk River Project, and also is used as a municipal water source by towns including Havre, Chinook and Harlem, and provides recreation opportunities.

Drop 5 washed out and Drop 2 was actually on the list to be rehabilitated.

"Drop 2 looked worse than Drop 5 and Drop 5 is halfway down the hill," Patrick said. "... There's about 300 more yards of concrete we've laid on Drop 2, we're hoping to be done end of August with 2. Drop 5 we've made some pretty big decisions, on Wednesday, Thursday of last week, for foundation decisions, design drawings, everything, all the permitting is done for 5. We'll start Drop 5, our schedule shows Aug. 10 is when we'll start pouring concrete."

The area has gotten three and a half inches of rain since the project started, she said, adding that the basin is completely full of water.

She said they have been doing a lot of dewatering efforts on Drop 5.

"Drop 2 is moving pretty well, but 5 we're just getting ready to go," she said. "Some things that everyone has seen here in Havre are the flows out of Fresno have stopped or gone down to minimum flows for the cities and then we have 75 in for the tribe."

She said the Fort Belknap Tribe will still be able to have their call on water for irrigation - they aren't 100 percent sure if the Fort Belknap Tribe's infrastructure is going to be able to take it at that low.

The Fort Belknap Tribe does have a senior water right for that water in Fresno, she said, so that'll remain on. It will also help with water quality and supply for the communities that use Milk River water for their municipal supply, Havre, Chinook and Harlem.

"We don't anticipate any water restrictions at this time," Patrick said. "We've had those conversations, we probably have them every week, but the cities and the towns, when we put a water restriction on it's probably one day of irrigation water is what is saved."

Fresno Reservoir is lower, she said, adding that it is not the lowest that it has been recently and decent storage will be going in.

With Fresno's level being lower, she said, it is unknown what it'll do to the fisheries.

"It is lower where we would like it to be, I guess," she said. "Depending on schedules, concrete, weather we still have a small hope to pass water at the end of the year, but we are also depending on if Aug. 15 comes and we have three feet of snow again (at the diversion and conveyance works) or a foot then the situation changes."

"As far as Fresno, you guys are seeing those impacts right now," she added. "Irrigation-wise they were able to take water on that second cutting, most of the districts, so that was a plus for a lot of the payments there."

The diversion provides much of the water that flows through the Milk River, which typically ran dry by fall in 6-out-of-10 years before the diversion was built.

Drop 1 is also 100 years old, Patrick said, and with the construction team up there they are looking at using the existing walls and form and using those walls as backstops for the forms.

They think it is about a $500,000 estimated cost for the concrete, she said. 

"Ultimately ... that would put all five drop structures in a pretty good position," Patrick said. "Two completely replaced, one that is three-quarters replaced and the other drop is on the list, so we're feeling pretty good about those."

Bureau of Reclamation Montana Area Manager Steve Davies, who attended by telephone, said BOR had planned with the Joint Board replacing Drop 2 earlier this year.

"Over the last six years, we've had both drop structures on the radar, and we've had a prediction Drop 2 would fail before number 5," he said. "... Drop Structure 1, this an opportunity to get some concrete repairs while we are out there, which is just a good idea."

He said they are optimistic BOR can move some water through the diversion this fall.

The members of Montana's congressional delegation are trying to shift the funding for the system from about 75 percent provided by the users and 25 percent by the federal government so the federal government picks up about 75 percent of the cost of operation and maintenance.

Patirck said the the repair project was approved, being an emergency situation, to have the federal government take 35 percent of the cost off the top.

After fixing Drop 2, 5 and 1 will be shored up, she said, the next step is to work on the diversion dam.

She said the diversion dam is a "$40 million to $50 million animal."

"We've never been shutdown, so this is an opportune time in all of these locations," Patrick said. "We run from April to October, September and then we have a foot of snow, so we've been able to (have Reclamation) go up and do some repairs, syphon repairs, some concrete repairs and they'll continue doing that on some gates and some spots that we've seen over the years that have need work, but we haven't had the opportunity."

"As horrible as this, this has given us a very good look at the entire system as well without water," she added. "We're pumping out structures and looking at stuff. Reclamation has been proactive about getting guys in there and working on that. We're not thinking that 'hey, we got these done we can stop' the diversion dam, the lawsuit there is a plan in five years that the diversion dam is going to have to happen, so we have to keep moving toward that."