It was a bittersweet moment for employees of New Sweden Irrigation District to open the 128-year-old Great Western Canal head gate one last time recently.
Directors of the district, based near Osgood, decided to keep the sentimental head gate in place for its historic value after a recent structural defect required that it be replaced with a modern system.
Last fall, construction began on a $1 million replacement structure spanning about 90 feet and having three gates.
“To raise our old radial gates, two guys had to use hand cranks,” said Kail Sheppard, district manager. “The last time we cranked them up, everyone was relieved to never have to do it again.”
The new gates became operational May 10 and are opened through a series of gears powered by a 5-horsepower electric motor.
Each of the three new gates is 15 feet square and weighs more than 11,000 pounds.
The new structure, built upstream of the historic gate, has more than 138,000 pounds of reinforcing steel and required 756 cubic yards of concrete.
“Our members have been interested in watching the work progress,” Sheppard said. “We took photos and put them in a binder, so people could stop by the office to see what was happening.”
About 100 of the district’s 1,100 patrons depend on the system to grow potatoes, grain, hay, and barley.
“Our system provides irrigation for about 39,000 acres, with 28,000 acres within the district,” Sheppard said. “We carry water for small canal companies and others outside of the district, too.”
The new head gate controls water flowing through a 35-mile-long main canal and about 125 miles of waterways in the entire system.
The second largest irrigation district in the area, the New Sweden District stretches from one mile above the Jefferson County line south through Bonneville County and into Bingham County where it ends in the Lavaside area.
Last fall, when engineers advised removing the old head gate, the district chose to preserve it.
“It’s such a big part of our history,” Sheppard said. “We got our money’s worth out of it.”
Pioneering farmers in the district relied on the sturdy cement and rock gate. With its four arched panels spanning 90 feet, it was built so well that it withstood the devastating Teton Dam flood in 1976.
“The water washed away the ground around it, but the gate stood intact,” Sheppard said.
Last spring, mortar began to deteriorate where a gate hinges into a pier, and the decision was made that it was time to replace it.
Members voted to obtain a five-year loan to replace it. The district is helping to finance it, too, with involvement in construction and income from groundwater recharge.
Construction of the new gates coincides with a cool summer.
“We’re close to having the storage system full,” Sheppard said. “As of early July, we’re barely using storage. Usually we start using storage water by mid-June. It’s been cooler than what farmers expected for this time of year. They’ve said they wished it was a little warmer for their crops.”
Local businesses won the bids to complete the project. Cannon Builders in Blackfoot built the structure, while Sorensen Engineering of Idaho Falls designed it. Riverside Inc. of Parma fabricated the new gates.
“We built the new head gates to last more than a century, like the original ones have done,” Sheppard said.