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Irrigation tap dry at Angostura ReservoirORAL, S.D. (AP)--Farmers who rely on the Angostura Reservoir to help water their hay and corn crops are going to have to look elsewhere this summer. The Angostura Irrigation District at Oral serves about 84 irrigators and supplies water to more than 12,000 acres of cropland. The tap went dry early June 30. Irrigation district manager Mick Jenniges said that unless the area gets a lot of rain and the reservoir comes up, it's going to be no help. The situation is in stark contrast to 100 miles north, where irrigators are only starting to tap the Belle Fourche Reservoir. That reservoir is about 80 percent full thanks to heavy spring rains in the Northern Hills. "It's a pretty contrasting situation," said Curt Anderson, a civil engineer with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation office in Rapid City. He said that both the northern and southern Hills lacked winter snow cover. The reservoir levels reflect the differences in recent precipitation in the two Black Hills areas, Anderson said. "There is definite difference between the Northern Hills and the Southern Hills. That's been the big problem," said Susan Sanders, a National Weather Service meteorologist. Spring brought moisture to the north but not the south. The flow of water into the Belle Fourche was 140 percent above average in May, Anderson said. But at Hot Springs, only 2 inches of rain fell in May--and that's the area's wettest month. Consequently, the flow into Angostura was only 18 percent of normal, Anderson said. The irrigation season lasted only six weeks. Jenniges said that irrigators understand when the water's cut off. "If there's not water in the reservoir to get out, there's not much you can do about it," he said. "And of course, we haven't had anything for rain, so it's a little tough." Date: 7/25/07
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