| Summary: | and industrial water, fish and wildlife development, recreation, and flood control, along with irrigation of 250,000 acres. Between 1968 and 1984, construction and preparatory activities progressed on many features. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on July 14, 1968, for the Snake Creek Pumping Plant and ground was broken on May 10, 1970, for the McClusky Canal. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, issues such as environment, private land acquisition, and economics of irrigation arose. Construction on the Principal Supply Works continued until 1984 when the Secretary of the Interior appointed a commission to evaluate the Garrison Diversion Unit Project. The Garrison Diversion Unit Reformulation Act of 1986 reduced the number of acres for irrigation development to 130,940. In addition, the 1986 reformulation authorized a $200 million grant program to facilitate a municipal, rural and industrial water program. Water treatment, wildlife mitigation, and recreation were also included in the act. In 1993, North Dakota's congressional delegation requested that the Bureau of Reclamation initiate a collaborative process to define a new direction for meeting the state's water development and stewardship needs. This process identified a need for reliable, high quality water for domestic and industrial use. In contrast with previous Garrison Diversion legislation, which focused on irrigation, North Dakota identified its priority as municipal, rural, and industrial water. The Dakota Water Resources Act of 2000 (DWRA) authorized $200 million of federal appropriations to provide reliable, high quality water to eastern North Dakota. Currently, over 40% of the state's population lives in the Red River Valley where water shortages are the most critical. This act also designated an additional $200 million for the Municipal, Rural, and Industrial Fund, $200 million for Native American Indian water needs, and $32.5 million for recreation and natural resources. The DWRA yet again reduced authorized irrigation development to 75,480 acres, which are broken down as follows: � 13,700 - Turtle Lake Sen-ice Area � 10,000 - McClusky Canal Service Area � 1,200 - New Rockford Canal Service Area � 28,000 - areas of North Dakota not in the Hudson Bay/Devils Lake drainage basin or the James River drainage basin � 5,000 - Oakes Test Area � 17,580 - Indian Reservations, Standing Rock and Fort Bert ho Id Throughout Garrison Diversion's history, irrigation development has been drastically reduced from the original 1.2 million acres as promised in 1944 to the 75,480 acres now authorized. Today, the Garrison Diversion Conservancy District includes twenty-eight counties within North Dakota. Each county supports the operations of Garrison Chapter Eleven - Natural Resources 531
|
|---|