| Summary: | Mud Lake, a natural closed basin in eastern Idaho, is used as a reservoir for storage of irrigation water. Mud Lake has been modified by the construction of dikes and levies to provide storage of approximately 64,200 acre feet. The water supply is furnished by surface runoff from Beaver Creek and Camas Creek and by artesian and pumped wells from the Snake Plain Aquifer. Beaver Creek, with a drainage area of approximately 510 square miles is tributary to Camas Creek at a point near Camas, Idaho, and normally dries up in late spring. There are irrigation diversions on Beaver Creek above Camas Creek serving approximately 5,800 acres. The topography of the Beaver Creek drainage confines the stream except for the lower reach just above Camas. Camas Creek originates in the Beaverhead mountains and irrigates approximately 8,100 acres above Camas. Major tributaries are West Camas, East Camas, and Beaver Creeks. A dam was constructed on Camas Creek near Lone Tree but is not currently functioning. The diversion structure at Lone Tree is capable of diverting approximately 1000 cfs into the basalt and lava flows east of Camas Creek. This diversion has been used in the past to divert flood flows from Camas Creek which then sink into the fractured basalt. Another main diversion from Camas Creek is the Warm Creek channel through which up to 200 cfs can be diverted in the NE 1/4 SW 1/4 Sec 28 T 8N R 36E. Flows in Warm Creek fill depressions and ponds in the upper areas of the wildlife refuge, with the remainder returning to the Camas Creek channel. Camas Creek drains an area of approximately 1130 square miles above Mud Lake and flows through the Camas Wildlife Refuge into Mud Lake through a regulating structure called the Bybee gates or Bybee structure. The gates at the Bybee structure can be closed to retain Camas Creek discharge in the refuge area or opened to fill Mud Lake. Rays Lake, within the Camas Wildlife Refuge, is served by Camas Creek and also serves as a reservoir for irrigation pumping for lands to the south of ...
|
|---|