Call on Platte continues

On April 3, Wyoming State Engineer Patrick T. Tyrrell announced the call on the Platte River remains in effect.

Joe Glode, president of the Upper North Platte River Water Users Association, said that water users are now starting to irrigate and the call now affects those that have junior water rights.

Irrigators, municipalities, industries and storage reservoirs that have junior water rights are those that were established after 1904.

Glode said a lot of land in the Platte Valley has junior water rights. After May 1, the call has to be lifted and those with junior water rights will be able to divert water for uses like irrigation.

The effect it will have on ranches with junior water rights depends on a lot of variables, Glode said. It will depend on how much it rains during the month of April to see how much of an effect the call will have on the junior water right owners.

Last year, it stopped snowing in March, but there was water in storage. This year is has it continued to snow in March, but there was no water in storage.

The Wyoming State Engineer’s press release said the April storage and runoff forecasts for the coming season totals 614,579 acre-feet, which is well below the 1,100,000 acre-feet trigger that represents a full North Platte Project ownership supply.