by Michael J. Marino
Members of the Huntley Project Irrigation District (HPID) board of directors listen to officials from the Bureau of Reclamation at the meeting held near the Yellowstone River on Monday, July 25. From left to right, those pictured are: Commissioner Justin Hein, Engineer Scott Aspenlieder, Manager Willy Lookhart, Commissioners John Mayan & Mark Fox. (Michael Marino photo)
Huntley Project Irrigation District (HPID) board members met with officials from the federal Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) at the head of the district’s diversion dam on the Yellowstone River on July 25.
HPID manager Willy Lookhart stated to the BOR officials that after a restoration project to improve the district’s pumps, those pumps are working more efficiently now. Engineer Scott Aspenlieder stated, “It was a much-needed project… it was costing the district anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 a year just because the condition that system was in.”
Lookhart added that since the pumps operate more efficiently now, “the challenge becomes feeding the pumps with more water.”
The other issue the group discussed is the diversion. The 500-year flooding that occurred in June this year caused a “significant” portion of the Yellowstone River to migrate and change, according to Aspenlieder. He said that as the Yellowstone River continues to migrate north – away from the diversion – their concern is that eventually it will bypass the diversion entirely. This would create a “host of problems” he said; problems that nobody wants to deal with.
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