Burgess Canal

[jbaldwinblkft]

As the IDWR river-rider for the reach a little downstream from the Burgess, I'll chime in here. As a general rule canals shut down at the end of the irrigation season on a date that is decided by the canal manager and the board of directors. Lots of variables go into the decision, the biggest being the weather and the completion of the harvest and fall farm work. Other factors are the amount of natural flow remaining in the river weighed against the diversion rights and priority dates of individual canals. Usually by this time of year storage use begins to be watched carefully as irrigation demand eases, and ditch-riders look to next season storage needs. My observation has been over the last ten years or so that most of the big canals with junior water rights begin shutting down the first week in October. This usually bumps diversion priorities for the rest of the canals above Blackfoot, which sometimes prompts them to continue diverting for a couple more weeks, again depending on the weather. With all that being said, have your friends watch closely and give you a call. []
[signature]