Reclamation’s Role in the Drop 5 Reconstruction
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fter the recent catastrophic failure of one of the Milk River Project’s drop structures, the Bureau of Reclamation worked intensively with the Milk River Joint Board of Control (MRJBOC), the State of Montana, the Blackfeet Tribe, and other stakeholders to plan for a permanent repair to the structure. In this interview, Steve Davies, the manager of Reclamation’s Montana area office, tells Irrigation Leader about the close collaboration that went into a successful, timely repair and shares the wisdom he has gained over 35 years at Reclamation. Irrigation Leader: Would you give an overview of Reclamation’s role in the reconstruction of drops 2 and 5?
20 | IRRIGATION LEADER | January 2021
The reconstructed drop 5 structure seen from below in October 2020.
perhaps a little better than Reclamation can. The MRJBOC did take the lead in this case. It was in a position to move faster than Reclamation could. One of the reasons for its ability to move quickly was that the MRJBOC had already designed a replacement for drop 2, a similar structure about 2 miles upstream of drop 5. Drop 2 was planned to be replaced in 2020, with the MRJBOC taking the lead role in accordance with the contract arrangement I described. In the meantime, drop 5 failed. Reclamation worked with the MRJBOC to expand its existing plans to include drop 5 as well. Working collaboratively with the MRJBOC and the State of Montana Department of Natural Resources (DNRC), with the latter as a key funding partner, we developed a plan to work on drops 2 and 5 simultaneously with the MRJBOC as the lead entity. The MRJBOC immediately brought on board a large contractor, Sletten Construction, and its engineering consultant, HDR Engineering Inc., to start onsite work. Reclamation’s role became more focused on financial and technical review, technical support, and problem solving, while the MRJBOC directly led all onsite work. Irrigation Leader: Was this project distinctive in terms of the number of partners you were working with and the fact that you transferred some of your responsibilities to the MRJBOC? Steve Davies: It is unlike other projects Reclamation has done in Montana, especially in terms of scale and complexity. Every situation and problem we encountered irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.
Steve Davies: As an agency that has aging infrastructure across the West, we’re always ready to deal with the incidents that occur. That said, the failure of drop 5 was pretty unusual in its magnitude, importance, and effects. The Milk River Project serves water to eight irrigation districts, tribal entities, municipalities, and about 150 individual farm contract pumpers, serving over 120,000 acres and 14,000 people. Most of that water flows through this structure. The timing of this failure was actually lucky. If drop 5 was going to fail, this was the opportune time for it to happen. Two storage reservoirs that are located downstream of drop 5, Fresno and Nelson, were full. It was early in the irrigation season, so there was enough time—although just barely—to do the work before winter set in. We were also lucky that the failure occurred when the canal wasn’t operating at full capacity. We had actually shut the canal off the day before the failure for a repair about 15 miles upstream of drop 5, so it had less than half the flow it normally does. All the facilities on the St. Mary Unit of the Milk River Project are reserved-works facilities, which means that Reclamation forces do all the operation and maintenance (O&M) work on them. However, in order to get this project going as quickly as possible so that we didn’t lose the entire season, we had to bring on partners, including water users, the State of Montana, a contractor, engineering forces, and tribal work forces. The drop 5 failure was essentially a statewide emergency, because the Milk River Project serves a huge area and large population across northern Montana. We immediately met with the MRJBOC, which represents eight irrigation districts, to discuss options for repairs. We have a contractual arrangement with the MRJBOC that allows it, with Reclamation approval, to take the lead role in certain O&M projects on the Milk River Project. The MRJBOC has the capability to take on large O&M projects. It pays the majority of O&M costs on the Milk River Project, and when it takes on O&M projects, it can control costs and timelines
