Tunnel work begins as snowpack, drought conditions worry growers

(Kevin Strecker, (left) Goshen Irrigation District General Manager, and Scott Hort, Gering-Ft. Laramie General Manager, give Bean Day attendees an update on the Goshen/Gering-Ft. Laramie tunnels. Photo by Chabella Guzman)

By Chabella Guzman | PREEC Communications

February may seem a long way off from planting season, but growers have been meeting to hear more about what will affect their 2026 crops along the North Platte River Basin.

The annual Bean Day hosted by the Nebraska Dry Bean Growers Association was held in early February, with an update on the Goshen/Gering-Ft. Laramie tunnels. 

 “This winter, they are replacing the portals of Tunnel 2, and that’s all to get ready to receive the digger shield in the fall of 2026,” said Scott Hort, Gering Ft. Laramie General Manager.

 The tunnel portals are being constructed by Mountain View Builders of Sheridan, Wyo. The digger shields are basically boring machines that will convert the 14-ft horseshoe-shaped tunnel into an 18-ft round tunnel. The construction also starts at the bottom and moves up. “If by some chance you don’t get that tunnel completed in the off-season, and May 1st comes around, and we have to run water. It’s always easier to go from a smaller tunnel to a bigger one than vice versa. Hopefully, they’ll get it completed in the off-season, and that won’t be an issue,” Hort said. 

 The increase in size and shape of the tunnels is for safety standards that were not in place in 1917, when the tunnels were originally built.

  The Bean Day didn’t have anyone speak about the amount of irrigation water that will be available in 2026, but it's a question on most agriculturists' minds. 

 The Bureau of Reclamation’s February forecast does show that spring runoff from mountain snowmelt in the North Platte River Basin above Glendo Dam is expected to be well below average this year. 

 “Snowfall has been limited this winter in the Upper North Platte Basin, which typically supplies about 75 percent of our inflows. That region is currently experiencing severe drought conditions. The Lower North Platte is also very dry,” said George Finnegan, Bureau of Reclamation Water Scheduler.

 Inflows in the Lower North Platte have historically been driven more by precipitation than by snowpack. So, there is little correlation between current snowpack levels and expected inflows from that area. “We’re hopeful that moisture improves this spring, but until then, USBR is anticipating reduced inflows and a constrained allocation,” Finnegan said. 

Snowpack is well below average, and the Upper North Platte Basin is in severe drought. Reclamation expects total runoff from April through July to reach approximately 430,000 acre-feet, which is approximately 47 percent of the 30-year average.

Current releases:

• Seminoe Reservoir: 630 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the Miracle Mile

• Gray Reef Reservoir: 500 cfs

• Glendo Reservoir: 25 cfs

• Guernsey Reservoir: No current releases

Projected releases (May–July):

• Seminoe Reservoir: Expected to peak at approximately 2,600 cfs

• Gray Reef Reservoir: Expected to range from approximately 1,000 to 2,500 cfs

• Guernsey Reservoir: Expected to range from approximately 1,600 to 5,000 cfs

• Pathfinder Reservoir: Not expected to spill this spring

• North Platte Project: An allocation is expected based on the current forecast 

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Nebraska Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the United States Department of Agriculture. Nebraska Extension educational programs abide with the nondiscrimination policies of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.