Our Company
I. Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company - System Description
Aberdeen-Springfield Canal is an open-channel irrigation system that became fully operational in 1905. The majority of the system's 190 miles of main canals and laterals are earthen-constructed canals with some underground piping. All but one of the control structures on the system are of concrete construction (the one being wooden). A few selected structures were automated with simple float and micro-switch water level sensors and either hydraulic or gear and stem actuated gates, but beginning in 2001 the Company began installing modern monitoring and control devices (SCADA) and currently nearly all of our primary control structures are fully automated and we have remote monitoring capabilities in several locations.
Aberdeen-Springfield Canal Company (the Company) operates an open channel irrigation system that diverts water from the Snake River approximately 10 miles upstream from Blackfoot, Idaho. The Company delivers irrigation water to approximately 63,000 acres through approximately 190 miles of main and lateral canals. The system stretches from the western bank of the Snake River southwest for 67 miles to just west of American Falls, Idaho. The company has storage rights in Jackson Lake reservoir, Palisades reservoir, and American Falls reservoir. Typical total annual diversion is 350,000+ acre-feet (AF). System transmission loss (seep and evaporation) is calculated to be 50-60%, and 10-20% of the total diversion is spilled back into the American Falls reservoir.
Diversion from the Snake River is measured using a broad-crested weir located approximately 100 m downstream from the main canal control structure. Water deliveries are measured using rectangular submerged-orifice measuring devices installed on every headgate. System water is spilled at 15 locations on the system and is accurately measured.
II. Water
ASCC holds Natural Flow, Flood Water, Storage, and Groundwater Rights. ASCC's primary water source is 1072.1 cfs of natural flow from the Snake River with a priority date of February 6, 1895 and 230 cfs of natural flow from the Snake River with a priority date of April 1, 1939. In addition, ASCC has groundwater rights for two Company-owned wells totaling 8.44 cfs for supplemental use by the system.
ASCC holds storage rights in American Falls Reservoir, Palisades Reservoir, and Jackson Reservoir on the Snake River. ASCC also delivers water to acreage within the American Falls Reservoir District, which holds storage in American Falls Reservoir and Jackson Reservoir. Individual shareholders who also belong to American Falls Reservoir District receive delivery of their storage water through ASCC's system.