July 16, 2019 GOSHEN COUNTY, Wyo.–During the early morning hours of July 17, an apparent collapse in a tunnel on the Ft. Laramie Canal, about one and a half miles south of Fort Laramie, caused water to back up and breach the canal bank upstream of the tunnel. Goshen Irrigation District personnel responded immeditely to water level alarms by investigating the cause. They then shut off the water supply at Whalen Dam and requested the Bureau of Reclamation reduce the flows out of Guernsey Reservoir.

The Fort Laramie Canal provides irrigation water to approximately 104,000 acres in Wyoming and Nebraska served by the Goshen and Gering- Fort Laramie Irrigation Districts and the Wright and Murphey Ditch Company.  Both Districts are working to assess the damage and formulating plans to repair the tunnel and canal bank. There is no projection of how long it will take to repair and restore the cnanl back to service.