Wyoming State Water Plan, Wyoming Water Development Office
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Powder/Tongue River Basin Water Plan
Technical Memoranda

SUBJECT: Appendix A
Irrigation Diversion Operation and Description
COLUMBUS CREEK

PREPARED BY: HKM Engineering Inc.

DATE: March 2002






COLUMBUS CREEK



FIVE MILE DITCH DIVERSION






COLUMBUS CREEK DRAINAGE

INTRODUCTION


BACKGROUND


Columbus Creek flows out of the east slope of the Bighorn Mountains, between Piney Creek drainage to 
the south and the East Fork of the Big Goose to the north. Its flows consist primarily of snow pack melt 
generated in the eastern side of the Bighorn Mountains and as a result, tend to increase to 20-30 cfs in 
May and June, then decrease to 4-5 cfs by September. Columbus joins the Tongue River just upstream of 
Ranchester, Wyoming. The Tongue leaves Wyoming north of Acme, Wyoming, to fill the Tongue River 
Reservoir in Montana.


CHARACTERISTICS


Columbus Creek works its way through cobble and gravel bars from old river channels, driving up the 
instream losses. Its passage near shallow subdivision wells probably also increase its losses.


USAGE


Columbus Creek.s diversions are devoted almost entirely to agricultural irrigation.


Regulation


Columbus Creek typically does not go into regulation. Return flows are enough to replenish creek flow to 
satisfy downstream demand even though the creek is entirely diverted at Five Mile Ditch.


Agriculture


See irrigation and crop planting practices in the memorandum below.


The typical irrigation season runs from April 15-May 1 (depending on whether the spring runoff is 
delayed by colder weather) to mid/early October (depending on when the first snows fall and the ground 
freezes). All of the irrigators using Columbus Creek water practice post-season irrigation, using their full 
rights to do so.


Double Appropriation


Irrigation water rights with priority dates of March 1, 1945 or earlier are entitled to an additional 1cfs per 
70 acres under Wyoming.s surplus water statutes. Whenever the supply in a stream exceeds the amount 
required to satisfy all existing appropriations established prior to March 1, 1985, the stream is said to be 
in an excess flow condition and water right holders with priorities between March 2, 1945 and March 1, 
1985 may use an additional 1 cfs for each 70 acres irrigated.


In Columbus Creek, this practice is limited by the flow in Columbus Creek (less than 30 cfs in the past 
few years) and the condition of the ditches, none of which is estimated to carry double appropriation.


Permitted Uses


Permits granted for water appropriation are granted for specific uses. The following pages contain tables 
of permits and their associated uses. The following table provides a key to those uses: 





Code
Use


Chem
Chemical


Com
Commercial


Cul
Culinary


D
Domestic


Drl
Drilling


Eng
Steam Engines


Fire
Fire Protection


Fish
Fish Propogation


F.C.
Flood Control


I
Irrigation


Ind
Industrial


I.F.
Instream Flow


Mech
Mechanical


Mfg
Manufacturing


Mil
Milling


Min
Mining


Misc
Miscellaneous


Mun
Municipal


Oil
Oil Refining or Production


P.C.
Pollution Control


Power
Power Development


R.R.
Railroad


Rec
Recreational


Ref
Refining


Res. Supply
Supply Facility for a Reservoir


S
Stock


T
Transportation






WATER RIGHTS


Two water rights summary tables are provided for each diversion serving irrigation referenced here. The 
first, included in the body of the diversion synopsis, refers to the rights on record with the State 
Engineer.s Office and is derived from that office.s Tabulation of Adjudicated Surface Water Rights of the 
State of Wyoming, Water Division Number Two (Oct. 1999).


Because this rights summary is pulled directly from the SEO Tab, the rights cited follow the SEO.s 
priority order:







Hierarchy
Format of right
Example


1
Day, Month, Year
05-15-1884


2
Month and Year
05-00-1884


3
Specified Season and Year
Spring 1884


4
Year Only
1884


5
Before Year
Before 1884






Board orders or court orders may also establish a specific priority.


Irrigated Lands Water Rights Database


The second table, which follows the diversion synopsis, is taken from the irrigated lands water rights 
database developed for the basin plan. It can be used as a reference with the following caveats: It only 
lists water rights associated with the irrigated lands polygons mapped by HKM.  The table does not 
include nonirrigation rights devoted to reservoir supply, municipal, fish propagation, etc. The rights on 
this table are associated only with those irrigated lands identified through the course of this study, both 
actively irrigated and currently idle.






Column Heading Key


PerNo
Permit Number
"Terr" denotes a territorial right.


PerSfx
Permit Suffix
D = direct flow


E = enlargement


R = reservoir


Facility Name
Parantheses denote the former means of conveyance for the water right.



Unit
Flow or volume
CFS = cubic feet per second


AF = acre-feet


GPM = gallons per minute



SupTyp
Supply Type
OS = original supply


SS = supplement supply, for lands having an original supply from another source.


Sec = secondary supply, for water stored in a reservoir



Status
Status of adjudication
Adj = adjudicated


Una = unadjudicated


Source
Source water
Parantheses denote the permit number of the related storage right.














KEY DIVERSIONS





Diversion:
FIVE MILE DITCH DIVERSION


Five-Mile Ditch Headgate



Date
9/12/2000



Note:
The Five Mile Ditch diverts all the flows of Columbus Creek. Thus, the 
recorded ditch data from the Five Mile recorder doubles as the Columbus 
Creek recorder.



Diversion Description:
Headgate consists of a single 4.0 x 4.0-foot square wood-and-steel gate 
in steel slides operated with a Waterman-type screw, mounted in a steel 
throat. The area surrounding the headgate can be marshy and is 
significantly overgrown.



Diversion Location:	
The Five Mile Ditch diversion is located on the main stem of Columbus 
Creek.


Five-Mile Ditch stream gage/recorder










Headgate:


Lat.
Long.


N 44° 55' 1.2''
W 107° 22' 15.4''





Stream gage/recorder:


Lat.
Long.


N 44° 55' 1.4''
W 107° 22' 14.1''








Conveyance Description:
Open channel canal, approx. 8.5 mi. long. The conveyance includes a 
number of flumes and includes Wagner and Five Mile reservoir in its 
flow path.



Direct Flow Water Rights:
The summary of direct flow rights follows:









Permit
Priority Date
Permitted Use
Acres
Flow (cfs)
Cumulative (cfs)



Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
7.0
0.20
0.20


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
7.0
0.20
0.40


Terr.
08-16-1882
I
10.0
0.25
0.65


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
16.0
0.34
0.99


Terr.
08-16-1882
I
40.0
0.67
1.66


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
60.0
0.96
2.62


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
70.0
1.10
3.72


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
70.0
1.10
4.82


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
85.0
1.31
6.31


Terr. (Sec)
08-16-1882
D, I, S
90.0
1.38
7.51


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
90.0
1.38
8.89


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
100.0
1.53
10.42


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I
120.0
1.81
12.23


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
160.0
2.39
14.62


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
300.0
4.38
19.00


Terr.
08-16-1882
D, I, S
385.0
5.60
24.60


Terr.
06-00-1886
I
6
0.19
24.79


Terr.
12-31-1890
D, I, S
10.0
0.24
25.03


Terr.
12-31-1890
I
10.0
0.24
25.27


Terr.
12-31-1890
D, I, S
160.0
2.39
27.66


1521E
08-26-1903
I
50.0
0.71
28.37


4423E
11-12-1924
I
437.1
6.24
34.61



Note: .Sec. denotes secondary supply, or water stored in a reservoir.




Associated Storage Rights:
Rights associated with Wagner and Five Mile reservoirs.



Irrigation Practices:
Approx. 50 percent pivot and siderolls, 50 percent ditch-flood. Irrigators 
tend to plant approx. 35 percent corn, 40 percent alfalfa, and 25 percent 
hay.



Return Flows:
Return flows were not known.



Losses:
20 percent by the end of the ditch



References:
Bill Knapp, water commissioner, State Engineer.s Office, interview, 9 
Feb. 2001





	Pat Boyd, water commissioner, State Engineer.s Office, interview, 12 
Sept. 2000








Irrigated Lands Water Rights Database




PerNo
PerSfx
Facility Name
Priority
Acres
Amount
Unit
SupTyp
Status
Source



Terr
D
Wyoming & Five Mile
Aug. 16, 1882
1730
26.41
CFS
OS
Adj
Columbus Creek


Terr
D
Wyoming & Five Mile 2nd App
Dec. 31, 1890
180
2.87
CFS
OS
Adj
Columbus Creek


5441
D
Wagner (Enl. Wyoming & Five Mile)
April 29, 1903
32
0.45
CFS
Sec
Adj
Columbus Creek (397R)


4423
E
Enl. Wyoming & Five Mile
Nov. 12, 1924
437.1
6.24
CFS
OS
Adj
Columbus Creek










Name

                                 Source

                                 District

                                 Data		
Five Mile Ditch Diversion

					  Columbus Creek

					  5

				        Total monthly flow in AF


Water Year
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Total



1970



























1971



























1972



























1973



























1974












0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
341.43
0.00
341.43

1975



























1976



























1977



























1978



























1979



























1980



























1981












0.00
287.92
309.72
393.42
215.56
0.00
1206.62

1982



























1983



























1984



























1985



























1986



























1987



























1988



























1989












0.00
584.82
429.37
275.81
263.31
226.24
1779.55

1990












508.50
786.10
888.90
394.70
287.00
241.80
3107.00

1991












439.20
1087.60
887.10
446.30
303.50
288.30
3452.00

1992












358.90
673.70
609.00
695.50
381.90
291.70
3010.70

1993












329.50
1299.80
1127.00
765.30
466.10
349.80
4337.50

1994












817.20
1058.50
625.80
376.40
290.50
292.00
3460.40

1995












308.80
638.90
1360.20
782.00
400.90
316.40
3807.20

1996












417.50
1147.20
904.40
507.60
291.20
219.90
3487.80

1997












0.00
913.00
1118.20
535.90
386.90
280.30
3234.30

1998












0.00
1002.50
842.50
442.40
355.70
281.50
2924.60

1999












0.00
952.00
1018.00
514.00
323.00
267.00
3074.00

Mean












244.58
802.46
778.48
471.49
331.31
235.00
2863.32

Max












817.20
1299.80
1360.20
782.00
466.10
349.80
4337.50

Min












0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
215.56
0.00
341.43


Notes:

1. Monthly data is from Hydrographer's Annual Reports for years 1980 and later, and from
WRDS for years prior to 1980

2. Zero flow is assumed prior to the first and after the last measurement

3. Monthly data for 1981 is derived from spot measurements in the Hydrographers' Annual Reports.









Name

                                 Source

                                 District

                                 Data		
Five Mile Ditch Diversion

					  Columbus Creek

					  5

				        First & Last Dates, Max. Days


Water Year
First Date of Measurement
Last Date of Measurement
Maximum Days Missing



1970







1971







1972







1973







1974
01-Aug
31-Aug
0


1975







1976







1977







1978







1979







1980







1981
04-May
19-Aug
33


1982







1983







1984







1985







1986







1987







1988







1989
11-May
26-Sep
0


1990
03-Apr
30-Sep
0


1991
01-Apr
30-Sep
0


1992
01-Apr
30-Sep
0


1993
07-Apr
30-Sep
0


1994
01-Apr
30-Sep
0


1995
01-Apr
30-Sep
0


1996
17-Apr
30-Sep
0


1997
07-May
30-Sep
0


1998
01-May
30-Sep
0


1999
06-May
30-Sep
0


Avg.
25-Apr
24-Sep
3


Earliest
01-Apr
19-Aug
0


Latest
01-Aug
30-Sep
33




Notes:
1. Data is from Hydrographer's Annual Reports for years 1980 and later,
and from WRDS for years prior to 1980.