History of Bear River Canals

The Bear River Canal Company has served many farmers and residents in Box Elder County for over 100 years, beginning around 1890. Shortly after development, the U&I Sugar Company
purchased the canal company from the original farmers. The Sugar company used the canals to supply irrigation water to sugar beet farmers in the area during the summer months and for
processing sugar in the fall and winter months. The primary purpose of BRCC today is to provide irrigation water for a variety of crops that are produced within the service area of the canals. The annual value of crops harvested from the irrigated area is estimated to be approximately $65 Million.

The Bear River is the largest tributary of the Great Salt Lake, draining into a mountainous area and several farming valleys northeast of the lake and southeast of the Snake River Plain. It flows through southwestern Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah. The Bear river is approximately 350 miles long, and is the longest river in North America that does reach the ocean.

Water flows from Bear Lake through the Bear River, which flows into Cutler Reservoir, where it is delivered through two diversion structures and canals that are owned by PacifiCorp. The two
canals are the West Main Canal and the Hammond Main Canal. The West Main Canal carries 730 cfs flow, and the Hammond Main Canal carries 175 cfs flow.

Two main canals come out of Cutler Reservoir with the West Main
Canal on the north side of the Bear River and the Hammond Main Canal on the south side of the Bear River. PacifiCorp maintains the first 0.7 miles of these two main canals just downstream of
Cutler Dam. These canals split into multiple canals and are mostly made up of open ditches with culverts crossing under the roadways.

With over 124 miles of canals that distribute and deliver irrigation water across over 65,000 acres of land, The BRCC service area includes multiple cities – Fielding, Garland, Tremonton, Deweyville,
Elwood, Honeyville, Bear River, Corrinne, Brigham, Riverside, Bothwell, Thatcher, Penrose, and Collinston – an unincorporated area in Box Elder County.

(Information Source-- www.usbr.gov/
Photo Credit--Library of Congress)

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