100,000 Acres of Farmland in Wyo., Neb. Still Without Irrigation
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — It's still not clear when an irrigation tunnel that collapsed last month will resume handling water, so more than 100,000 acres of farmland in Nebraska and Wyoming remains dry.
Officials have been working to repair the tunnel since it collapsed, but it won't be clear until at least later this week whether it can be repaired soon enough to help this year's crops at all.
Rick Preston with the Gering-Fort Laramie Irrigation District said Monday workers are still removing dirt and shoring up the tunnel.
If the tunnel collapse is confined to the roof, it may be repairable this year. If the walls also collapsed, repairs will take longer.
The 14-foot-wide tunnel that collapsed July 17 is part of a system that delivers water in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.