Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

WORLAND - Reports from the City of Worland and Washakie County indicate that the removal of a sediment bar in the Big Horn River is going well, and an estimated 5,000 cubic yards of material have been removed during the first week of the project.

"It's going quite a bit better than expected," said Worland Superintendent of Public Works Brian Burky, noting that two trucks from the city and two county trucks have been hauling the removed material.

At current estimates, based on the original estimation of 18,700 cubic yards total, the project should take four weeks.

"Besides the wet weather and a truck that needed repair, its moving right along," said Burky.

Earlier this month, the Washakie County Commission awarded a $109,255 contract to McClellan and Macqueen Inc., of Worland, for the removal of the sediment sandbar in the Big Horn River, adjacent to Riverside Park. The firm was the only bidder.

The estimated 1.3 acres of sand and sediment in question has been the catalyst for ice jams and flooding along the river as it runs through Worland, growing steadily over the last three years. An initial survey of the mass estimated over 18,700 cubic yards of material had built up, at a depth of five feet.

The estimate provided by McClellan and Macqueen indicated that the project should take an estimated 36 days, working six days per week and removing 48 yards of material per hour, by truck.

Using 18,700 cubic yards equation, the county originally estimated the cost of removal just under $60,000, not counting the use of city and county trucks to haul away the material. Due to the need for wooden matting for the equipment to use to cross the river and attain a solid footing on the sediment bank, the cost was expanded by another $49,000, to be split by the county and City of Worland. In conjunction with Mayor Jim Gill of Worland, the commission and town agreed to pay the additional $49,000.

It was also noted that at the completion of the project, the Washakie County Conservation District will reimburse the county $10,000 in the form of a grant for removal of the sediment.

The commission also voted to stockpile the removed material on property owned by Cloud Peak Investments, and the JL Revocable Trust.

Previously, the commission contacted the Wyoming Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), to request that volume from local canals be lowered during the time of the project, to ensure safety and ease of work for the contractor removing the material.

Currently, the Big Horn River is running 421 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) due to discharge from the canal systems south of Worland, fed from Boysen Reservoir and controlled by the BOR. According to the commission, the optimal flow rate would be around 600 cfs during the removal of the sediment, both for ease of work and for safety reasons.

Before award of the contract, Wyoming Sugar expressed concerns, as their facility utilizes a flow rate of at least 600 cfs at the Worland plant. A consultation with the company came to terms before and agreement was made with the BOR.

When contacted, an engineer for the BOR stated that the agency would be willing to coordinate efforts to regulate the flow during the project, with the approval of the Department of Game and Fish, as the flow rate would also affect fishing in the area.

At a public meeting earlier this year, Tom Johnson with the Army Corps of Engineers noted that Section 404 of the Clean Water Act requires a permit to remove material from the river, although the city and county would not need a permit to redistribute the sediment blocking the river, or transfer it to build berms.

Johnson recommended that as long as the bank was not altered, the county could dig out the sediment and transfer it to trucks, for further county use. Any sediment that fell in the process was considered spillage and was admissible without a permit. In all, the Army Corps would not need to be involved.