Pathfinder Dam and Reservoir, completed in 1909, was the initial holding area for water that would otherwise have rushed down the river in spring and early summer floods as the snowpack in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming melted.

Controlled releases of the snowmelt provided a reliable source of water for farmers along 2,000 miles of canals, laterals and drains in eastern Wyoming and Nebraska.

Guernsey was the second dam built to provide irrigation water, but this wasnt done until 1927. Next came dams at Seminoe, up river from Pathfinder, and then Alcova, which stores water for the Kendrick Project near Casper, and finally Glendo Dam in 1958, which was built for flood control.

All of these facilities play their part in providing irrigation water, the original reason for the dams on the North Platte. Glendo is the only one built specifically for flood control. None of them were built specifically for recreation, wildlife habitat or power generation. These are extra benefits that accompany the original agricultural reason for building the dams irrigation.

As electricity becomes more important in our technology-oriented society, the generation of power at the various dams along the North Platte River has moved up the priority list of services provided by the facilities. In recent years, this has created some problems between agriculture and industry.

Most notable is the interruption of power generation by the silt run at Guernsey Dam.

Since 1936, the irrigation districts in eastern Wyoming and the Nebraska Panhandle have conducted silt runs to improve water management efficiency. The silt, an accumulation of water-borne soils from upstream that settles in Guernsey Reservoir, is flushed out and through the canals to farmers fields, where it helps seal the canals and ditches, as well as scouring moss and weeds from them.

Until 1985 this practice occurred at no cost to Goshen Irrigation District, Pathfinder Irrigation District and Gering/Fort Laramie District. However, at that time, a contract was signed between the districts and the Bureau of Reclamation that stipulated costs to compensate the Bureau for the loss of power generated at the dam during the silt run.

Under the contract, the districts are being charged $18,000 annually for the silt run. The cost is divided among them, with Pathfinder paying half. Gering/Fort Laramie pays 51 percent of the remaining half, while Goshen Irrigation pays the remaining 49 percent.

The fee covers the first two weeks, the first of which is free. However, if additional time is required, a daily $3,140 rate kicks in.

"It really gets expensive then," said Bill Vandivort, manager of Goshen Irrigation District in Torrington. "We really cant afford to do it."

The entire system provides 500 million kilowatts of power annually, which is distributed to local areas. Glendo provides 24,000 kw, while Fremont Canyon Powerplant built in 1961 as part of the Missouri River Basin Project at the head of Alcova Reservoir, generates 48,000 kw. The electricity is generated during releases of stored floodwater, irrigation water, and water to satisfy prior water rights.

Water is supplied to the Fremont Canyon Powerplant by a three-mile long, 18-foot in diameter, concrete-lined pressure tunnel. Access to the powerplant is through a 1,700-foot long tunnel that contains a 16-foot wide roadway.

There are also powerplants at Seminoe, which is above Pathfinder Dam, and at Alcova, downstream from Pathfinder. Seminoe generates 45,000 kw annually, and Alcova produces 36,000 kw.

Due to the current system of transmission lines, power generated in Wyoming will be used in-state or in the immediate area, and not sent to the West Coast, according to power company officials.