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- Heart Butte Unit
Heart Butte Unit
State: North Dakota
Region: Great Plains
Related Documents
Heart Butte Unit History (36 KB)
Related Facilities
Related Links
Dakotas Area Office
Heart Butte Reservoir
Lake Tschida
Mandan, North Dakota
Heart River below Heart Butte Dam near Glen Ulin North Dakota (USGS)
Heart River above Lake Tschida near Glen Ullin, North Dakota (USGS)
Explanation of Palmer Drought Severity Index (Text)
Apple
Lower Heart
Upper Lake Oahe
Bismarck, North Dakota
Palmer Drought Index Map
Painted Woods - Square Butte
General
The Heart Butte Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program lies in scattered tracts along the Heart River from Heart Butte Dam to the Missouri River. There are about 13,000 acres of irrigable land available. As of 1992 there were about 8,500 acres of land irrigated. The Western Heart River Irrigation District contains 2,512 acres of irrigable land. This land is served by project pumping plants in the western section of the unit. Other private irrigators downstream from Heart Butte Dam have formed the Lower Heart Irrigation Company and have contracted with the Bureau of Reclamation for a water supply to irrigate up to 4,178 acres. The remaining irrigable land probably will be developed by the landowners contracting with the Federal Government for a water supply. Features constructed include Heart Butte Dam and 29 river pumping plants, 1 relift plant, and 17 miles of laterals. The ultimate development, including project and private development, will include about 70 river pumping plants.
History
The region was first occupied by ranchers, who settled along the streams and used the public domain for grazing livestock. Large numbers of settlers came during 1900-1910, and emphasis was placed upon the production of cash grain crops. High prices and favorable rainfall encouraged grain farming, which resulted in plowing up of extensive areas of rangeland and overgrazing of the remaining range. Although livestock continued to be important, the demand for wheat during 1914-1920 brought about tremendous expansion in wheat acreage. The drought years of the 1930`s and prevailing low prices seriously disrupted the economy and led to emigration and abandonment of farms.
Construction
Construction of the initial phase of the unit began in April 1948 and was essentially completed by December 1949. The availability of water, when needed for irrigation, and pumping facilities enables the transformation of suitable dry land to irrigated production and contributes to restoring the economic stability of the area. Lake Tschida is the only sizable body of water in the area and has become a popular recreation center. Picnicking, swimming, boating, camping, water skiing activities occur in the summer. Fall and winter activities include hunting, ice fishing, snowmobiling, and ice skating. Designated areas along the shoreline of the reservoir have been leased by the Boy Scouts and other organizations, and 238 sites for summer homes and trailers have been leased. The more remote areas are leased for agricultural uses. The North Dakota Game and Fish Department administers part of the areas for fish and wildlife activities. For specific information on Heart Butte Reservoir recreational opportunities click on the name below. http://www.recreation.gov/detail.cfm?ID=1127 The control of the riverflows by Lake Tschida, coupled with the levees at Mandan, North Dakota, prevented a record flow of the Heart River from flooding Mandan in the spring of 1950. Without the dam, the flow at Mandan would have reached about 40,000 cubic feet per second. Lake Tschida has an exclusive flood control capacity of 147,861 acre-feet and a surcharge capacity of 206,361 acre-feet for a total capacity for use in flood damage prevention of 354,222 acre-feet and, as of 1998, has prevented about $13.1 million in flood damages. Located in the southwestern region of North Dakota, the Heart Butte Unit resembles many of the small units constructed as part of an overall plan for development of the water resources of the Missouri Basin. But first impressions are not always correct: the small size of the unit belies its enormous contribution to the safety and well being of the people who inhabit the surrounding lands. Heart Butte Dam and Lake Tschida are located on the Heart River in Grant County in southwestern North Dakota, about twenty miles south of the city of Glen Ullin. The Heart River drains an area of about 1,800 square miles above Heart Butte Dam, providing annual flows of slightly less than 100,000 acre-feet (af) on average. Temperatures in the region range from a low of -30 to a high of almost 110. The annual precipitation averages just over 16 inches, and the growing season is about 130 days long.(1) Settlement in the Heart River area began in the mid-1860`s. The first settlers were ranchers who established large ranches along the streams and rivers and began raising cattle and horses. During the early stages of settlement, livestock were allowed to graze the public domain at will, and little thought was given to providing adequate winter feed supplies. The policy of allowing overgrazing on the open range led to heavy losses during the harsh winter of 1886-87. Following the disaster of `86-`87, many large ranches reorganized into more manageable units and began to produce forage crops for winter feed. During the 1880s, immigration received a boost with the extension of the Northern Pacific Railroad into the region. Many large ranches broke up as homesteading increased, producing grains and livestock. The greatest increase in population occurred during the first decade of the twentieth century when many settled in the region at the urging of railroads and land companies. Then high prices paid for wheat during World War I fueled a tremendous expansion of the wheat industry, and large tracts of native grasses were plowed under to make room for increased wheat production. In the 1930s low prices and drought conditions severely disrupted the economy of the region. The size of many homestead units, 160 to 320 acres, was too small for economical operation, and continued over-grazing had left the range so devoid of grass that many breeding herds had to be reduced to such an extend that it would take more than a decade to recover. As the situation worsened, more and more people were forced to take some form of Government assistance. Between 1933 and 1939, more than 71% of the people in Grant County were on relief at one time or another. Many homesteaders were forced to abandon their holdings and move from the area. During the 1940`s the situation improved somewhat. Larger farms, the use of better agricultural practices, and increases in livestock herds helped to restart the economy. In 1942, the Bureau of Reclamation completed at study of the Heart River Basin with an eye towards development of a storage reservoir for irrigation purposes. Previous studies had been conducted by Reclamation in 1902-03, and again in 1926. In 1934 and again in 1937, the Army Corps of Engineers conducted studies into irrigation and flood control possibilities in the Heart River Basin. Their 1937 report was incorporated into the 1942 Reclamation report. Both the Reclamation report and the Corps of Engineers report proposed development of irrigation and storage facilities to irrigate lands along the Heart River. Previous attempts to irrigate lands adjacent to the river via pumping had met with limited success, usually failing due to lack of a consistent flow in the river. In 1943, the need for reliable flood control was emphasized when heavy late season snows followed by several weeks of warm weather forced the Heart River from its banks, causing significant damage along the river and in the town of Mandan. In 1944, both irrigation and flood control needs were met with the authorization of Heart Butte Dam.(2) Congress authorized construction of Heart Butte Dam as an initial feature of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program (PSMBP) in the Flood Control Act of 1944. Authorized as the Heart River Unit, the project would later be named the Heart Butte Unit and, with the Dickinson Unit, be incorporated into the Heart Division of the PSMBP.(3) Three contracts were let by Reclamation in association with construction of Heart Butte Dam. The primary contract, which included construction of the dam, dike, and the relocation of a portion of State Highway 49, was awarded to the C. F. Lytle and Green Construction Company of Des Moines. The winning bid was $2,360,743. The contract was awarded on December 3, 1947, and notice to proceed was given on March 19, 1948. The contract completion date was set as November 22, 1950. The contract for the manufacture and supply of the high-pressure gates for the outlet works was awarded to the Goslin-Birmingham Manufacturing Company of Birmingham, Alabama, which had submitted the low bid of $32,950. The contract was awarded on March 31, 1948, with the delivery date set as October 2, 1948. The contract covered the manufacture and supply of two, 4- by 5- foot, high-pressure gates, two 85,000 pound capacity hydraulic gate hoists, and all associated materials needed for installation of the gates. The contract for clearing the reservoir site was awarded on April 20, 1949. The successful bidder was the Thompson-Kirkwood Company of Glen Ullin, North Dakota, with a bid of $31,800. The contracted called for clearing approximately 200 acres of the reservoir site.(4) Construction work began in late March 1948 with excavations for the spillway/outlet conduit. Most of the excavations for the conduit were completed by the first of July, and concrete placement in the conduit collars began on July 3. Stripping of the dam site and excavations for the cut-off trench were carried out at the same time as work on the spillway/outlet conduit.(5) The initial construction schedule called for diversion of the Heart River through the conduit in August and completion of the cut-off excavations and backfill by the end of the 1948 construction season. Unexpected delays pushed back the completion date of the conduit by several months. In order to avoid further delays, the contractor devised a two stage diversion plan. Stage one consisted of diverting the river from its natural channel into a temporary channel and excavating the exposed areas. Excavations for the cut-off trench revealed that foundation conditions were more favorable than investigations had indicated, and after review of the foundation conditions, Reclamation designers determined that the depth of the trench could be reduced, saving significant time and expense. When the first section of the trench was excavated and backfilled, the contractor returned the river to its original channel, allowing it to flow across the completed section of the trench while the remaining portion of the trench was excavated and backfilled.(6) Construction progressed rapidly during the 1948 construction season. Work on the earthfill dike began in late May with placement of embankment materials beginning in early June. The first placement of concrete in the stilling basin took place on September 24, followed by the first placement in the intake structure on October 3. Concrete operations were halted November 27 due to cold weather, with all construction activities halted for the season on December 10. At the end of the 1948 construction season, work under the primary construction contract was 42% complete.(7) When construction resumed in the Spring of 1949, activities continued at the same pace as the previous construction season. Concrete placement in the stilling basin was completed in late May, and the river was diverted through the spillway conduit on June 1. The final placements in the spillway/outlet conduit were completed in mid-July. Placement of embankment materials in the main dam began on June 10, 1949. The embankment of Heart Butte Dam is homogeneous earthfill that was placed in eight inch layers, moistened, and compacted by twelve passes of a sheepsfoot roller. There is a zone of selected sand and sandy material in the downstream toe of the embankment. The upstream face of the dam is protected by a 2 to 3 foot layer of rip-rap placed over a 15-foot thick sand and gravel filter blanket. The embankment was completed in mid-October 1949. Storage of water in Lake Tschida began in early October when the spillway conduit was plugged. The intake structure for the spillway\outlet conduit was completed on October 15, with the outlet works control house completed on November 14. All work under the primary contract was completed on December 9, 1949, almost a full year ahead of schedule.(8) Heart Butte Dam is 125 feet high with a crest length of 1,850 feet. The embankment contains 1,140,000 cubic yards of material and is 835-feet wide from upstream toe to downstream toe. The crest is 40-feet wide. The spillway has an uncontrolled morning glory intake discharging through a 529-foot long, 14-foot diameter conduit through the right abutment. The capacity of the spillway is 5,700 cubic feet per second (cfs). The outlet works consist of a 237-foot long, 63-inch diameter conduit placed atop the spillway conduit. The intake for the outlet works is located around the base of the spillway intake structure. Flows are controlled by two, 4-foot by 5-foot high pressure gates located in a gate chamber buried within the dam. Outlet flows are discharged into the spillway conduit downstream from the control gates. Access to the gate chamber is through a shaft from the control house atop the dam. Capacity of the outlet works is 700 cfs. There is also a 2,884-foot long, 11?-foot high earthfill dike closing a low area about 1? miles southwest of the main dam. Lake Tschida has a maximum capacity of just over 223,500 af. Of that amount, just under 70,000 af is active storage with the remaining capacity reserved for flood control storage. The surface area of the lake is 6,576 acres at maximum surface elevation.(9)
Plan
Water released from Lake Tschida to the Western Heart River Irrigation District is pumped into the lateral system by motor-driven pumps which vary in size from 3 to 6 cubic feet per second. The lift from the river averages 25 feet. One relift plant is required to discharge water to higher lands. Power for the pumping plants is supplied from the PSMBP. All laterals and drains have earth sections. Heart Butte Dam dam is a homogeneous earthfill type, with a structural height of 142 feet and a crest length of 1,850 feet. It contains 1,140,000 cubic yards of earth materials. The dam is on the Heart River in Grant County approximately 18 miles south of Glen Ullin, North Dakota. The spillway is a morning-glory type, leading to a 14- foot tube with a capacity of 5,700 cubic feet per second. The outlet works consist of a gated tube with a capacity of 700 cubic feet per second. The reservoir has a total capacity of 223,646 acre-feet, of which 147,861 acre-feet are for flood control storage and 206,365 acre-feet are for surcharge. The lake has a surface area of 3,397 acres. Heart Butte Dam and Reservoir are operated by the Bureau of Reclamation. The Western Heart River Irrigation Project is operated and maintained by the Western Heart River Irrigation District. Private irrigators in the Lower Heart Irrigation Company operate and maintain individual pumps.
Contact
Contact
Title: Public Affairs OfficerOrganization: Great Plains Region
Address: 2021 4th Avenue North
City: Billings, MT 59101
Fax: 406-247-7604
Phone: 406-247-7610
Contact
Organization: Lower Heart Irrigation CompanyAddress: HCO Rt 4, Box 216
City: Mandan, ND 58554
Phone: 701-663-3012
Contact
Title: Area Office ManagerOrganization: Dakotas Area Office
Address: PO Box 1017
City: Bismarck, ND 58501
Fax: 701-250-4326
Phone: 701-250-4242
Contact
Organization: Western Heart River Irrigation DistrictAddress: Rt 1, Box 29
City: Carson, ND 58529
Phone: 701-622-3508
