Reservoirs
Reservoirs and pits were installed by many production companies to hold water pumped in the process of collecting the coal bed natural gas. Many of these catchments have remained full during the time that the companies have been pumping wells, and may even catch some additional runoff in the spring when snow melt and the rare heavy rain occurs. These reservoirs and pits can be a good source of livestock water while the wells in a field are being pumped. But how much water will they collect when the field is no longer in production? Many reservoirs and pits are at the top of a watershed, which means that very little natural collection will occur. Of course there are some circumstances the exist where these reservoirs will continue to be a viable source of stock water. But in many cases they will simply become a bog hole infested with mosquitoes which may carry West Nile Virus, a virus known to be detrimental to sage-grouse populations and also hazardous to people and domestic livestock such as horses.
The reservoir pictured above is on the top of a hill. It holds water right now, but once this production field is no longer pumping it will only hold precipitation and a very minimal amount of runoff. This will not be the case with all reservoirs. Check out the presentation attached at the bottom of the page for information on estimating what your reservoir will actually capture. If you have any questions or would like any help with the calculations contact your local NRCS office and they can help or put you in contact with someone who can.
Reservoirs that are off-channel and located where the minerals are privately held may be bonded through the WOGCC. Reservoirs that are on-channel and located where the minerals are privately held may be bonded through the WY DEQ. Which means there may be some assistance available if you have an unreclaimed reservoir on your land that needs to be reclaimed.
The reservoir pictured above is on the top of a hill. It holds water right now, but once this production field is no longer pumping it will only hold precipitation and a very minimal amount of runoff. This will not be the case with all reservoirs. Check out the presentation attached at the bottom of the page for information on estimating what your reservoir will actually capture. If you have any questions or would like any help with the calculations contact your local NRCS office and they can help or put you in contact with someone who can.
Reservoirs that are off-channel and located where the minerals are privately held may be bonded through the WOGCC. Reservoirs that are on-channel and located where the minerals are privately held may be bonded through the WY DEQ. Which means there may be some assistance available if you have an unreclaimed reservoir on your land that needs to be reclaimed.
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reservoir_catchment_and_watershed_size.pdf | |
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