Yanzick/Brey-Riddle head gate project complete
JUNE 2020 - The Yanzick and Brey-Riddle irrigation efficiency improvement project finally complete, hiccups and all…
Any great project is not truly complete without it’s initial trials and tribulations. This irrigation project is no different. The ditch and headgate project, funded by two $125,000 Department of Natural Resource & Conservation (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grant/Loan Program Grants as well as monetary contributions from the Yanzick and Brey-Riddle ditch users, was completed May 27, 2020.
After the long awaited project was complete and only days, literally, after the celebratory site visit by engineers, contractors, agency folks, landowners and interested citizens, the early spring thaw in the Beartooths caused snow melt and subsequently record spring flows in the Stillwater River.
Although the soils were in place, after the late May stakeholder walk-through the Stillwater River discharge rate began to increase exponentially. The USGS Gage Station, located approximately 14 miles downstream of the project, recorded the peak discharge rate on May 31 at 5,500 cubic feet per second higher than the peak discharge measured on May 27.
The historic flood event, combined with the compaction of soils around the new headgate and secondary diversion structures only five days prior to the flood event, provided weak points around the structures that were susceptible to erosion. The high water level and stream energies from the Stillwater River saturated and scoured the recently compacted soils along the east headgate wingwall, ultimately flanking the headgate and allowing large volumes of water and debris to enter the Yanzick/Brey-Riddle ditch.
Upon discovery of the issue, Pioneer Technical, the engineering firm tasked with the monumental project, and local contractor, Oltrogge Construction, Inc., were notified of the damage and Oltrogge immediately mobilized to the site to complete emergency repairs.
Any great project is not truly complete without it’s initial trials and tribulations. This irrigation project is no different. The ditch and headgate project, funded by two $125,000 Department of Natural Resource & Conservation (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grant/Loan Program Grants as well as monetary contributions from the Yanzick and Brey-Riddle ditch users, was completed May 27, 2020.
After the long awaited project was complete and only days, literally, after the celebratory site visit by engineers, contractors, agency folks, landowners and interested citizens, the early spring thaw in the Beartooths caused snow melt and subsequently record spring flows in the Stillwater River.
Although the soils were in place, after the late May stakeholder walk-through the Stillwater River discharge rate began to increase exponentially. The USGS Gage Station, located approximately 14 miles downstream of the project, recorded the peak discharge rate on May 31 at 5,500 cubic feet per second higher than the peak discharge measured on May 27.
The historic flood event, combined with the compaction of soils around the new headgate and secondary diversion structures only five days prior to the flood event, provided weak points around the structures that were susceptible to erosion. The high water level and stream energies from the Stillwater River saturated and scoured the recently compacted soils along the east headgate wingwall, ultimately flanking the headgate and allowing large volumes of water and debris to enter the Yanzick/Brey-Riddle ditch.
Upon discovery of the issue, Pioneer Technical, the engineering firm tasked with the monumental project, and local contractor, Oltrogge Construction, Inc., were notified of the damage and Oltrogge immediately mobilized to the site to complete emergency repairs.
Yanzick/Brey-Riddle head gate project moving forward

MARCH 2020 - AFTER YEARS OF FUNDRAISING, MULTIPLE LEGISLATIVE HEARINGS AND PLANNING EFFORTS, the SVWC, Stillwater Conservation District (SCD), Pioneer Technical, Inc and especially landowners and water users on the Yanzick and Brey-Riddle Ditches thought this time may never come! At a Stillwater Conservation District meeting in early December 2019, the SCD board approved Oltrogge Contruction to complete the monumental tasks of implementing the Yanzick/Brey-Riddle Irrigation Efficiency Improvement project.
This project involves combining the ditch two systems, removing the Yanzick Ditch and Brey-Riddle Ditch headgates and replacing them with a single headgate structure. The single, permanent structure will reduce in-stream maintenance and disturbance within the Stillwater River at the point of diversion, improving water flow and overall functionality.
Backstory: In 2014, the SVWC sponsored Upper Stillwater Assessment report ranked the Yanzick Ditch and Brey-Riddle Ditches as high priorities for the watershed with close proximity of the two headgates to one another and the interaction between the diversions (which cumulatively irrigate 750+ acres) it was a clear decision to address this project with the backing of landowners and ditch users.
Working with Chad Raisland of Pioneer Technical Services, Inc, a Department of Natural Resources Conservation (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grant & Loan (RRGL) funding was awarded in 2017 for $125,000 for Phase I of the project. Subsequently, Phase II funding (an additional $125,000) was approved in 2019 under House Bill 652. HB 652 enabled projects like this and others around the state to fund proposals that conserve, manage, develop and protect Montana’s renewable resources for future generations. This $250,000, in addition to match funds from the ditch users, will enable the completion of both Phases I and II.
According to recent correspondence from Chad Raisland, lead project engineer from Pioneer Technical, the project is moving along as planned with the intent to have the project completed before the 2020 irrigation season.
The Yanzick/Brey-Riddle diversion project, the first ever for the SVWC, who teamed with the Stillwater Conservation District (SCD), landowners and water users on the two ditches to improve water use and overall functionality of the structures will be a long-term solution for sustaining the critical Stillwater River irrigation resource.
This project involves combining the ditch two systems, removing the Yanzick Ditch and Brey-Riddle Ditch headgates and replacing them with a single headgate structure. The single, permanent structure will reduce in-stream maintenance and disturbance within the Stillwater River at the point of diversion, improving water flow and overall functionality.
Backstory: In 2014, the SVWC sponsored Upper Stillwater Assessment report ranked the Yanzick Ditch and Brey-Riddle Ditches as high priorities for the watershed with close proximity of the two headgates to one another and the interaction between the diversions (which cumulatively irrigate 750+ acres) it was a clear decision to address this project with the backing of landowners and ditch users.
Working with Chad Raisland of Pioneer Technical Services, Inc, a Department of Natural Resources Conservation (DNRC) Renewable Resource Grant & Loan (RRGL) funding was awarded in 2017 for $125,000 for Phase I of the project. Subsequently, Phase II funding (an additional $125,000) was approved in 2019 under House Bill 652. HB 652 enabled projects like this and others around the state to fund proposals that conserve, manage, develop and protect Montana’s renewable resources for future generations. This $250,000, in addition to match funds from the ditch users, will enable the completion of both Phases I and II.
According to recent correspondence from Chad Raisland, lead project engineer from Pioneer Technical, the project is moving along as planned with the intent to have the project completed before the 2020 irrigation season.
The Yanzick/Brey-Riddle diversion project, the first ever for the SVWC, who teamed with the Stillwater Conservation District (SCD), landowners and water users on the two ditches to improve water use and overall functionality of the structures will be a long-term solution for sustaining the critical Stillwater River irrigation resource.