The Eagle Lake Ditch

Eagle Lake Ditch, near Amedee, February 2018.

In 1891, the Eagle Lake Land & Irrigation Company became the latest entity to tap Eagle Lake to irrigate the sagebrush lands near Amedee. They had two propositions to do this. The long term was to finish Merrill’s tunnel. The second one involved a pumping plant to deliver the water. Like the predecessors they would utilize the channel of Willow Creek. At Belfast where Willow Creek enters the Honey Lake Valley the company constructed a twenty-one mile ditch to Amedee. In October 1892, with everything in place, water flowed from Eagle Lake to Amedee.  Water would briefly flow the following year. However, the company plagued with financial problems filed for bankruptcy. The pumping plant was dismantled in 1903.

Donate or Subscribe

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.