It could happen here.

On July 17, a roughly half-mile tunnel near Fort Laramie collapsed. It dammed up the 13-mile canal that is fed by a reservoir at Whalen Dam. The water overflowed, broke the canal levies, and flooded the surrounding farmland.

Over 100,000 acres of crops that rely on the system for their irrigation were suddenly left high and dry. A University of Wyoming study estimates the total economic loss in Goshen County and neighboring Scotts Bluff County in Nebraska will total nearly $90 million.

The analysis was based on total losses of corn, dry edible beans and sugar beets. Temporary fixes allowed water to flow through the Goshen system at the end of August, and yield loss estimates through the middle of August showed sugar beets losing up to 60 percent of their yields and dry edible beans greater than 90 percent.

Here in Park County, about 51,000 acres of farmland are fed by the Garland Canal, which feeds the Frannie Canal. Water at the Garland Canal is diverted at the Corbett Dam through a tunnel that is more than six times as long as the Goshen tunnel.

Twice a year, inspectors walk through the tunnel with flashlights visually searching for any defects. That’s the same inspection that was done every year at the tunnel in Goshen County before its collapse.

“It’s been an eye opener for a lot of water districts,” said Trent Reed, Shoshone Irrigation District manager.

The exact cause of the Goshen County tunnel collapse isn’t known at this time, but a visible sinkhole at the surface suggests erosion around the concrete tunnel likely caused the structural failure.

Rob Posten, manager of the Goshen Irrigation District, said he wants to see more thorough inspections in the future — using engineers and technology that can spot defects that visual inspections cannot.

“I’m hoping the [Bureau of Reclamation] gets involved. They need to be looked at more closely,” Poston said.

Reed said Shoshone Irrigation District is looking into doing an ultrasound of the tunnel to look for the same kinds of erosion or any other possible problems that would cause the Corbett Tunnel to collapse. He’s going back through records to determine if such an inspection was done in the recent past. At this point, Reed is not sure how much it would cost to do an ultrasound test after the irrigation season wraps up in October, but he doesn’t think it would be prohibitive.

Though the water in Goshen County is flowing again, the farmers are facing enormous losses this year. A failure of the Corbett Tunnel during irrigation season would be as catastrophic to area farmers dependent on the system and could take longer to fix.

“It would be a substantial economic impact,” Reed said.

Water first flowed through the Corbett Tunnel in April 1908. The Goshen Canal tunnel is about six years newer.

A concrete liner near Rattlesnake Mountain that carries water for the Heart Mountain District has experienced a couple leaks over the past few years. The system irrigates about 34,000 acres of farmland.

The most recent leak came in September 2017, spilling 45 cubic feet of water per second into a crack in the 4-inch concrete of the liner. Occurring late in the season with temperatures rising and little rain, the problem impacted alfalfa and sugar beet crops.

Both leaks were given temporary patches, which have so far held. The Heart Mountain Irrigation District secured the funding for a full repair of the Rattlesnake liner. There’s too many unknowns for a solid timeline, but it’s possible work could begin this fall.

“We put a lot of concrete into that sucker, and we’re almost there,” said Tyler Weckler, manager of the Heart Mountain Irrigation District.

At the Heart Mountain Irrigation District, they, too, are looking at the situation in Goshen and considering that more thorough inspections are needed.

“It’s time to start using some equipment and take a look at things,” Weckler said.

With support from Wyoming congressional delegation, Gov. Mark Gordon’s administration and others, the USDA determined that crop insurance will cover crop losses in Wyoming and Nebraska from the collapse of the tunnel. It was a small piece of good news for the community struggling with a summer of disaster.

Seeing just how devastating such an event can be, districts are mobilizing to prevent such a thing from happening here in the Big Horn Basin.

“People have said we’re going to be the guinea pig for everyone else,” Poston said.