Public hearing held on canal protection ordinance after Garden City washout; no vote taken

Rich County commissioners held a public hearing Jan. 8 on a proposed ordinance intended to protect canal banks from nearby development and excavation after a washout incident in Garden City left users without irrigation for years.

Under the draft, activities that involve excavation or change slope within a 100‑foot “protective strip” measured from a canal centerline would require written notice to the canal company and approval from the county engineer. The proposal also articulates a smaller presumed prescriptive easement (33 feet from the centerline) where canal companies retain access to maintain the channel. The county engineer may require geotechnical reports when proposed work raises concern about bank integrity.

During the hearing, canal company officers, irrigation users and landowners said they supported protecting canal infrastructure but urged clearer exceptions for routine canal maintenance, headgate replacement, cleaning and other customary operations the canal companies already perform. Several speakers asked that the protective strip be limited so it would not unintentionally restrict farm operations or tie up extensive acreage across long canal lengths. Commissioners heard requests to exempt agricultural zones or to craft language that delineates maintenance, emergency repairs and development activities.

County staff and the county attorney said the draft is intended to bring canal companies into the review before development that could destabilize banks, not to give the canal companies veto authority; final authority for approval would rest with the county engineer. Commissioners closed the public hearing and asked staff to revise the draft ordinance to address commenters’ concerns and to circulate a revised version before a subsequent meeting.