The suggestion was “supplemental irrigation,” and it was proposed in 1913 by C.W. McConaughy, a grain merchant and mayor of Holdrege, Neb. The plan called for Platte River water to be brought via canals to south-central Nebraska farmland during the spring and fall when river flows were at their highest. The water would be used to soak the soil, allowing crops to draw upon the stored water during the growing season.
C.W. McConaughy
Source — Central Nebraska Public Power
and Irrigation District.
“When I have stood and seen for weeks great volumes of water rolling down the Platte in the flood season to become a nuisance in the lower Mississippi and when I have seen the semi-arid lands in our counties suffering and thirsting for water during the crop-growing season, my heart has been set on fire with a vision. I have a vision of what Nebraska can be and ought to be if a combined effort were made by all of its citizens (to build an irrigation project).”
— C.W. McConaughy in
speech promoting the
Tri-County Project.
Source — Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District.
McConaughy’s inspiration for supplemental irrigation came one day as he drove home from Elm Creek through farm country north of Holdrege. He noticed a field of wheat with spots where the wheat grew tall with long heads. In other places, the wheat was stunted and headed out before maturity. After locating the owner of the field, McConaughy found that shocks of corn had been left in the field over the winter and drifts of snow had collected around the shocks. When the snow melted and the water soaked into the soil, it was in these places where the wheat grew best.
Prior to the onset of construction of Lake McConaughy and Kingsley Dam in 1936, obstacles to the project’s success came in the form of obtaining federal funds, competition for state water rights, opposition from private power companies in Nebraska, and skepticism from farmers fed by a lack of understanding of the project and misinformation from project opponents. McConaughy, Kingsley and other irrigation proponents worked tirelessly to overcome the obstacles.
Another influential figure in the formative days of the Central District was George P. Kingsley, a Minden banker and businessman. Kingsley heard McConaughy speak about the wonders that could result for agriculture in the area from just a small amount of additional water. From that point on, he dedicated his time, energy and considerable talents to bringing irrigation to the area. From 1913 until his death in 1929, Kingsley worked to make the dream of irrigation a reality.
Source — Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District.
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The "Tri-County" Project
