Drought-related shutoff orders issued for S.D. river

PIERRE (AP) – South Dakota officials have issued shutoff orders to 50 junior water right holders along the Cheyenne River and tributaries upstream of the Angostura Reservoir.

The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources cites lingering drought and what is expected to be another year of below normal runoff on the Cheyenne River. The reservoir is at 65 percent of storage.

The federal Bureau of Reclamation holds senior water rights for the Angostura Reservoir, having a 1941 priority date. Those water rights provide for an annual fill of the reservoir for supplying irrigation water to Angostura Irrigation District.

State officials say the bureau asked for the shutoff orders to the junior priority water right holders in order to protect the more senior rights of the irrigation district.