OAKLEY, Idaho — Lower Goose Creek Reservoir in Cassia County has been completely drained by drought — marking just the second time in 40 years that water levels have fallen low enough for maintenance crews to access Oakley Dam's infrastructure.
WATCH: Lower Goose Creek Reservoir in Cassia County has been completely drained by drought, allowing rare maintenance on Oakley Dam.
The reservoir relies entirely on water flowing in from Goose and Trapper Creeks.
After a tough year of below-normal precipitation left the basin empty, Oakley Canal Company crews are now carrying out rare inspections and maintenance on the dam, which was constructed between 1909 and 1912.
"The reservoir is drained completely out," Chantry Whittle said.
Whittle, with Oakley Canal Company, said the lack of moisture forced the company to cut water allocations nearly in half for the season.
"We did not get very much moisture this year — so we have been extremely low. We we're only able to allocate eight and a half inches through the season to the farmers, and normally a full ride is 18," Whittle said.
Despite the reduced allocation, Whittle said local farmers managed to make the most of limited resources.
"it's hard, when you get half your paycheck it's hard to be able to budget everything, but the farmers have done very well with the resources they've had available," Whittle said.
With water levels at historic lows, Oakley Canal Company crews are seizing the rare window to inspect the dam's aging infrastructure.
"we're going to be inspecting the gates and the structure around the gates to make sure that everything is good — so it's an opportune time to do that and do some preventative inspections and make sure everything is good for the future," Whittle said.
Whittle said the inspections and upgrades are currently underway and expected to wrap up soon.
Snow falling in the surrounding hills has begun to restart the refill process, but when the reservoir will reach normal levels remains an open question.
"You better ask God that one," Whittle laughed. "We don't know how far, it just depends on how much moisture we get in the mountains."
The empty reservoir has turned into a social media hotspot, drawing curious visitors.
However, reports of several cars getting stuck in the mud and trespassing at the drainage tower have prompted the Oakley Canal Company to ask the public to view the reservoir from a distance.
"the tower is private property, as well as down in there around where the gates are, so we ask everybody to please stay off and stay out— it's not a safe place to be," Whittle said.
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