Billings Bench Water Association Canal

The Billings Bench Water Association Canal, also referred to as the Billings Canal and built as the Billings Land & Irrigation Canal, is an irrigation ditch that starts at the Yellowstone River in Laurel, Montana. It runs through Billings, Montana, then flows via tunnel under the Rimrocks into the Billings Heights before ending at the Yellowstone River near Shepherd, Montana. The nonprofit Billings Bench Water Association (BBWA) has operated the canal since 1915. It is largest ditch in Billings and a crucial water source for agriculture in the area between Billings and the Huntley Project.

The oldest major irrigation ditch in Billings is the M&M Canal, which Henry W. Rowley conceived prior to the platting of the townsite. Built in 1883, this ditch was intended to attract farmers to the area, and to draw interest from financial backers. The M&M Canal was officially renamed the Big Ditch in 1900, but it was eclipsed several years later by a wider and longer ditch—the eventual BBWA Canal—that would serve not only the west Billings area, but land to the northeast as well.

The Billings Land & Irrigation Company was incorporated in 1903 with the intent to provide water to landowners in the Billings Bench area north of downtown, and beyond to the Huntley area. In January 1904, the company filed a water right for 600 cubic feet (17 m3) per second flowing through the Yellowstone River. The original plans called for the canal to pass by the Rimrocks and Boothill Cemetery before heading north toward the Bench; however, irrigation specialist Marvin Chase recommended a shorter route that would cut through the Rimrocks via tunnel. The Billings Land & Irrigation Company awarded the contract for tunnel construction to R.W. Rowley, who broke ground in December 1903. The tunnel was bored from both ends simultaneously. Upon its completion about a year later, the tunnel was 1,847 feet (563 m) long, 15 feet (4.6 m) feet high at some points, and up to 20 feet (6.1 m) wide. The canal construction necessitated the construction of further infrastructure, such as bridges and a large wooden flume over Alkali Creek. Because horses could not pass through marshy areas, the Company purchase

Canal data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).