Canal collapse damage estimated at $90 million
TORRINGTON — According to estimations by the University of Wyoming’s IMPLAN economic impact simulator, the collapse of an irrigation tunnel along the Fort Laramie Irrigation Canal could have an even larger impact on the local economy than the shutdown of the Western Sugar processing facility earlier this year.
Losses in Goshen County won’t be as daunting as those suffered in the wake of the sugar factory closure, but the impact between Goshen County and Scotts Bluff County, Neb., is greater.
The estimation, which was released last week in a joint venture between Brian Lee, University of Wyoming Extension and Jessica Groskopf, University of Nebraska Extension, assumed a total loss of corn, dry beans and sugar beet crops in the 107,325 acres affected by the collapse, as well as a one-third loss of alfalfa. IMPLAN uses historical data to run its simulations.
The total combined economic loss in Goshen County and in Scotts Bluff County, Neb., will be $89.13 million. Goshen County alone will lose $24.57 million. An IMPLAN simulation of the Western Sugar shutdown estimated that the Goshen County economy would lose $67.4 million.
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