Middle Creek and Altawan Reservoirs

The Middle Creek reservoir was first considered by the PFRA soon after its creation in 1935. The storage capacity of the proposed dam was 20,000 acre feet with 3,000 acres of irrigable land located below the dam. The PFRA also considered the possibility of incorporated it into a scheme which would see some of the water diverted to Battle Creek. The development of the Cypress Lake Reservoir made this plan unnecessary. In August 1935 F. A. Mamoser and son of Shaunavon were hired to build the dam at a cost of $10,485.00.  The reservoir was located on land originally developed for irrigation purposes by A.H. and A. D McKinnon. This was one of the two sites considered in 1913.

Altawan reservoir was built on Lodge Creek in 1957. It was located about eleven kilometers southwest of Govenlock. According to the 1959-1960 Annual Report of the PFRA the storage created by this dam provided for stock watering, irrigation and streamflow maintenance.

Altawan Dam

The construction of these reservoirs permitted the development of the Spangler and the Middle Creek projects. The Spangler Project was created from land purchased from M. M. and D. E. Spangler. This project sold hay to local ranchers in the area and Leo Jones was the first manager of the project.