North Side Canal Company oversees the operation of 900 miles of canals and ditches from Milner Dam near Hazelton to King Hill providing irrigation water to 170,000 acres of farmland on the North side of the Snake River. The company has 5 hydroelectric plants that provide enough energy to power 18,000 homes. During the non-irrigation season, the company conveys water from the Snake River to recharge the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
Milner Dam in 2018, NSCC's main canal can be seen at the top.
In 1894 the United States Congress passed the Carey act, which aimed to promote irrigation and reclamation of the West's vast desert areas by allowing private development of federal land. In Idaho a handful of visionaries caught the spirit of the Carey Act and in 1895, while seeking a location for a railway bridge across the Snake River, Ira Perrine discovered the future site of Milner Dam. He shared his vision with private investors. The dam was to provide irrigation storage and diversion to the Snake River Plain. Upon completion of Milner Dam and the associated irrigation canals in 1905, agricultural development in the Snake River Plain was assured and continues to this day.
