Idaho Dept. of Water Resources suspends curtailment well checks

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI)—The Idaho Department of Water Resources will pause inspections as a settlement is close to being finalized on the water right curtailment.

In a news release, it says IDWR Director Mathew Weaver told his staff to pause field inspections that determined they were in compliance of the curtailment order.

"The Director paused inspections in recognition of substantial progress in settlement negotiations between surface water users and the four groundwater districts not currently protected from curtailment under an approved mitigation plan," the release said.

IDWR said it had completed inspecting about 60 percent of the curtailed wells. Many of the water users had stopped irrigating and were complying with the curtailment order. They also said they didn't turn off any wells or physically require anyone to stop irrigating during its field inspections.

They did say if settlement discussions are not successful, they would need to resume enforcement, under state law.

The news release is below.