Water supply strategies for eastern Idaho

The Bureau of Reclamation wants your input on how to improve water supply to the upper valley.

The Henry’s Fork Basin study was released Monday and includes 12 ways to help water supply. Of those 12 alternatives, stakeholders are interested in three. The include the Island Park dam, the Ashton dam and the proposed Lane Lake dam. The Lane Lake dam is about 12 miles east of St. Anthony.

The purpose of the study is to keep water in the upper valley and not let it go downstream to Washington and Oregon. Dale Swensen is the co-chairman for the group that developed the study.

“The Lane Lake dam is an off-stream reservoir. The plan for Island Park is to raise an existing dam, and we want to build a new dam downstream of the existing Ashton dam,” Swensen said.

Swensen said the water supply for the proposed Lane Lake dam would be diverted into a reservoir.

“The reservoir would flood what is basically dry farmland now,” he said.

But what could additional water storage mean for residents?

“It would mean additional water storage supplies to get us through drought years,” he said.

It could also supply growing cities and farmland.

The comment period will end March 6. The comment form and instructions can be downloaded at http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/studies/idaho/henrysfork/study/index.html.

The final study will be released April 30. To view the findings, click here, http://www.usbr.gov/pn/programs/studies/idaho/henrysfork/study/draftv3.pdf.