Idaho agency predicts irrigation water shortfall
The Idaho Department of Water Resources is predicting a 44,200 acre-foot shortfall to senior priority surface water rights in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
The Director of the Department of Water Resources is required to issue an order at the beginning of the irrigation season determining if there is a potential shortfall and the obligations of junior groundwater pumpers to curtail water use.
The prediction means certain ground water users, with rights junior to February 8, 1989, may be subject to curtailment this year if they are not participants in an approved mitigation plan.
There are three approved mitigation plans for the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer surface water delivery call. The plans benefit members of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators (IGWA), A & B Irrigation District, and Southwest and Goose Creek Irrigation Districts. While other mitigation plans have been submitted to the Department, they have not yet been approved and may not be approved in time to avoid curtailment in 2016.
“If junior ground water pumpers are not participating in an approved mitigation plan, they will likely be subject to curtailment this year,” said Matthew Weaver, Deputy Director of IDWR.
Under the recent historic water settlement agreement between the Surface Water Coalition (SWC) and IGWA, the participating ground water users have agreed to voluntarily reduce pumping by 240,000 acre-feet annually to mitigate impacts to Snake River water users with senior water rights.
IGWA’s current mitigation plan and their pending settlement agreement with the SWC may be the only way ground water users can avoid curtailment this year and in the future. They could also help avoid future large-scale litigation issues related to water user in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer area that could affect cities, commerce, industry, agriculture and the entire southern Idaho economy.
