Idaho creates new groundwater management area

Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Gary Spackman has signed an order creating a Ground Water Management Area for the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region.

Spackman said more needs to be done to restore the aquifer. “By designating a ground water management area in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region, we bring all of the water users into the fold – cities, water districts and others – who may be affecting aquifer levels through their consumptive use,” said Spackman.

Spackman told the Idaho Water Users Association creating the management area will embrace the terms of a water settlement agreement between the Surface Water Coalition and ground water users.

“As we’ve continued to collect and analyze water data through the years, we don’t see recovery happening in the ESPA. We’re losing 200,000 acre-feet of water per year,” Spackman said. “At some point, we can’t deny the reality that we need to do more to stop the drop.”

Spackman said he did not think the order was contrary to the practices, goals and implementation of the settlement agreement or create any new obligations for those water users.

But the management area will seek to bring other water users under management who have not joined a ground water district, including some cities. “All water users will be provided the opportunity to participate in the creation of a ground water management plan with the goal of restoring the aquifer,” Spackman said.

IDWR officials expect it will take one to two years to develop a detailed ground water management plan for the GWMA. The next step is to form an advisory committee of water users representing all interests within the GWMA and to work with that group in developing a ground water management plan, IDWR Deputy Director Mathew Weaver said.

“The creation of a ground water management area is the first step in developing a ground water management plan that will have stabilization and recovery of the aquifer as its primary objective,” Weaver added.

A copy of the director’s order is available here