Water managers say some irrigators could face curtailment

The Idaho Department of Water Resources has issued an annual order to ensure that senior Snake River water right holders receive their full allotment of water. It officially warns that if there is a shortfall in water supply, junior water right holders might be curtailed.

Water Resources officials say that even when federal reservoir managers forecast near-normal run off, surface water right holders could see shortfalls.

“By law, we have to keep people with senior water rights whole, and we want to make the junior ground water pumpers aware that despite the recent historic settlement agreements between the Surface Water Coalition, IGWA, and the Participating Cities, if junior ground water pumpers are not participating in an approved mitigation plan such as IGWA’s or the Participating Cities’ approved mitigation plans, they could be subject to curtailment this year.” said Mathew Weaver, Deputy Director of IDWR.

This year, the order predicts a 20,900 acre-foot shortfall to senior priority surface water rights in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region. Some ground water users may be subject to curtailment this irrigation season if they are not participating or in compliance with an approved mitigation plan.

The Department will issue a subsequent order after May 1 identifying which junior ground water users are subject to curtailment.

According to the department, some recovery of the aquifer has occurred thanks to state-sponsored recharge programs, but aquifer levels have not yet recovered to levels high enough to avoid conjunctive management.

The projection this year is for 3.2 million acre-feet of runoff from April to July at the Heise guage of the Snake River. That is 99% of normal.