[Vision2020] House Panel OKs Bill To Study Idaho Aquifers

[Tom Hansen]

>From today's (January 24, 2008) Spokesman Review -

"In two-year intervals, the state would then turn attention to aquifers in 
Moscow, the Wood River Valley, Bear River Basin in southeastern Idaho, 
Mountain Home and others in eastern Idaho."

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House panel OKs bill to study Idaho aquifers 
State water board would get power to develop plans
Todd Dvorak 
Associated Press
January 24, 2008

BOISE – A bill that would give state water officials $20 million to study, 
monitor and develop plans for future management of 10 aquifers scattered 
across the state cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday.

The House Resources and Conservation Committee agreed to consider the 
bill, which supporters say is a critical component to planning for 
population growth, dealing with climate change and averting future water 
battles like those unfolding around the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer in 
Southern Idaho.
 
"This is really vital," said Hal Anderson, an administrator at the Idaho 
Department of Water Resources. "If you look all around us, states like 
Washington and Oregon, they're spending millions and millions of dollars 
doing the very same thing. We need to get started now."

The bill calls for spending $20 million over the next 10 years to gather 
technical data, monitor and better understand aquifers in nearly every 
corner of the state.

It would also grant the Idaho Water Resource Board the authority to 
develop plans for managing how each aquifer is used or preserved in the 
face of increased demand for water from growth in cities, agriculture and 
other uses.

The bill emerged from meetings of the interim Natural Resources Committee 
last summer, and earlier this month earned a nod from Gov. Butch Otter, 
who mentioned it in his State of the State address on Jan. 7.

House sponsor Rep. Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg, said it's critical that the 
state get a better grasp of its water resources, especially in areas 
dealing with explosive growth like the Treasure Valley.

"With the huge development in the Treasure Valley … aquifers are going 
down," Raybould told the committee Wednesday.

If the bill is approved, hydrologists would begin in 2009 to study the 
aquifers serving the Treasure Valley and the Rathdrum Prairie aquifer in 
northern Idaho.

In two-year intervals, the state would then turn attention to aquifers in 
Moscow, the Wood River Valley, Bear River Basin in southeastern Idaho, 
Mountain Home and others in eastern Idaho.

Anderson said the need to study and develop aquifer management plans grew 
from the water battles that have been played out in recent years over 
water in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, an underground reservoir that 
covers a 10,800-square-mile area in Southern Idaho.

For years, increased demand for water from farmers, cities and businesses 
has drawn down the aquifer. Recently, the problem has become an economic 
fight, as the drawdown has diminished the flows from natural springs that 
supply cool, pure water to trout farms in the region.

In response, the aquaculture industry, citing state water law, petitioned 
the state for higher volumes.

Tension increased last summer when the state threatened to cut off 
hundreds of farmers, ranchers and businesses in the Magic Valley who pump 
their water from the aquifer. 

A last-minute deal between the state and groundwater users averted the 
shutdown, but state officials have already warned of possible curtailment 
for the upcoming growing season.

"In many areas of the state, we've tapped out our capacities," Anderson 
said. "And if we're going to continue to provide basic water needs and 
meet growth potential for the state, we're going to have to make a fairly 
significant investment in our water infrastructure."

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Seeya round town, Moscow.

Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho

"People who ridicule others while hiding behind anonymous monikers in chat-
room forums are neither brave nor clever." 

- Latah County Sheriff Wayne Rausch (August 21,
2007)

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