Idaho Gov. Brad Little commits $10M to aquifer projects as water negotiations continue

The South Fork of the Snake River runs for more than 60 miles across southeastern Idaho. (Courtesy of the Bureau of Land Management).

As farmers continue to work toward longterm water agreements , Idaho Gov. Brad Little announced Tuesday that he is committing an additional $10 million for projects intended to improve the health of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.

The $10 million in funding is in addition to $30 million Little and the Idaho Legislature have set aside for recharging the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, Little’s office said.

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“My top priority has always been and will continue to be maintaining a strong ag economy in eastern Idaho while preserving water for future generations,” Little said in a written statement. “The added funds we announced today will get the water levels in the aquifer headed in the right direction. It is part of an overall strategy to maintain our water destiny here in Idaho. Ultimately farmers, not government mandates, will drive the solutions. I am very excited about the momentum that farmers are building to strike a deal.”

Little said the $10 million comes from funding freed up by cost shifts in other projects in other parts of the state.

In Idaho, water rights and water availability came to a head May 30 when the Idaho Department of Water Resources issued a curtailment order requiring 6,400 junior water rights holders to shut off their water to compensate for a projected water shortfall for senior water rights holders, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported . The order didn’t apply to in-house, culinary uses of water. But it did send shockwaves through agricultural communities among farmers who needed the water to irrigate crops they had already planted in the ground before the curtailment order was announced.

Idaho’s ‘first in time, first in right’ water policy

In Idaho, water issues are governed by the doctrine of prior appropriation, which means first in time, first in right. Put another way, when there is not enough water to go around, the senior water rights holders who have the oldest water rights have priority over the junior water rights holders who obtained their rights more recently.

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This year’s curtailment order was in place for about three weeks before the two sides reached a settlement agreement that the state announced June 20 . The agreement resolved the issue for the year and ended the curtailment order.

Days after the agreement was announced, Little issued an executive order that outlines two new deadlines for the two sides to reach water agreements.

• By Sept. 1, the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Groundwater Management Plan Advisory Council has to submit a new groundwater management plan to the Idaho Department of Water Resources.
• By Oct. 1, the surface water users and groundwater users have to establish an improved mitigation plan.

Bingham County farmer Adam Young, who told the Sun his family held junior groundwater rights that were subject to the curtailment order , expressed optimism in the ongoing negotiations on Tuesday.

“I’m encouraged by the progress we’re making toward real, lasting solutions,” Young said in a written statement issued Tuesday. “We’ve been able to come together and identify projects that will secure senior water right holders’ supply, preserve the aquifer, and maintain Idaho’s strong ag economy. The funding announced by Gov. Little will be tremendously helpful as we build out and implement the infrastructure to achieve those objectives.”

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