Idaho Surface Water Coalition submits draft of groundwater management plan

Fall Creek Falls runs into the Snake River in spring in Swan Valley, Idaho. (Anna Gorin/Getty Images)

The Idaho Surface Water Coalition on Thursday announced that it has submitted a draft of a groundwater management plan to the state ahead of a Sept. 1 deadline Gov. Brad Little set.

Water issues came to a head in Idaho on May 30 when the Idaho Department of Water Resources issued a curtailment order requiring 6,400 junior water rights holders shut off their water, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported .

Following curtailment fight, Idaho water users seek long-term solution

The curtailment order lasted about three weeks, until the two sides reached a settlement agreement the state announced June 20.

After that, Little issued an executive order calling for a new groundwater management plan to be submitted by Sept. 1 and a new mitigation plan to be submitted by Oct. 1.

The two sides then met throughout the summer to negotiate a path forward.

“These past few months of negotiations have been intense and extremely beneficial, and we are grateful for all the time and energy dedicated towards creating an enduring solution for our shared resource,” the Idaho Surface Water Coalition said in a written statement Thursday. “These meetings allowed us to sit down at the table together and talk farmer to farmer to bring forward some innovative ideas about how best to protect our aquifer, avoid future injury to our senior water rights, and keep as many acres of Idaho farmland as viable as possible.

“The Surface Water Coalition is confident that a long-term agreement between our senior water right holders and our neighboring junior water right users is possible, and we are looking forward to continuing to work together with the Idaho Department of Water Resources to finalize an effective groundwater management plan.”

The Idaho Surface Water Coalition did not provide a copy or summary of its draft plan with Thursday’s announcement. The Idaho Surface Water Coalition did say that negotiations continue between it and the Idaho Ground Water Association to reach an agreement over a mitigation plan that would avoid the threat of curtailment, which means shutting off the water – for farmers. Little gave the two sides an Oct. 1 deadline to submit a new mitigation plan.

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