Water Issues Discussed In Boise

Members of the Idaho Water Users Association gathered in Boise last week for the organization’s 89th Annual Convention.

“Attendees received updates on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Settlement Agreement, statewide water supply outlooks, the state's cloud seeding program, conservation tools, and the growing demand and challenges associated with new data centers,” said the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation’s Dexton Lake.

Lake added the convention also kicked off early discussions on legislative proposals, such as a potential update to last year's domestic well law, continued funding for water infrastructure projects, and more. 

Click Here to learn more about the Idaho Water Users Association.

Several Water Projects Statewide Get Funding

On Friday the Idaho Water Resource Board voted to approve a $10 million loan to the Magic Valley Ground Water District help finance a $27 million project to reduce the district’s impact on the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer and help meet the terms of the 2024 Water Settlement.  In addition, the Board also approved four new ESPA recharge projects in Eastern Idaho:

• The Dubois and Riverside site proposed by the Bingham Ground Water District.  IWRB says this site would have a capacity of 30 cubic feet per second (cfs) when surplus water is available in the Upper Snake River Basin.
• The Butte-Market Lake Canal project would have a capacity of 65 cfs when surplus water is available in the Upper Snake River Basin.
• The Wilford Canal pilot project proposed by Fremont-Madison Irrigation District would have a capacity of 47 cfs when surplus water is available in the Upper Snake River Basin.
• The Searle well in the Southwest Irrigation District, which is estimated to have a capacity of 22 cfs.

The Magic Valley GWD had been awarded two Groundwater to Surface Water Conversion grants from the IWRB previously totaling $17 million.

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