Groundwater users on board with recharge proposal

Nov 24, 2008 (The Times-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- IDHOO | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- About one week ago, a group of Magic Valley canal companies and irrigation districts joined with Idaho Power Co. to put forward a plan to help put water back in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.

The plan received the blessing of state water officials. Now, it sounds like groundwater users will also support it -- though they have some concerns about how much canal owners will want in exchange for running recharge water through their systems.

Lynn Tominaga, executive director of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, said the users he represents are willing to pay what it takes to get recharge work done, and that moving forward on any recharge project is a good thing. In addition to helping cover fees, groundwater users will likely also provide recharge water, he said.

"We'll be part of that discussion, that's for sure," he said. "We need to solve the problem."

Recharge water, Tominaga said, may also be available through a water right owned by the Idaho Water Resource Board that is now senior to hydropower rights at Milner Dam. But Tom Arkoosh, an attorney for the coalition, noted that the arrangement is being challenged by the canal companies that own the right and said water users can't count on the water being available.

The state's position was recently made senior during the licensing of the water right for the dam. The owners, North Side and Twin Falls canal companies, are also members of the coalition.

Major water players in the state are starting to sort out the specifics. American Falls Reservoir District No. 2, which will move recharge water through its canals, formally invited the local groundwater districts to participate at a Thursday night meeting, Arkoosh said.

Dave Tuthill, director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, said his staff is working with the water board and Governor's Office to help arrange and carry out the projects. The work, he said, expands on the state's recent draft proposal to fix the aquifer, known as the Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan.

"This is a very high-priority issue for us," Tuthill said. "People are working on the details as we move forward."

Ideally, proponents say, the recharge project will be prepared this winter and will begin in spring 2009, lasting for three to five years. The goal, Arkoosh said, is to bring together all of the parties with a stake in the aquifer to promote consensus and possibly help avoid the costly litigation that has touched all water users in recent years.

Tominaga noted that despite a better water year this year, groundwater users still face the possibility of having their wells shut off to provide more water for senior users. Echoing the tone of the coalition's announcement last week, he said he hopes projects such as CAMP will bring water users together.

"We're hoping this CAMP process will break down those barriers of folks only looking out for the best of their own" rather than the common good, he said.

Nate Poppino may be reached at 208-735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.

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