U.S. Water News Online
TWIN FALLS, Idaho -- The head of Idaho's water department says he will turn off groundwater pumps used by more than 700 Magic Valley farmers later this month if they fail to set aside additional water sought by two senior users.
Idaho Water Resources Department Director David Tuthill said he intends to issue a curtailment order on May 14 targeting 771 groundwater users spread across 33,000 acres of the Magic Valley north of the Snake River.
Tuthill said the decision is part of the agency's ongoing response to demands for additional water sought in 2005 by Blue Lakes Trout Farm and Clear Springs Food's Snake River Farm. Both producers contend they have the senior, legal right to divert more water than they are currently receiving.
"While we are forced to provide this notice, there is still an opportunity to identify additional" solutions and alternatives, Tuthill said. "Curtailment is really a last resort. I really hope we don't hurt growers."
Calls by senior right holders for more water are common, particularly during the recent string of dry years in Idaho. But Tuthill said the May 14 curtailment orders marks the first time a shutdown has targeted so many users.
The order could also limit water supplies to towns in the Magic Valley, including Blaine, Butte, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties, according to the department.
In the past, groundwater users have sidestepped curtailment orders by voluntarily giving up water to senior right holders. But this year, some say the resource is too precious to pass on.
"We just don't believe there's enough water in the system," said Lynn Tominaga, executive director of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators. "We might end up going to court or asking the director for a special hearing."
Another option is a state and federal conservation program for farmers. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program would reimburse farmers who opt not to farm acreage for conservation reasons and farmers who enroll in the program are exempt from curtailment orders.
The call for additional water affects users with priority rights beginning after May 10, 1983, the date established by Blue Lakes, and June 9, 1975, the rights date established by Clear Springs.
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