1. convention detail

New and emerging technology will be a theme of the Idaho Water Users Association 88th Annual Convention, slated for Jan. 14-16 at the Riverside Hotel in Garden City.

“We have a pretty significant portion of the agenda looking at new and emerging technologies in water management,” said Paul Arrington, IWUA executive director and general counsel.

Tools and technologies to be discussed aim to address needs ranging from mountain snowpack forecasting — a NASA program manager is among scheduled presenters — to “understanding what’s happening in canals, how much it will cost to modernize and update our canals and when, and how much water could be saved,” he said.

Annual updates from the Idaho Department of Water Resources and various federal agencies involved in water management and research will be featured at the convention, which in 2023 drew more than 300 attendees.

Topics scheduled for breakout sessions include an update on the Wood River Valley Ground Water Management Area Agreement involving IDWR and users; Columbia River issues; office administration at irrigation districts and other water delivery organizations; legal issues and updates; artificial intelligence and the practice of law; IWUA updates including legislative, rural and urban affairs, water quality and education committee reports; an Idaho Water Resource Board update; the 2025 water supply outlook; and federal legislation and policy updates.

“It’s an interesting time,” Arrington said. “We’ll have a new presidential administration, but yet it’s not a new administration.”

In Donald Trump’s first term as president, “we got a sense of what the administration would be like for water and water management.”

“We got a lot of good things done” at that time, he said. “We’re hopeful that will continue in the second administration.”

Cost to attend the convention varies by category.

Information: 208-344-6090 or iwua@iwua.org.