The Idaho Water Resource Board on March 21 voted to resume taking funding proposals for Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer injection wells that would increase recharge capacity.

The board in January paused the process temporarily in response to questions from the public about the environmental ramifications of using injection wells for aquifer recharge. Recharge injection wells are built to a depth greater than 18 feet and typically designed to tap into the deeper portion of the aquifer, according to the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

The board reviewed testing and monitoring protocols and the state permitting process. IDWR underground injection program specialists presented to the board’s aquifer stabilization committee in a public meeting in February.

Water users — particularly groundwater districts — have urged the board to continue to consider funding ESPA recharge wells, and have said recharge is a vital part of a 2024 settlement between groundwater pumpers and a coalition of surface water users with senior rights, according to a board news release. And legislation this year would increase the annual volume goal of a recharge program the board has operated between irrigation seasons since 2014.

New applications for aquifer recharge wells must comply with state and federal rules and law, and applicants must demonstrate that injection fluids — Snake River water — will not endanger any nearby drinking water wells, according to the board. Ongoing groundwater monitoring plans are required.

The aquifer, in decline for decades, lies underneath much of the state’s south-central and east regions.

Bingham Groundwater District board member and Blackfoot-area farmer Adam Young said he is pleased the board ended its pause on funding recharge wells. The eastern Idaho district has submitted a project application for review.

“Being able to expand recharge is critical,” Young said in an interview. Whether projects involve recharge pits or wells — the east region offers more opportunity for wells — “ultimately, really our ability to remain viable as a district hinges on the ability to perform recharge.”

Although agriculture is at the forefront of recharge, “any way we can expand recharge benefits everybody in the area” including cities and conservation groups, he said.

All of this season’s recharge flows so far have occurred in the south-central region, Wesley Hipke, IWRB recharge program manager, said in the release. Time for additional recharge is running short because the board’s recharge water rights will not be in priority when canal companies and irrigation districts begin deliveries for the 2025 crop season.

“What makes a difference in any given year is what comes next,” he told Capital Press earlier. Snowpack amounts, when and how quickly snow runs off, and reservoir volumes will impact recharge.

“Because of this variability, the board is looking at developing more recharge capacity so no matter when that water comes off, we can capture as much of it as we can before it leaves the state,” Hipke said.

The board has been working to develop new recharge sites in the Upper Snake River Valley, in the state’s east region. The goal is to provide flexibility and capacity when spring flood-control flows are available, he said in the release. The board is evaluating 13 new projects in the area.