After weeks of negotiations between Idaho’s surface water users and groundwater districts, a compromise has been reached that ends the potential water curtailment order from the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

The temporary agreement ensures Idaho’s farmers along the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer will continue to have access to water this growing season.

The curtailment order was issued May 30 as part of the Surface Water Coalition’s ongoing delivery call after the department projected Twin Falls Canal Co. might sustain a water supply shortage of 74,100 acre-feet.

It affected about 6,400 junior water rights in six groundwater districts in eastern and south-central Idaho that were not operating under an approved mitigation plan. The curtailment would have cut off water to about 500,000 acres.

Negotiations

Two districts in the Magic Valley area filed notices with IDWR on June 5 demonstrating they were now in compliance, operating under an approved plan.

On June 13, IDWR Director Mathew Weaver paused compliance field inspections in recognition of “substantial progress” in negotiations with the other four groundwater districts — three in eastern Idaho and one in south-central Idaho.

According to the 2024 temporary agreement, all surface water and groundwater users in the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer will need to create and agree to a new water right plan that adheres to the Idaho Constitution’s prior appropriation doctrine of “first in time, first in right.”

In addition, a more permanent plan between senior and junior water right holders must be reached by early this fall.

Next step

Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke hailed the compromise in statements released Thursday morning but said there is more work to be done.

“I sincerely appreciate all the stakeholders and user groups for their hard work. I especially want to thank Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, a widely recognized technical expert in water, for answering my call to assist in the negotiations. Lt. Gov. Bedke proved once again he is a leader who can bring folks together and find a workable solution,” Little said.

“The past few weeks have been difficult for everyone affected by this water crisis,” Bedke said.

“The many hours of discussion and negotiation have highlighted areas of agreement as well as areas of deep disagreement among water users in the region,” he said.

“I appreciate that our southern Idaho surface water and groundwater users were able to put aside their differences and come together to create an equitable solution that guarantees no water is shut off, no Idaho laws are broken, and the crops already in the ground will be ready for harvesting,” he said.

Long-term solution

“But it’s imperative that those same parties understand their work is not finished. We absolutely cannot go into another growing season without arriving at a mutually agreeable mitigation plan. There are still a number of significant details to work out before we can arrive at a solid, workable plan,” he said.

Bedke said he is willing to use his office and experience to facilitate the ongoing negotiations that will be necessary to find a fair, long-term solution that guarantees a predictable water supply in the future.