6000 Idaho Farmers with 500,000 Acres Needing Water Shut Off by State

June 18, 2024 — bunkerville

Shutting off water to a farmer is a drastic move. Especially after he has already planted his crops in for the year. You would think the Idaho bureaucrats would have gotten their predictor guy predicting before it got this far. The whole story gets even more bizarre as this is Idaho State so we can’t blame D.C. Here we go:

Affected farmers in Idaho say the order to shut their water off was issued after they already paid to plant and fertilize their crops.If the water is shut off, Young said that would mean a total loss for this year’s wheat and barley crop and he would expect to get one cutting of alfalfa in, instead of the three he hoped for.“Being done for this year means absorbing several million dollars in losses this year and we don’t recover from that,” Young said in a phone interview. “That would spell the end of our business and that’s true for everybody else frankly who is farming.”

Young is among the eastern Idaho and Magic Valley family farmers and other water users who hold the 6,400 groundwater rights that are subject to curtailment. The Idaho Department of Water Resources said those water rights holders are being subject to curtailment because they are not in compliance with a state plan.

The Idaho Department of Water Resources said curtailment – or shutting off the water – is necessary because of a predicted water shortfall this year.

When it announced the curtailment order Thursday afternoon, the Idaho Department of Water Resources estimated 500,000 acres of farmland could be affected by shutting off the water.

…

Not to get in the weeds but…..then we learn the process of who gets cut: There are junior and senior groundwater rights holders.

How are water issues governed in Idaho?

On Thursday, Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Mathew Weaver issued a curtailment order that requires 6,400 junior groundwater rights holders who pump off the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer to shut off their water, the Idaho Capital Sun previously reported.

From the Idaho Capital Sun Read more

“Not sure how much longer we will farm. This water curtailment will put us out of business.

The best of the swamp.
Posted in Government. Tags: , , , . 22 Comments »

22 Responses to “6000 Idaho Farmers with 500,000 Acres Needing Water Shut Off by State”

  1. Baysider Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 10:53 pm

    The guy in the video makes a key point about land regeneration. Gabe Brown did this with his worn out family farm/ranch in North Dakota. It takes ANIMALS on the land. Got real soil back in a few short years. It holds the water, as determined by testing. https://brownsranch.us/ Regenerating Landscapes for a Sustainable Future. Yes, what the dept. did was a bureaucratic power play (they know full well the planting schedule in Idaho). And it does make one ask, is there another agenda?

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    • bunkerville Says:
      June 19, 2024 at 4:24 am

      The bottom line is that there is no shortage in either the reservoir or aquifier in this region…. Yes, Northern Idaho but this is the Southeast. And as you mention, everyone knows the planting time…

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  2. Sam Huntington Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 4:19 pm

    I note that Weaver has a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Montana State University and a master of physical science in hydrology from Boise State.  He was named state director of water resources less than a year ago after serving as Assistant Director for a decade or more.

    As I understand this, surface water users have “senior rights,” while groundwater users have “junior rights.”  Weaver’s curtailment order affects those within the Twin Falls Canal Company who hold junior water rights back to 1954. 

    Weaver’s water methodology order was issued in April because the department determined that a shortfall of 74,000 acre-feet of water existed to the Canal Company.  The company had several weeks (until 2 May) to convince the state water department that they complied with an approved mitigation plan and failed to do so.

    This new curtailment, a continuation of a long-standing issue, applies to groundwater users the IDWR determines are not operating under an approved plan, including Bingham Groundwater, Carey Valley, North Snake, Magic Valley, Bonneville-Jefferson, and Jefferson-Clarke districts.  Groundwater districts operating according to an approved plan will not be affected.

    This sort of squabble (with a history dating back several years) saw the last major settlement reached in 2016. Weaver’s order could be rescinded next month if the IDWR determines that the anticipated shortage may not occur. State politics is always bordering on nasty. 

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    • bunkerville Says:
      June 18, 2024 at 4:35 pm

      Thanks for trying to sort it out… I followed it to a point…The Senior water holders are the old timers…back to 1910…. the junior ones came along in the ’50s or so if memory serves me. It would seem that perhaps the seniors would like to get some of the junior credits in order to meet their requirements since they have not met theirs….

      Politics….

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    • bunkerville Says:
      June 18, 2024 at 11:27 am

      As my comment to Mustang, the Snake River aquifer is at 97 percent….. SE Idaho is not the problem. One year or two does not determine the aquifer…

      Back in the 70’s the Poconos in. PA went through a drought of a number of years with many wells going dry. By the 80’s all was back to normal…..

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  4. Mustang Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 10:26 am

    The average annual snowfall statewide is 186 inches.  This year, averages are far less than that.

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    • bunkerville Says:
      June 18, 2024 at 10:53 am

      When I looked before posting, I checked the reservoirs. They are over or close to 100 percent which what was claimed in the video. It would seem that the urgency of stopping the flow of water after the planting of crops is ill planned. I am not sure about the snowfall, but what was discussed was the snow pack. You are right, there is a shortage in Northern Idaho.

      https://snoflo.org/reservoir/idaho

      … the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer. The Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer in Eastern Idaho is the largest aquifer in Idaho, and one of the largest and most productive aquifers in the world. It’s often said that water is the life-blood of Idaho.

      The Snake River aquifer where the farmers have been restricted are at 97 percent. The surrounding areas seem to be close to normal.. Northern Idaho appears to be the area that is having a problem. Here is the map.

      https://idwr.idaho.gov/water-data/water-supply/snow-water-equivalency/

      The issue seems to be about the aquifer…for that it appears to me to make the issue about stopping the farmers in their tracks absurd.

      But you raise a point. Watching the full video one is left with whether a fair distribution of water is occurring. The aquifer issue did not happen overnight nor would one year need to cause such an immediate response I would think.

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  5. nrringlee Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 9:54 am

    Out here in New Zion we have a saying: Whiskey is for drinking. Water is for killing.

    Liked by 1 person

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  6. markone1blog Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 8:29 am

    From what I understand, the state water commissioner is looking at predictions of a shortfall (and, of course, we know how reliable weather/rain/snowfall predictions can be when you are reaching out a year into the future) and using that to determine the current livlihoods of large numbers of farmers. Then again, who needs food?

    Another thing that I have caught from sources in Idaho and Montana is that there has been a bumper crop of snow melt. A number of water districts had to slightly flood certain areas to relieve strain on dams.

    But now that it is time for planting potatoes, this numb nuck is going to start cutting the water allotment.

    Is this why most of Southern Idaho wants to secede to Oregon?

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  7. The Night Wind Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 7:58 am

    No problem: I’m sure that once these farms dry up, Gates, Bezos, and Buffet will swoop in and buy them for pennies on the dollar. When that happens, you can bet that all of this bureaucratic red tape over water rights will disappear like magic.

    Meanwhile, Big Ag can hike the prices on potatoes and wheat and blame the shortage on the Ukraine conflict.

    Liked by 4 people

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  8. petermccullough233 Says:
    June 18, 2024 at 7:24 am

    Bunker

    Word Press on its own changed my name both here and over at Geeez. Go figure.

    Who the hell are these Idahoian legislators (is that a word?) At least while attempting it would seem to destroy farming in their state they’re not blaming their actions on saving a fish ala the insanity in California’s Central Valley.

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