03Mar 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

With grant award, Orofino plans water system upgrade

Idaho News
By Kathy Hedberg; The Lewiston Tribune OROFINO — The city of Orofino will begin a long-range planning project to upgrade the city’s water distribution system following the recent award of a $110,000 grant from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality. The grant is part of a $2 million fund from the American Rescue Plan Act directed to DEQ from Gov. Brad Little. “It’s old infrastructure on the water side,” said Orofino Mayor Sean Simmons. “These funds will be going to inflow and infiltration studies on our collection system. Orofino is fairly old … so we work on it a little bit each year and do what we can.” Simmons said part of the problem is that when it rains in the spring, there is so much additional water that goes…
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28Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Drought, low snowpack may foretell Idaho’s future

Idaho News
Idaho Statesman Bogus Basin Mountain Recreation Area, Boise, ID. Much of Southern Idaho, cut through in scythe like fashion by the Snake River Plain, relies on the frozen water stored in the state’s mountains to fill its rivers. When winter ends and summer’s broiling heat arrives, it is these snowy peaks that serve as the state’s reservoir, filling the Salmon, Snake, Big Lost, Boise and other tributaries with cold, clear water. But as the amount of snowfall declines, with scientists citing the effects of climate change as a key contributor, major problems arise for the state’s ecosystems, residents and agriculture industry. And that erosion is already underway. By the turn of the century, Idaho could see reductions of 35%-65% of its snowpack, according to a study published in Nature Reviews…
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22Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

The climate crisis in Idaho: Experts share environmental and health concerns

Idaho News, Research
By Hanalei Potempa; The Arbiter In Idaho, the negative impacts of the changing climate are becoming more apparent. Climate change is not just one problem. The issue represents how the earth’s climate system is acting differently than how it has been operating for a very long time. It is a complete systemic change resulting from problems happening all over the world, and it affects each place in a different way. “What climate change has done is it has thrown a really big wrench into our ability to predict what’s going to happen in the future given how things have looked in the past,” said Dr. Chris Torres, an environmental studies professor at Boise State. In Idaho, changing climate conditions have caused rising concerns for consistent water sources for residential and…
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14Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Water Supply Committee: Record-dry January, drought outlook ‘grim’

Idaho News
By Meredith Spelbring; East Idaho News TWIN FALLS (KIVI) – After a near “perfect” start to the season, officials with the Idaho Water Supply Committee said a record-dry January and dry forecasts are not ideal for the widespread drought across Idaho. Nearly 50% of Idaho is in drought conditions, with the remaining half of the state approaching drought conditions, according to David Hoekema with the Idaho Department of Water Resources. The fall of 2021 and the beginning of 2022 were “perfect” conditions from a water supply standpoint, but one of the driest 30-day streaks in January is causing concern. “We are getting to a point we are probably going to start recommending an expansion of drought in Idaho if we don’t see the needed precipitation coming in,” said Hoekema. As…
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08Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

To breach or not to breach the Snake River dams?

Idaho News
By Joel Mills; Lewiston Tribune The Little Goose Dam is seen Feb. 2 along the Snake River near Riparia, Wash. Pete Caster. Several Lewiston city councilors got behind a proposed resolution in favor of retaining the four lower Snake River dams after a presentation Monday from members of Citizens for Preservation of Fish and Dams, but one councilor said he wants a similar presentation from the other side before he casts a vote. Marvin Dugger, Dick Sherwin and Dan Caldwell from the dam preservation group offered their take in opposition to Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson’s $33 billion proposal to breach the dams to improve fish habitat. Several other area governmental entities have gone on the record in opposition to the plan, including Nez Perce County. And several city of Lewiston…
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07Feb 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

State eyes ‘once in lifetime’ opportunity to upgrade local water, sewer systems

Idaho News
By Betsy Z. Russell; Idaho Press BOISE — The proposed budget for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality for next year shows something unusual: A 100.7% increase in total funds from this year. The reason: A “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make investments in infrastructure projects that will have an impact for generations to come,” according to state DEQ Director Jess Byrne. Byrne presented the budget to the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Thursday, including proposals from Gov. Brad Little to spend hundreds of millions in federal American Rescue Plan Act funds over the next five years for major upgrades to city drinking and wastewater systems; closing old landfills; addressing contaminated, abandoned mine sites across the state; and more. “When the ARPA dollars arrived, the first thing the governor said was, ‘I…
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28Jan 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Local emergency disaster declared near Cocolalla for water shortage

Idaho News
By Anissa Keith; Bonner County Daily Bee COCOLALLA — Bonner County commissioners declared a local disaster emergency in the Arrowhead Ranch Water Association district due to low well production. Twenty-seven residents in the area have been experiencing a water shortage since March 2020. A water district and homeowners association near Cocolalla, Arrowhead Ranch Water Association officials asked the commission to declare a local disaster emergency so they could pursue funding to resolve the shortage. The district does not have the authority to levy taxes, as they are not a taxing district. “This will allow us to declare their water shortage a public health emergency and will allow them to contact outside agencies for assistance, such as the DEQ,” said Jessi Webster, deputy clerk and business operations manager for the commission.…
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27Jan 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

DEQ seeks representatives for Kootenai Bay Watershed Advisory Group

Idaho News
Bonner County Daily Bee COEUR D’ALENE — The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) seeks representatives from various interest groups to serve on the new Kootenai Bay Watershed Advisory Group (WAG). The WAG is a group of citizens from a diverse set of interests dedicated to improving and protecting water quality in Kootenai Bay in Lake Pend Oreille. Water quality in the bay and the greater Boyer Slough watershed is impacted by year-round stormwater runoff, seasonal snowmelt, and nutrient loading, which flow directly into the Kootenai Bay. DEQ is seeking participants from groups representing agriculture, mining, point source dischargers, forest products, local government, livestock, water-based recreation, environmental interests, and land management or regulatory agencies. Members do not need to be water quality experts to serve on a WAG. Individuals who…
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14Jan 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

So far so good: Water outlook looks promising

Idaho News
By Hannah Ashton; Citizen Tribune Water experts are cautiously optimistic about the 2022 water year. As of Jan. 1, nearly the entire state has seen above-normal snow water equivalent, which describes the amount of water in the snowpack if it was melted, said Daniel Tappa, hydrologist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service. The new water year started Oct. 1. Many of the basins across the state have a buffer, meaning they have a higher snow water equivalent than the same time last year, Tappa said during the Idaho Water Supply Committee meeting on Thursday. Soil moisture is another check in the positive column. Across the state, soil moisture is high due to warmer than normal temperatures in November. Moist soils mean the ground won’t absorb all the water from snowmelt…
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13Jan 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Port on Columbia River Fined $1.3M Over Nitrate Violations

Idaho News, National News
By The Associated Press; The Oregonian BOARDMAN, Ore. (AP) — Oregon has fined the Port of Morrow along the Columbia River $1.3 million for repeatedly over-applying agricultural wastewater on nearby farms in an area that already has elevated levels of groundwater nitrates. The Capital Press reports the state Department of Environmental Quality announced the fine Tuesday. High levels of nitrates in drinking water are linked with serious health concerns, particularly for babies and pregnant women. The Port of Morrow is Oregon’s second-largest port, behind the Port of Portland. It is in the Umatilla Basin of northeast Oregon, where in 1990 the state declared a Groundwater Management Area because of high levels of groundwater nitrates. Groundwater is used as a primary source of drinking water across the basin, which spans northern Umatilla and…
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