News

09Mar 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

OUR GEM: Aquifer Atlas fifth edition to be available this spring

Idaho News, Research
By Seth Oliver; Guest Contributor for the Coeur d'Alene Press The fifth edition of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA) Atlas is set to be printed and available early this spring. Seen here: A depiction of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. The fifth edition of the Spokane Valley-Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (SVRPA) Atlas is set to be printed and available early this spring. The SVRPA Atlas is a collaborative effort of groundwater professionals, water quality experts, environmental specialists and science educators from Washington and Idaho to disseminate the most up-to-date information on our region’s sole source of drinking water. The SVRPA Atlas is the culmination of hard work among more than 30 individuals over the past 20 years to consolidate some of the most important information regarding our region’s aquifer, including…
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06Mar 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Bear Lake Watch introduces legislation in Idaho to preserve the lake

Idaho News
By Rod Boam; Cache Valley Daily File photo of Bear Lake in the winter. FISH HEVAN – David and Claudia Cottle of Bear Lake Watch are introducing a resolution to the Idaho State Legislature to have Bear Lake be recognized, protected and preserved for future generations. They also want it recognized for its unique geological features, fisheries, and recreational value among other characteristics. “Idaho has preserved other lakes in their state but not Bear Lake,” Claudia said. “They have been preserving lakes in their state since the 1920’s.” The Cottles have done their homework and gained support from communities around the lake and from Pacific Corp, the power company that controls the water gates that pump water into the Bear River. They also went to the Bear River Irrigation Company…
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15Feb 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Experts hopeful snowpack helps buck Idaho’s drought conditions

Idaho News
By Carolyn Komatsoulis; Idaho Press Mores Creek and the Robie Creek region is seen from the road above the canyon east of Boise on Feb. 9, 2022. The last two years have seen drier-than-normal springs. Jake King/Idaho Press Love was in the air on Tuesday, and so was snow, at least in Boise and the Treasure Valley overnight. It’s likely that the state could buck the trend of drier consecutive La Niña winters, something that hasn’t happened since the 1950s in the part of Idaho south of the Salmon River. But that doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed. “We’re off to a nice snowy day today and we should have gotten some decent precip up in the mountains last night,” said David Hoekema, Idaho Department of Water Resources hydrologist. “We’re likely to…
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08Feb 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

DEQ awards nearly $52 million to six drinking water and wastewater systems across Idaho

Idaho News
Contact: MaryAnna Peavey, Grants and Loans Bureau Chief The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced the award of $51,335,442 in construction grants to six drinking water and wastewater systems. These construction projects are funded from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds that Governor Brad Little directed to DEQ in 2022. “Water is our most valuable resource, and we absolutely must keep up the infrastructure to ensure water is clean and plentiful for this generation and future ones. That is why we made historic investments in water quality and quantity this year as part of my ‘Leading Idaho’ plan,” Governor Little said. “These investments also could keep your property taxes low. Property taxes are determined locally but the investments we made in water and other infrastructure needs at the state…
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31Jan 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

U of I researching artificial beaver dams as stream restoration tool

Idaho News
By John O'Connell; University of Idaho A beaver dam analog at Rinker Rock Creek Ranch. University of Idaho. University of Idaho researchers are testing artificial beaver dams as a tool to restore degraded stream systems, thereby improving riparian habitat and bolstering the late-season water supply. Known as beaver dam analogs, these structures comprise the same materials beavers use in nature, including willow boughs, sediment and stone. They cause water to pool and spill beyond the banks. The spillage supports marshland vegetation before seeping into the groundwater and re-emerging later in the season downstream. Beaver dam analogs provide an option to restore habitat where resources are insufficient to support beavers or where beavers would pose a nuisance. A team of researchers with U of I’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences…
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24Jan 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Study finds freshwater fish contain high levels of ‘forever chemicals’ contamination

Idaho News
Scripps News A new study from Environmental Working Group scientists found that eating just one freshwater fish could be the equivalent of drinking a month’s worth of water contaminated with PFOS. That’s a set of “forever chemicals” in the same family as PFAS. Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are found in nonstick and water-resistant consumer products. PFAS are commonly referred to as forever chemicals because they do not break down in the environment. “For anyone consuming freshwater fish, we actually think this is likely their largest source of exposure to these compounds,” said David Andrews, EWG senior scientist and one of the study’s lead authors. The scientists analyzed data from over 500 fish fillet samples that were collected across the U.S. from 2013 to 2015 under monitoring programs by…
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19Jan 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Snake headwater reservoirs benefit less from recent storms

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson; Capital Press Palisades Reservoir on the Upper Snake River in eastern Idaho. Comstock Upper Snake River managers are watching the basin’s important east side, where headwater areas so far have seen comparatively less benefit from recent Pacific storms. Snowpack to date for the Oct. 1 water year is looking good, but total precipitation in the east is trailing the other smaller sub-basins, said Brian Stevens, area water operations manager for the U.S.Bureau of Reclamation’s Upper Snake Field Office in Heyburn, Idaho. “The eastern side of the Upper Snake basin is by far the largest contributor to runoff volumes in the system, and we still need above-average precipitation for the rest of the winter and spring — into late June — to have potential to fill the system,”…
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10Jan 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Little calls for more spending on water, roads, rural infrastructure

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson; Capital Press Idaho Gov. Brad Little will again ask the Legislature to spend substantially on water and road infrastructure, and other work that benefits the agriculture sector and rural communities. The proposed spending of money available in the short term — from a state budget surplus and federal economic stimulus funds — targets long-term benefits, said Alex Adams, the governor’s budget director. Water infrastructure exemplifies ongoing needs, he said. Last year’s grant requests to help pay for system improvements easily exceeded the increased money available, and much of the new money to add storage capacity went to a few big projects. Continuing to make long-range, strategic investments in roads, water and other key areas bodes well for quality of life and reduces burdens on local budgets, Little…
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06Jan 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho DEQ awards more than $59 million to municipalities for water improvements

Idaho News
By Kelcie Moseley-Morris; Idaho Capital Sun (Getty Images) The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality announced grant awards of more than $59 million from federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to improve 11 drinking water and wastewater systems across the state, according to a press release. The $59.1 million in construction grants are part of $300 million distributed through the State Revolving Loan Fund in 2022 and Gov. Brad Little’s Leading Idaho initiative. “Water is our most valuable resource, and we absolutely must keep up the infrastructure to ensure water is clean and plentiful for this generation and future ones,” Little said in the release. “These investments also could keep your property taxes low. Property taxes are determined locally, but the investments we made in water and other infrastructure needs at…
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27Dec 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

About Facebook Kuna’s power, water, tax incentives, employees, roads — and urban renewal

Idaho News
By Margaret Carmel; BoiseDev Proposed data center for Meta Platforms Inc. in Kuna, Idaho. Via Meta Facebook’s parent company Meta announced this week it’s bringing a new data center to town and with it came a slew of questions. Two years after Governor Brad Little signed legislation giving a tax break for data centers, Meta announced to great fanfare its plans to bring a facility to Kuna and bring 1,200 jobs and water infrastructure with it. But, how will this project impact industrial growth east of Kuna? What will Meta’s promised water project look like? Here’s what we know (and don’t know) so far. Water, water, water There are still a lot of unanswered questions about Meta’s promise to “add more water than we consume” to Boise’s watershed. Aaron Scheff,…
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