26Sep 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Department of Agriculture reminds people of fishing ban in portions of Snake River due to discovery of invasive quagga mussels in Idaho

Idaho News
By Kara Valentine; KTVB Quagga mussel infestation from Lake Michigan. NOAA. TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A fishing ban on a stretch of the Snake River was put into effect Friday, Sept. 22, in response to the detection of quagga mussels in Twin Falls. "This is more than a local Twin Falls issue because so many people from the Treasure Valley use the Snake River," a public information officer wrote. As part of the emergency declaration, Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG), along with the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, closed fishing of any kind on the Snake River from Twin Falls Hydroelectric Dam to the bridge crossing the Snake River at Highway 46. On Monday, Sept. 25 the Idaho State Department of Agriculture said people are not staying off the water.…
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25Sep 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

NOAA predicts warmer, drier winter in Idaho

Idaho News
By Greg Foley; Idaho Mountain Express The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service is predicting warmer and drier conditions in Idaho during the heart of the winter.Map courtesy of NOAA. Return of El Niño likely to influence nation’s weather in different ways, agency states The weather in the Northwest is likely to be warmer and drier than normal this coming winter, possibly leaving skiers and other outdoor enthusiasts longing for the heavy snowfalls of last year. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service, which released a set of official long-range weather forecasts on Thursday. The forecast maps for the heart of the winter—December, January and February—indicate above-normal temperatures for most of the northern part of the…
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25Jul 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Department of Water Resources won’t shut off groundwater users – at this point

Idaho News
By Clark Corbin; Idaho Capital Sun The south fork of the Snake River runs for more than 60 miles across southeastern Idaho. (Courtesy of Bureau of Land Management) The Idaho Department of Water Resources won’t be shutting off the water for hundreds of groundwater users pumping off the Eastern Snake Plan Aquifer in Idaho at this point in the summer. Last week, Idaho Department of Water Resources Director Gary Spackman found that there was no water demand shortfall for surface water users based on mid-summer water supplies and crop demand, the department announced in a press release issued Thursday. As a result of Spackman’s decision, it will not be necessary to curtail, or shut off the water, for the junior groundwater users, according to the press release. That’s good news…
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18Apr 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Climatologists: El Nino coming, could be a strong one

Idaho News
By Don Jenkins; Capital Press Federal climatologists Thursday predicted the return of El Nino, a phenomenon associated with warm Northwest winters and low snowpacks. The odds favor a weak El Nino forming between May and July and gaining strength in the fall, according to the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center. The center projected a 41% chance that a strong El Nino will prevail by the winter. It would be the first strong El Nino since 2014-15, a winter of historically low snowpacks in Oregon and Washington, and the first El Nino of any strength since 2018-19. El Nino's opposite, La Nina, has reigned the past three winters. Spring forecasts are shaky, but wind anomalies and a wave of warm water moving toward South America support the prediction that El…
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31Mar 2023 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho experiences ‘impressive’ water year

Idaho News
By Carol Ryan Duman; Capital Press After years of water supply shortages and drought, basins in southeastern Idaho have received well above normal precipitation this winter. Not only are all basins well above normal for precipitation and snow water equivalent, but recent snowfall has brought record to near-record snow depths as well, the Natural Resources Conservation Service reported in its March 1 Water Supply Outlook report. “With over a month to go in the snow accumulation season, there is plenty of time for more snow to fall in this already impressive water year,” NRCS hydrologists said. Since the last report, snowpack percentages compared to the 30-year median snowpack slightly increased in the Panhandle, Clearwater, Salmon Falls and Willow-Blackfoot-Portneuf basins and decreased in the rest of the state. “In other words,…
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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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21Dec 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

EPA Announces $263 Million WIFIA Loan to Boise, Idaho to Modernize Wastewater Infrastructure and help recharge the Boise River water supply

Idaho News, National News
WASHINGTON — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a $263 million Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) loan to the City of Boise, Idaho, to support its Water Renewal Services Capital Investments Project. With this WIFIA loan, EPA is helping the City of Boise improve wastewater treatment processes to protect the Boise River’s water quality and ultimately recharge the drought burdened Boise River with high quality effluent. “Maintaining and upgrading water infrastructure is essential for the health of a community like Boise, which is a fast-growing city struggling with drought,” EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox said. “Thanks to this WIFIA loan, the City of Boise can upgrade wastewater treatment technology to better safeguard the Boise River and even help recharge its water supply while providing good-paying jobs.”…
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28Nov 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Water Resource Board invests in aquifer recharge, irrigation efficiency projects

Idaho News
Capital Press The Idaho Water Resource Board’s Milepost 31 Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer recharge site. Projects adding to recharge capacity are among those funded by the board Nov. 18. Boosting aquifer levels and improving irrigation delivery efficiency are the focus of Idaho Water Resource Board moves to financially support several projects in the state’s south-central and southeast regions. The board Nov. 18 approved a $14.1 million loan to Raft River Recharge Group. Plans call for building a pump station on the Snake River, a 13-mile pipeline, and recharge basins to add water to a declining aquifer in a state-designated critical groundwater management area. The declining aquifer levels are a key factor in intermittent surface flows on the Raft River, a Snake tributary. Most farmers are now pumping groundwater for irrigation,…
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23Nov 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Cold temps promising for snowpack, but Idaho’s drought outlook for 2023 unclear

Idaho News
By Erin Banks Rusby; Idaho Press Snowpack at Bogus Basin in Boise, Idaho. The normal high temperature for Boise on Nov. 9 is 52 degrees. But this year on that day, the high was just in the 30s. Even in mid-November, Boise’s normal highs are in the 40s, said Troy Lindquist, a senior hydrologist with the National Weather Service. That said, the Treasure Valley’s recent cold weather in tandem with the snow that fell is good news for Idaho’s water supply, he said. “That’s nearly 20 degrees below normal, for Boise, so it’s definitely going to be chilly,” Lindquist said during a meeting earlier this month about the outlook for Idaho’s water supply over the next year. “The nice thing about this is we’ve got a fast start to our…
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