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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27Jan 2022 by Nicole Rinaldi

Supreme Court tees up wetlands fight that could cuff EPA

National News
E&E News Idaho landowners Chantell and Michael Sackett are behind a new Supreme Court case that could upend Clean Water Act precedent. Pacific Legal Foundation The Supreme Court’s decision today to take a fresh look at the scope of the Clean Water Act could impair EPA’s ability to protect isolated wetlands and ephemeral and intermittent streams. It’s the latest brawl the high court has agreed to tackle with the potential to reshape national environmental policy. “They very well could address this whole issue fresh, what we call de novo, look at it in light of what the language of the statute really means,” said Larry Liebesman, a senior adviser at Dawson & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in permitting. “With a 6-3 majority conservative, there’s a fair chance they may…
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Idaho Water Quality Workshop

Please join Idaho DEQ and Boise State University for the 32nd annual Idaho Water Quality Workshop.  It is the longest-running and best-attended gathering of water quality professionals in the state.  Agenda topics will include stream restoration, nutrient and metal pollution, reservoirs and more. The conference will be held March 16-17, 2022, in Boise.  We will have a hybrid format, so you can choose whether to attend in person or virtually. Attendees and presenters hail from Idaho and neighboring states, and include agencies, consultants, tribes, cities, academics, and the public.  This mix provides outstanding opportunities for discussion and networking.  Unlike almost every other conference, attendance is free.  That includes drinks, snacks, and an afternoon social hour. If you would like to join us, please register on the website.
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14Dec 2021 by Nicole Rinaldi

Clean water at Canyon

Idaho News
By Chelsea Newby, Shoshone News Press CATALDO — Canyon Elementary School appears to have found the light at the end of the tunnel for its school’s water system worries. The rural elementary school has been operating under Panhandle Health’s boil order since Oct. 20, after its quarterly water sample led to the discovery of E. coli bacteria in the school’s reservoir tank. After several minor repairs and attempts to clean the tank proved unsuccessful, the school went on to hire a specialty company to perform a final deep-cleaning and extended chlorination flush of the reservoir tank during the school's Thanksgiving break. Canyon Elementary students and staff are back to using the water for hand washing only — taking extra precautions until Jan. 3 when results of the final water sample…
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20Oct 2021 by Nicole Rinaldi

Cascade Reservoir Water Quality Study Set

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson, Capital Press The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation will study the Cascade Reservoir in Idaho to figure out ways to improve its water quality. Cascade Reservoir, near timberlands and meadows about 80 miles north of Boise, is shallow and subject to algae blooms. The blooms are driven by high water temperatures and nutrient levels. It also is known as Lake Cascade. The Snake River Area Office received a $308,200 grant for the pilot project to model the reservoir's operations. The goal is to find operations-related ways to improve water quality. The pilot project will evaluate whether operations at Cascade and nearby Deadwood Reservoir can be coordinated to improve water quality. Operating alternatives will consider “all requirements and constraints” such as physical capacity, irrigation demands, flow augmentation and flood…
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24Sep 2021 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Water Resource Board Expands Cloud Seeding

Idaho News
By Brad Carlson, Capital Press The Idaho Water Resource Board at its Sept. 16-17 meeting voted to continue cloud-seeding programs — and to start a new effort this winter in the state’s southeast corner. House Bill 266, which he Legislature passed this year, says the board is responsible for authorizing cloud seeding and may participate in it and hire contractors. HB 266 directs the board to identify additional basins that cloud seeding would benefit, and to work with stakeholders. It limits liability for participating in certain projects and says no state or local permits are required. Cloud seeding has been used in parts of Idaho for years. Upper Snake, Big Wood, Boise and Payette river basins have aircraft- or ground-based iequipment to seed winter storms. The board is continuing its…
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22Sep 2021 by Nicole Rinaldi

Idaho Seeking $2M Worth Of Project Ideas To Reduce Phosphorous In Lake Coeur d’Alene

Idaho News
By Samantha Wohlfeil, Inlander Idaho's Department of Environmental Quality will soon be awarding $2 million to projects that will reduce phosphorous on Coeur d'Alene Lake. The funding from the state is part of Gov. Brad Little's "Building Idaho's Future" plan. The projects are intended to prevent the lake from reaching a dangerous tipping point where heavy metal contamination that has mostly remained in sediments could become suspended in the water column due to a shift in the water chemistry. Like much of North Idaho, the lake faces issues with contamination deposited during decades of silver and lead mining in the region. To be eligible, projects must include on-the-ground reductions in phosphorous, be located in Idaho within the watersheds that drain into Coeur d'Alene Lake, and have community support. Projects on…
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