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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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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IWRRI Seminar – “Let’s Talk About Poop: Sources and Solutions of Waste in Waterways”

Please help us welcome: Hope Braithwaite Utah State University, Department of Watershed Sciences presenting "Let's Talk About Poop: Sources and Solutions of Waste in Waterways"  Tuesday Sept. 6, 2022 11:30-12:20 MT (10:30-11:20 Pacific) Locations:    UI-Moscow @ CNR 14 UI-Boise @ Water Center 250 ISU-Pocatello @ Physical Sciences Room 232 or join us from anywhere on Zoom at:  https://uidaho.zoom.us/j/88575032383
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Our Gem: The Confluence Project is making science fun

Idaho News
Coeur d’Alene Press The Our Gem Collaboratives’ mission is to preserve lake health and protect water quality by promoting community awareness of local resources through education, outreach and stewardship. There is a unique program for high school students that embodies the kind of educational outreach the Our Gem Collaborative strives to achieve. This program not only immerses students in local water resource issues but allows them to get outside and actually experience their local environment. The Confluence Project (TCP) is a year-long program that connects students to North Idaho’s lakes, streams, mountains and aquifer through a combination of on-site studies and classroom work. There weren’t programs like this in schools in the past. This program is unique to North Idaho. The curriculum was created by graduate students at the University…
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You asked: Where will Avimor get its water from?

Idaho News
By Margaret Carmel; BoiseDev The entrance of Avimor off of Highway 55. Photo: Margaret Carmel/BoiseDev Police, fire, and emergency medical services aren’t the only essentials a developer needs to sort out when building a subdivision in the Boise foothills. Avimor, a growing community spanning the Ada, Boise, and Gem county lines, hopes to build nearly 10,000 homes by its completion in the coming decades. Along with the necessary road improvements, businesses, a community center, and the homes themselves, developer Dan Richter also has to build a water system to serve the homes along Highway 55. Between the combination of wells, surface water rights on the property dating back over a century, and a boost from Suez, Richter says nearly the entire project will be served by water in the ground…
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