By Ruth Brown; Idaho Capital Sun Anderson Ranch Reservoir. The Upper Snake River Basin’s reservoir capacity is nearing its limit as the Portneuf River continues to flood, but the National Weather Service isn’t concerned about spillover from reservoirs in southeast Idaho. Bureau of Reclamation data from Wednesday showed the Henry’s Lake and Grassy Lake reservoirs are at 100% capacity, while most of the reservoirs in the Upper Snake system are between 91 and 98% capacity. Milner Reservoir is only 74% full, and Jackson Lake Reservoir is 71% full. Collectively, the Upper Snake River System is at 88% of capacity, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. There is a minor flood warning in place along the Portneuf River at Pocatello, affecting Bannock County. But Tim Axford, meteorologist at the National Weather…
By Anthony Kuipers; Moscow-Pullman Daily News The Palouse Basin Aquifer Committee presented its report on alternative water sources to the Moscow City Council on Tuesday in an effort to inform city leaders about ways to slow the aquifer’s decline. PBAC hired Alta Science and Engineering Inc. as a consultant to analyze the four alternatives. The recommended alternative is to divert water from the South Fork of the Palouse River in Pullman eight months out of the year, and divert water from Moscow’s Paradise Creek four months out of the year. It was the option that scored the highest based on criteria that includes cost and reliability. During a July PBAC meeting, Alta’s water resources division manager Robin Nimmer said this option had the least expensive capital cost of $73 million…
Kerri Treinen U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho National Laboratory Project Office presenting "An Update of hydrologic Conditions and Distribution of Selected Constituents in Water, Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho" Tuesday Aug. 30, 2022 11:30-12:20 MT (10:30-11:20 Pacific)
By Rachel Cohen; Boise State Public Radio News A water quality sampling line is fed down a groundwater well in southern Idaho. Idaho Water Science Center USGS Water in south central Idaho has had nutrient issues for a long time. That’s according to Kenneth Skinner, a groundwater hydrologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. But Skinner said, while several state and federal agencies have collected data in the Magic Valley area since the 1990s, there hasn’t been a recent analysis of regional groundwater contamination trends. That’s what he set out to complete by analyzing samples of a particularly widespread pollutant, nitrogen, from over 500 groundwater wells. Some common sources of nitrogen are fertilizer and manure. His findings, shared at the Idaho Water Quality Workshop on Wednesday, show nitrate levels in the Magic…
