Our View: Water deal paves way for long-term solution

Whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting over. For decades, Idaho water users have dutifully upheld at least the second half of this famed phrase.

But water wars and protracted litigation serve no one except attorneys. Idaho's water is a scarce resource, an indisputable fact that demands more cooperation, not less.

A water agreement announced late last month is nothing short of a breakthrough, benefitting power customers and fish alike.

The agreement takes the state and its largest utility, Idaho Power, out of the courtroom. It signifies a common vision of Idaho's complex and heavily burdened water system.

And the agreement reflects growing sophistication in Idaho's understanding of the science of water.

At issue is "recharge," the gradual and vitally important seepage of water from the Snake River into the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. Stretching from Ashton to King Hill, the aquifer is a critically important water source for farmers and communities in much of southern Idaho.

These farmers and residential and commercial water users operated for years under a false assumption. They once treated the aquifer as a limitless supply. With time, and a more sophisticated understanding of hydrology, Idahoans now recognize that the aquifer is gradually depleting.

Hence the demand for aquifer recharge - a policy favored by southern Idaho farmers, and long resisted by Idaho Power. Seeing recharge as a threat to the water supply that provides inexpensive hydropower to its 484,000 customers, Idaho Power has gone to the Statehouse and to the courtroom to assert its claims on water.

But Idaho Power's thinking also has grown more sophisticated. The utility now sees recharge as a potential benefit. Cold water comes out of the aquifer, at the Thousand Springs area near Hagerman, feeding the Snake River. This cold water should reduce the temperature in the Snake River - a potential boon to spawning fish. This, in turn, is a potential breakthrough for Idaho Power, as it hopes to gain relicensing of its Hells Canyon hydroelectric dam downriver.

As Idaho Power senior attorney Jim Tucker told the Statesman's Rocky Barker: "It just makes sense for us to look at this as one holistic river system."

It's equally important to take a collaborative approach. A zero-sum view of water use - power vs. agriculture, urban vs. rural - makes for good fighting words, but doesn't help Idaho plan for a 21st century economy. This isn't a zero-sum game: Hydro generation and irrigated agriculture are both beneficial uses. The key is in finding a balance that gives long-term security to water users.

For the state and for Idaho Power, that is the task that lies ahead. The settlement commits the two parties to further discussions on managing water issues, and the 1984 Swan Falls agreement that lies at the heart of Idaho water management.

But the fact that the parties have agreed to talk is a milestone in itself. As Gov. Butch Otter said late last month: "There are very few limits to what people of good will can accomplish when they sit down and reason together."

The agreement isn't a done deal. The 2009 Legislature must approve three bills to put the settlement into state law. For a 2009 session short on long-term successes, this would be a win. And an easy one. The hard work has already been done - by the negotiators who will have more hard work ahead of them.

"Our View" is the editorial position of the Idaho Statesman. It is an unsigned opinion expressing the consensus of the Statesman's editorial board. To comment on an editorial or suggest a topic, e-mail editorial@idahostatesman.com.