As commercial and residential development increase in Idaho, so do the points of conflict between rural and urban lifestyles.
Subdivisions and business parks route storm-water runoff into irrigation ditches that run through cities, prompting one irrigation district - Pioneer, serving Canyon and Ada counties - to sue the city of Caldwell and ask for a statewide Rural-Urban Encroachment Issues Summit.
The Idaho Water Users Association board agreed at its quarterly meeting Thursday to pursue such a meeting, ideally to be held this fall, IWUA Executive Director Norm Semanko said.
Semanko said he will contact various interest groups, including associations of cities, counties and highway districts, before crafting an agenda that would be useful to all. One important aspect of getting together, he said, would be to foster mutual respect between local government and irrigation interests.
"With growth and widening roads, there are more and more interfaces and more potential conflicts," Semanko said. "These issues are only going to increase in the future."
Two conflicts regarding runoff are simmering in Treasure Valley courts. Settlers Irrigation District's lawsuit against the Ada County Highway District began in 2006 and is scheduled for trial next year. Pioneer Irrigation District filed a similar suit against Caldwell in January, and the city filed a counterclaim. The city wants a jury trial; the district wants an injunction or other judicial ruling that doesn't require a trial. A motion hearing is scheduled for Thursday.
A Caldwell city manual adopted in 2006 directs developers to build drains that route runoff into irrigation district ditches, which Pioneer contends violates state law, poses a potential health risk and exposes the district to liability.
The city responds that it has not violated the law and has the authority and responsibility to manage storm water within the city and its impact area. The city also contends Pioneer's lawsuit mischaracterizes the city manual and the runoff from developments constructed under the manual's provisions.
"No unreasonable or material interference with Pioneer's easements or right of way has occurred," the city states in its counterclaim.
Pioneer's board of directors sent a letter to Semanko July 11, saying encroachment should be studied statewide and asking for a summit in the Treasure Valley within the next few months.
Goals of the gathering should be "to establish the scope, degree and extent of urban encroachment and storm water runoff problems; to establish a framework in which negotiations and dialogue between irrigation entities and municipalities could take place; and to identify specific solutions such as legislative action," the Pioneer board wrote.
Kristin Rodine: 377-6447
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