Conserving water and increasing supply are both critical to Treasure Valley’s future

Over the holidays, I did some blue-sky thinking about many of the crucial, positive things that have occurred with the management of our water and the challenges that lie ahead. Water is the lifeblood of Idaho, and careful management and conservation of our water resources will be paramount in the future.

Because of the ability of Idahoans to work together, we are prepared for growth as the fastest-growing state in the nation.

On the positive side of the ledger, we have a lot to be thankful for looking ahead to 2019.

Thanks to the political and financial support from former Gov. Butch Otter, House Speaker Scott Bedke and the Idaho Legislature, the Idaho Water Resource Board recharged more than 525,000 acre-feet of water into the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) last year — double the annual goal. That initiative, combined with the 2015 Water Settlement between surface water and groundwater users, plus two robust winters in a row, increased the water volume in the ESPA by 1.7 million acre-feet in 2018, the largest increase in 80 years.

Now we have the cities from the ESPA region signing onto the 2015 water settlement, completing a deal that will save millions in unwanted legal fees and litigation over water rights issues in the ESPA. This is a monumental achievement that should make Idahoans proud.

Incoming Gov. Brad Little pointed out in his State of the State address that we need to continue to invest in ESPA recharge year-in and year-out. We couldn’t agree more.

Looking ahead, we need everyone’s help in conserving water as our state welcomes new citizens every day.

The Treasure Valley is the fastest-growing region of the state. Two years ago, the Idaho Water Resource Board commissioned a water-demand study for the Treasure Valley region. It predicted that population in the region will increase to 1.6 million people by 2065, and the water demand for domestic, commercial, industrial and municipal uses will increase by a range of 109,000-188,000 acre-feet by that time.

We know we will need more water to handle that growth. We will need to find new ways to conserve the existing water resources we have in the Treasure Valley, and look for additional water supplies. For example, the board is working with the Bureau of Reclamation to study raising Anderson Ranch Dam by several feet to increase water supplies by 29,000 acre-feet.

That’s a start. The Water Resource Board is also focused on the Treasure Valley aquifer, including commissioning the development of a groundwater model to document what our aquifer supplies are today, and a study of aquifer recharge potential to look for creative ways to recharge surplus flows into the aquifers.

So as we roll into 2019, let’s all do what we can to conserve the water we use on a daily basis. Let’s plan for the future and address our biggest challenges head-on.

This story was originally published January 23, 2019 at 6:39 PM.