Not only East Idaho is hurt by the water crisis. South Idaho farmers need water too | Opinion
When you think of Idaho, the first thing that comes to mind is agriculture. It is the backbone of our state’s economy and identity. From barley and wheat to beef and milk, the farmers and ranchers of southern Idaho are the reason so many of us have quality food on our tables.
There is one key ingredient needed by every agricultural producer, no matter the location: water. Unfortunately, it appears some have forgotten that eastern Idaho is not the only recipient of this essential resource from the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer — all southern Idaho farmers rely on that same water.
Now, nearly 200,000 acres of productive farmland in Twin Falls County are seeing a shortfall of critical water due to the unlawful actions of a few groundwater districts in eastern Idaho.
As elected representatives for Twin Falls County, it is our job as county commissioners to protect the best interests of our constituents. And in our county, most of our citizens are involved in the agriculture industry. It is truly the lifeblood of our region. But southern Idaho is also a desert, so it is thanks to our efficient irrigation systems that our agricultural producers can utilize the dry climate to grow the best crops.
This is why the disagreement in eastern Idaho over Idaho’s water right laws and mitigation plans is so disheartening; those junior water right holders are not fighting back against overreach from the governor or the Idaho Department of Water Resources, and they’re not taking water back from corporations or politicians like they say they are. What they are advocating for is taking water that is legally owed to our senior water right users in Twin Falls County, while at the same time mining water from the severely declining the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer.
No one wants to see a single piece of Idaho farmland dry up. But the fact is, eastern Idaho junior water users are refusing to adhere to the court-approved mitigation plans and orders that aim to recharge and recover our Aquifer. The ESPA provides drinking water for 300,000 people and irrigation for over two million acres of farmland. Junior water rights holders do not have “priority” under our state constitution, not on a river, not to the aquifer. Yet that is the result some users are championing: to turn the prior appropriation doctrine on its head.
Our southern Idaho farmers, including those with senior water rights, need water too. And right now, they are seeing a very real shortage that is putting their family farms in danger.
It is time we stopped making the governor and IDWR the boogeyman. Under Idaho’s Constitution, water is allocated conjunctively by first in time, first in right. Thus, those who hold earlier water rights are dubbed as “senior” and are to be granted access to their share of this finite resource first. The governor and IDWR must follow the law that says if a shortage is calculated that would injure a senior water right user, junior users must mitigate to make up for it. The 2016 mitigation plan was agreed to by all groundwater users and has effectively provided safe harbor to groundwater users who comply with their mitigation plans. It has been approved by IDWR and upheld by the district court.
It is disappointing that so many are unjustly upset with our state leaders for doing their job: following and upholding Idaho law. It is also disappointing that certain groundwater districts prefer to litigate rather than find solutions for their members.
The other major concern here is the lack of regard for the health of our aquifer. The ESPA’s levels are at an almost record low, levels we haven’t seen since 1916. We have all witnessed the severe drought in our region these last few years; we’re seeing less rainfall and reduced spring runs to the Snake River from the lack of snowmelt, all of which is directly hurting the ESPA. The Aquifer lost over 1,000,000 acre-feet of water from 2022 to 2023 alone.
If we want our future generations to have access to clean drinking water and enough water to continue fueling all of eastern and southern Idaho’s farms, we need to support our governor, IDWR and our senior water right users for working to replenish the ESPA and uphold the law of the land.
Eastern Idaho’s farmers are not the only ones who need water — our southern Idaho farmers deserve the water they are entitled to under their senior rights. We believe the junior water users should step up to the table with the senior right holders to find a sensible and efficient path forward that benefits all present and future farmers.
We must protect the Eastern Snake River Plan Aquifer, and we need to support all the farmers of Idaho’s agriculture industry.