11/10/08 Eastern Snake Aquifer Management plan

The Idaho Water Resources Board has approved the draft Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan so the public can review it before it goes to the state legislature early next year. Water Resources Hal Anderson says this plan, 18 months in the making is an effort to adjust water supply and demand in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer now and in the future. ANDERSON "The major focus of the plan is what's called the Phase One Actions and that includes adjusting supply and demand through various programs such as converting ground water to surface water irrigation, managed recharge and a number of other things like that." The plan lists several options to change the use of 600 thousand acre feet of water. All of this is predicated on the amount of available money and that price tag is seven to ten million dollars per year for the first ten years. ANDERSON "It really puts the whole eastern part of the state and the state as a whole on a very positive track." The Eastern Snake is the first of the Idaho aquifers that will have a comprehensive management plan with at least a half dozen others to follow. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott