08/30/05 Surface users file lawsuit against IDWR

TOMINAGA "One of the things that we were most afraid of is once you get started into the legal debate or the legal issues then this can go on forever." That's Lynn Tominaga, executive director of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators. His comments are a response to a lawsuit filed against a state agency by five Magic Valley irrigation districts and canal companies. The Surface Water Coalition filed for a water call early this year but never got one from Water Resources Director Karl Dreher. Tominaga says the surface water users want to roll back state rules that have been in effect for ten years. TOMINAGA "They're trying to circumvent the rules and they're trying to circumvent the director's orders because they don't like 'em." So what happens now? There's a hearing in January on Dreher's July order that required groundwater users to provide more than 27 thousand acre feet of replacement water this year. With a total of four lawsuits on this issue Idaho judges may decide how the water is managed and their decisions will affect thousands of acres of farm land. And don't forget the wildcard, the weather. Late spring rains lessened irrigation and water demand but with a half a decade of drought behind us no one can predict what's ahead for the winter. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott