Water Funding

Water Funding

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
The Idaho Water Resource Board has voted to recommend priorities for allocating as much as $70 million in funding appropriated by the Idaho Legislature and approved by Gov. Brad Little for major water infrastructure projects statewide.

It also discussed approval by the Legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee of $1 million in funding for the ongoing implementation of a Flood Management Grant Program, $200,000 of which will be used for Snake water quality analyses in 2021.

Through House Bill 285 approved by the 2019 Idaho Legislature and Senate Bill 1121 recently approved by the 2021 Legislature and signed by Gov. Little, $70 million in funding for critical water projects was provided. In accordance with the legislative direction, the IWRB recommended allocation of the funds as follows:

$28 million for a sustainable water system for Mountain Home Air Force Base. The Board’s contribution would cover the construction of a pipeline from CJ Strike Reservoir to the base.

$22.4 million for large aquifer-recharge projects in Eastern Idaho. The Board is currently researching the capability of several large off-river recharge sites in the Upper Snake River Basin.

$17.6 million in interim funding for raising Anderson Ranch Reservoir by 6 feet to create an additional 29,000 acre-feet of storage water. The Board will coordinate with water users to fund the non-federal portion of the estimated $83 million project. Reclamation is completing the final Environmental Impact Statement on the project; the final design is expected to begin by December 2021.

$2 million to investigate developing more water storage in Bear Lake for water users in the Bear River Basin.

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