Water curtailment

The Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources (IDWR) has issued a water order predicting a 40,500 acre-foot shortfall to senior priority surface water rights in the Eastern Snake River Plain (ESPA) region in the 2021 irrigation season.

The projection this year is for 2.6 million acre-feet of runoff from April to July at the Heise gauge of the Snake River, which is 80 percent of normal.

The shortfall prediction means that certain ground water users may be subject to curtailment in the 2021 irrigation season if they are not participants in, or not in compliance with, an approved mitigation plan with a ground water district.

Currently, there are at least four approved mitigation plans for the ESPA surface water delivery call. These plans benefit members of the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators, Inc. (IGWA), A&B Irrigation District, Southwest and Goose Creek Irrigation Districts, and certain cities referred to as the "Participating Cities."

IDWR will issue a subsequent order identifying which junior ground water users are subject to curtailment