10/04/06 2006 Idaho water year ends

October first begins a new water year in Idaho. Ron Abromovich of the NRCS snow survey says for the water year just ended, the Clearwater and Panhandle basins had normal amounts of precipitation. The Oakley basin was highest at 135 percent of average while the Big Lost was lowest with 88 percent. ABROMOVICH "Weiser basin was a little below average at 84, the Payette basin 114 percent, Boise basin 119, and the Big Wood basin 123. Henry's Fork and Teton's were 108 and then the upper Snake basin above Palisades was only 97 percent, the low elevation Willow, Blackfoot and Portnuef basins are 114 percent of average, Salmon Falls 121, Bruneau 117, Owyhee basin 123 percent and even the Bear River was above average at 108 percent of average." Those numbers didn't mean an end to six or seven years of drought but it was a nice change, even with flooding last spring in some areas. ABROMOVICH "Ground water levels in the Big Lost basin came up 30 to 40 feet in some areas." Tomorrow, it's called El Nino. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott