05/02/07 April rains were hit or miss

Idaho Department of Water Resources Director David Tuthill has served notice to groundwater users in the Thousand Springs area that they will have to shut down their pumps so that two trout producers can get the water they need. 771 farm, industrial, commercial and municipal users could lose access to the water unless there's an agreement by May 14th. Idaho Groundwater Appropriators executive director Lynn Tominaga says some curtailment in parts of the Magic Valley now seems likely. Groundwater pumpers have been able to respond successfully to water delivery calls that started in 2005. TOMINAGA "We're not going to be able to meet that third year of mitigation." With a poor snowpack this year, very little aquifer recharge and the call by senior water right holders a lot of farm acres could go dry this summer. TOMINAGA "If we pull back all of our mitigation then you're looking at 59 thousand acres of land being curtailed but if we keep doing the first two years it will reduce that number but we don't know by how much." Parts of Blaine, Butte, Gooding, Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties could be affected by Tuthill's order. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott