Idaho’s Current Water Laws Are the Path Forward
by Jerome County Commissioners: Charles Howell, A. Ben Crouch, Art Watkins

Water has long been a defining feature of life in Idaho. Jerome County is known for its agriculture industry and dairy processing, so that need for a reliable water supply is always at the forefront of our and our constituents’ minds. But this valuable natural resource is so critical to all that it is the center of an ongoing and contentious debate.

Since this spring, Idaho has been thrust into the national headlines and daily local reports over the pitting of senior water right holders against junior water right holders. Arguments have ensued over our water reserve, primarily the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer, and who has the right to how much of it.

As representatives for both surface water and groundwater users, we have found ourselves shifting through the rhetoric, listening to both sides’ needs while analyzing the data and science. And while both groups have legitimate concerns regarding agriculture requirements and the longevity of the Aquifer, we find ourselves aligning with the principle that guides us all – the rules and laws of the land.

We believe we must look to our state Constitution to find a positive and collective path forward for all Idaho water users.

Idaho’s prior appropriation doctrine is a tried-and-true policy that has guided our great state for centuries. Our very first water rights go all the way back to around the 1860’s when Idaho was just a territory, when the first to ask for the water was the one to receive it. By statehood, water allocation was enshrined to be “first in time, first in right”. This helped every farmer, rancher, and agriculture producer know in what order they would receive their water from the Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer (ESPA).

Fast forward 100 years and technology has changed how we get that water. The invention of the water pump created a new method to retrieve the resource. Here in modern day Idaho, we are experiencing significant growth, leading to an increased demand for water across the board. Prolonged droughts, weather variability, and changing precipitation have further strained both surface and groundwater resources as water levels drop to near historic lows in the ESPA. This had resulted in rising tensions between these two groups of water users.

For those of us on the periphery, we need to understand the conflict between these two stakeholder groups is actually born from the same issues. Surface water users fear diminishing flows, while the groundwater users are concerned about restrictions at the pump.

All water users are essentially worrying about the future –each is concerned about their share of the water resource and how to maintain their livelihoods; how to ensure their future generations have something to inherit, a resource to rely on.

This time, we believe the best path forward is not the road less traveled; rather, it is via the path we’ve always been on. Idaho’s current law lays out how water is best conjunctively allocated, in a way that ensures each right holder is guaranteed their property and our water supply remains viable.

Sometimes the road’s terrain can change, and as we’ve seen the rise in technology, our farming practices have improved while our population has increased. The 2015/2016 water agreement was created and signed by all Idaho water users to acknowledge those changes in our way of life and still support the age-old prior appropriation doctrine. We applaud the North Snake Ground Water District for stepping up to the plate these last eight years and following that agreement to help their users avoid curtailments while supporting the health of the Aquifer. That District put the overall sustainability of our state first.

The truth is everyone needs their share of water, but we must have an order in which to allocate the resource that doesn’t overdraw it from the ESPA or take away property owed to a right holder. That is what our state laws and concurrent agreements do: clearly define our water rights while keeping ongoing conversations between farmers and irrigators. This is how we can recharge our shared Aquifer and prepare our future generations for success.

Idaho has a system that works – and while we must acknowledge that our water needs have transformed for a myriad of reasons, we must not go down the path of creating more restrictions and red-tape or losing our power to the federal government. Rather than focusing on past grievances or staking out entrenched positions, we now have the opportunity to build upon our laws and further establish a collaborative water management approach that meets the current and future needs of our communities, our environment, and our economy.