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About Capital press. (Salem, OR) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (July 24, 2015)
July 24, 2015 CapitalPress.com b lum Co IRRIGATION SHUFFLE ia Ri ve r 7 Port of Lewiston — America’s most inland seaport completed long-delayed dredging last year, removing several feet of sediment and eliminating the risk of barges grounding in the 14-foot water. But after a major container shipper pulled out of the Port of Portland due to labor disputes, the Port of Lewiston suspended operations indefinitely. Idaho’s water users face uncertain future Columbia Lake BRITISH COLUMBIA 6 o tenai R Lake Pend Oreille . Coeur d’Alene Spokane ’ Al Flathead Lake Noxon Res. e R en 1 East Snake Plain Aquifer — A monumental water agreement being negotiated by Idaho Ground Water Appropriators and the Surface Water Coalition would address underlying causes of aquifer depletion and aim to avert future water calls. However, many details present significant hurdles, including who could be affected by a Coalition call. Hungry Horse Res. Clar k F k or r d C o eu 2 Blaine County — USDA’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program will provide up to $725,000 in drought relief funding to parched farmers and ranchers in Blaine, Butte, Custer, Owyhee and Washington counties. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is also offering funds for drought mitigation. WASH. Missoula 6 Lewiston 3 Thousand Springs State Park — State leaders want to resolve a decades-long dispute between downstream irrigators who get their water from the Snake River and the groundwater farmers who tap the cavernous Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. The aquifer’s outflows help feed the Snake, and pumpers and well users are facing a 13 percent cut in usage. iver e R e Riv e r HELLS CANYON NATIONAL REC. AREA on River S a lm MONTANA wd er Riv YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK S a lm Po on Ri v er G ran dR on d Clark Fo rk Dworshak Res. . r e t R a rw DWORSHAK Clea Sna k 5 Weiser — A proposed $500 million dam would collect 750,000 acre-feet of water for Idahoans’ daily use, but the project is at least a decade away from completion. The Weiser-Galloway Dam faces opposition from local conserva- tion groups which say the reservoir would destroy fisheries, flood a roadless 16-mile canyon and impede salmon runs. Snake River irrigators and groundwater pumpers, whose thirsty wells indirectly lessen stream flows, threatens to derail the progress made by legislators and engineers. A pending resolu- tion is aimed at permanently settling the issue, but given the West’s so-called “snow drought,” both sides may well have to learn to live with less. Numbered text corresponds with button locations (see map). iver . S p o k a ne R WATERTON- GLACIER INT’L PEACE PARK Lake Koocanusa Ko 7 er ver t Ri B urn Yellowstone Lake IDAHO WYOMING Weiser 5 Ashton 1 r v e Ri Boise GRAND TETON NAT’L PARK BLAINE Idaho Falls ke OREGON 2 e River Sn a er Sn a er Ri v v R i O w y hee rwyhee Mountain Range — Just 16 of Idaho’s 137 survey sites retained the snow crucial for sustained snowmelt, prompting river flow forecasts 20 to 70 percent below normal. What some scientists are calling a “snow drought” has caused the water levels on the upper Snake River to drop 38 percent. B ois Jackson Lake er M a l h eu r 4 ALBERTA Kootenay Lake Priest Lake Dworshak Reservoir — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has let loose the tap — increasing the amount of water heading downstream from Dworshak Reservoir to 5,200 cubic-feet per second, up from 2,900 cubic-feet. The 42-degree water will help cool federally protected salmon and steelhead. The reservoir’s water line is expected to drop about 80 feet. T hey have weathered this year’s drought better than most. Long-term planning and a willingness to invest (and reinvest) in capital projects has allowed Idaho to balance the needs of farmers and ranchers against those of fish lovers and environmentalists, not to men- tion the public. But a heated battle between iv American Falls Res. 3 4 R ke Reservoirs by type and operator Pocatello Storage Corps of Engineers Bureau of Reclamation Other Twin Falls Owyhe e R i ve r NEVADA Run of River Corps of Engineers Bureau of Reclamation Other N UTAH 0 Sources: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Idaho Dept. of Water Resources; Capital Press research 10 20 40 Columbia River Basin Miles ESPA Model 2.1 Research by Zane Sparling; Illustration by Alan Kenaga/Capital Press Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer water storage, 1912-2013 * ESPA water levels have declined more than 60 percent since 1952, based on Idaho Dept. of Water Resources data. State leaders hope to find ways to recharge the aquifer and resolve water use conflicts while preserving minimum water flows. *1912-79 aquifer storage levels calculated by the USGS, using a water-balance approach. 1980-2013 levels measured by IDWR, based on interpolation of data collected from as many as 928 well sites. Source: Idaho Dept. of Water Resources 20 million Idaho drought conditions Population affected by drought: 1.3 million 18.3 million (Annual acre-feet per year) Legend D0-Abnormally dry 15 D1-Drought (moderate) D2-Drought (severe) D3-Drought (extreme) D4-Drought (exceptional) 10 Intensity of drought by percent area affected 1952-2013: 11.3 million acre-feet removed, a per-year average of 184,600 acre-feet. 5 2013: 7.04 million; down 61.5% from 1952 1.04 million 0 1912 ’20 ’30 ’40 ’50 ’60 ’70 ’80* ’90 2000 Date None D0-4 Current 0% 100 3 mo. ago 30.5 69.5 1 yr. ago 38 62 D1-4 82.1 39.1 41.3 D2-4 D3-4 52.2 7 17.6 2.4 28.4 1.8 D4 0 0 0 ’10 Source: National Drought Mitigation Center, University of Nebraska-Lincoln (As of July 7) 5