Lieutenant governor speaks at chamber lunch, says water users should consider long-term solutions
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IDAHO FALLS — A state government official spoke to a number of community leaders about steps that water users could take to improve Idaho’s ongoing water scarcity.
Idaho Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke was the speaker at the Greater Idaho Falls Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Tuesday. One major point he emphasized was the importance of considering long-term solutions to the immediate issue.
“I’m trying to have a 100-year horizon and not a 10-year horizon,” Bedke said.
This comes after a contentious spring, which saw a water curtailment order that would have removed water access for 330,000 acres of farmland in eastern Idaho. This was temporarily resolved when the Idaho Surface Water Coalition, Ground Water Appropriators and the Idaho Department of Water Resources reached an agreement to get through the growing season.
Gov. Brad Little has signed an executive order called the Protecting Idaho Water Sovereignty Act, which requires the parties to reach a long-term solution by Oct. 1. By Sept. 1, the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Groundwater Management Plan Advisory Council must submit a management plan for review.
In July, Little addressed the chamber about the water issue too. Read what he said here.
Bedke compared water management to timber production, where Idaho doesn’t harvest its “2 million acres of pristine, great timber producing land” all in one generation.
“It’s about long-term maximum return to the beneficiary,” Bedke said. “We don’t harvest more trees … to advantage this generation of school kids over the next generation of school kids.”
Bedke laid out some methods that could be implemented that he said would better preserve Idaho’s water for future generations.
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There are nine groundwater districts in Idaho, and Bedke said that each will face its own challenges in how to manage water. Because of this, Bedke said negotiations should factor in a “concept of proportionality” that accounts for different challenges and conditions facing districts.
“There are probably going to have to be nine groundwater management plans,” Bedke said.
Idaho has an aquifer recharge program, which aims to add water back to the Snake River Plain Aquifer. Bedke believes those choose to add more water to the aquifer then what is required should receive credit for doing it.
“If I have my glass up here, if I take water out of this glass and put it back down in that glass, I should get one-for-one credit for my actions,” Bedke said.
Bedke also believes that in order to better offer this credit, the state needs to be able to accurately measure the water that moves through the water system.
“Going forward, there’s got to be absolute measuring,” Bedke said.
Bedke said that not only is it useful for offering credit for private recharge, but it also helps water users make more informed water management decisions.
Referring to his background as a fourth-generation cattle rancher, Bedke said problems should be approached with a mantra of “don’t quit until the job is done”.
“We’ll get something that works for north, south, east and west. If it doesn’t work for all points on the compass for Idaho, then it’s not going to work,” Bedke said. “Will everybody get everything that they want? No? Will they get everything they need? Yes.”