Plan Altering Water Rights Draws Protest

Seventy individuals and organizations have filed formal protests against the Bureau of Reclamation’s request to use some of the water stored in Bureau reservoirs to aid salmon recovery.

Protests came from irrigation districts, canal companies and water users throughout Idaho.

The protests concern a total of 17 applications which would add flow augmentation for salmon recovery using water stored in 13 Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs. The Bureau’s present water rights are primarily for irrigation and power generation.

The protest period closed June 26. However, the Idaho Department of Water Resources will continue to accept informal written comment until July 15.

If the Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Idaho Legislature approved the applications, the Bureau would be allowed to use the water rights to store and release up to 427,000 acre feet of water per year from the combined reservoirs to augment the flows of the Snake and Columbia rivers.

The applications cover water rights for a total of 5.2 million acre feet of storage water. The Bureau stated a total of no more than 427,000 acre feet of water from the rights covered would be released from storage during any water year.

Reservoirs in the applications include American Falls, Anderson Ranch, Arrowrock, Cascade, Deadwood, Island Park, Little Wood, Lucky Peak, Mann Creek, Soldier Meadow, Palisades, Ririe and Wallcott. Sources of water include the Snake, Boise, Payette, Deadwood, Henry’s Fork, Little Wood rivers and Willow and Mann creeks.