Water woes hit hard
By Larry Meyer - Argus Observer
Sunday, August 26, 2007 2:07 AM PDT
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| Rob and Alice White, Nampa, peer across Bully Creek Reservoir from their camp area Friday. While there is still water in reservoirs like Bully Creek, by the end of the week there will be none of the wet stuff available for irrigators in the Vale Oregon and Warmsprings irrigation districts. Heavy water use and the fact the reservoirs did not fill to capacity this year is one key reason for the water shutdown. |
VALE - A combination of hot weather and heavy use has reduced water levels in area reservoirs, and irrigators in the Vale Oregon and Warmsprings irrigation districts could be out of water this week.
Vale Oregon Irrigation District Manager Scott Ward predicted the water will be gone by the middle of the week.
“It went pretty fast,” Ward said.
Heat and a particular crop rotation played key roles in unprecedented water consumption.
“We’ve got a lot of corn, not much grain,” Ward said.
Ward noted that corn uses a lot more water right up to the end of the irrigation season. Irrigation for wheat, on the other hand, ends earlier, before harvest, Ward said.
Right now, Ward said, his irrigation system is operating at capacity.
“We have to keep our water up,” Ward said.
Record temperatures in July, he said, did not help matters. Lack of moisture and minimal snowpack also played significant roles in the water shortfall, he said.
While farmers will be able to get their crops in, the water shortage will have other impacts in the future.
“What is going to be hurt is pasture ground and the last cutting of hay,” he said.
Randy Kinney, manager of the Warmsprings irrigation district, said the water in Warm Springs Reservoir is on free-flow and is expected to be gone in eight days.
“We need to start getting the ground (wet),” Kinney said.
Kinney said dry conditions are prevalent.
“Everything is dry up there,” he said, referring to the Malheur River Watershed which drains into the Warm Springs Reservoir.
If the ground is dry when the snow falls, the snowmelt will go into the ground and not flow into the reservoirs.
“We really need to recharge the groundwater before it snows,” Kinney said.
Friday, Warm Springs Reservoir held approximately 4,100 acre feet of water, while Beulah Reservoir had approximately 3,600 acre feet, and Bully Creek held approximately 3,400 acre feet of water.
Although there is enough water to get through the season, storage at Owyhee Reservoir is dropping quickly. Owyhee Irrigation District Manager Jay Chamberlin said earlier last week Owyhee Reservoir is also operating at capacity, but use is expected to drop soon.
Owyhee Irrigation District board members have set Oct. 12 as the shut off date for irrigation water, though that is still tentative.
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Idaho Public Utilities Commission, in opposition to the proposed rate increase of 44% to farmers and
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