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The Idaho Statesman - Always Idaho
http://www.idahostatesman.com/story.asp?ID=44666
Officials push for water regulation
Collaboration key to balancing market needs,
agencies say
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Rocky Barker
The Idaho Statesman
The free market offers great benefits for balancing
the growing water needs of cities, fish and farms in
the West.
But that market needs to be regulated to preserve
the region´s agricultural economy and small
communities, state and federal officials said
Thursday at a conference at the Red Lion Hotel Boise
Downtowner.
John Keys, commissioner of the Bureau of
Reclamation, the agency which supplies water to more
than 30 million people in 17 Western states, said
Idaho´s water bank is one of the innovative ways
states can shift water from one use to another to
meet new demands. A water bank is a brokerage
service that allows farmers and others to lease
their surplus water to others.
Other states have been more aggressive about
allowing urban water users and groups who want to
leave water in rivers for fish and recreation to pay
top dollar to permanently buy water. This has
resulted in drying up entire basins of farms, the
most famous of which is California´s Owens Valley,
whose water was sent to Los Angeles.
Farmers pay less than $10 an acre-foot —enough for
6, 524 five-minute showers — to lease water in a
water bank. Municipal water companies are willing to
pay up to $600 for the same amount.
The water market needs to be regulated, said former
U.S. Sen. James McClure, so rich outside interests
cannot overwhelm the social and economic structure
of a community. “There is no question Idaho could
look like Owens Valley if we allowed California to
buy our water,” McClure said.
The “Water 2025” conference was the fifth in a
series held around the West to foster a discussion
on how to meet future needs for water. In many
Western communities, water supplies are already
tight, especially in the sixth year of a drought.
But Keys warned that without collaboration, planning
and creativity, many more communities could run
short of water as the population explodes and as
more water is required to help endangered species
and provide recreation.
Irrigation farmers and the canal companies that
supply them are pushing the agency to plan for more
storage projects, such as increasing the height of
existing dams or building more off-site storage
reservoirs such as Lake Lowell.
“The West simply will not be able to meet future
demands for water if new storage and supply projects
are not included in any future strategies,” said
Norm Semanko, executive director of the Idaho
Waterusers´ Association.
Keys agreed, but said other strategies such as
markets, conservation and technological advances
need to be done before new storage is sought. “I
don´t come here with a bag full of money to handle
our problems,” he said.
“Storage is not off the board,” he added. “We are
saying we have to look at other measures first.”
For every dollar spent, the bureau is getting $3
back in conservation measures, he said.
Reed Benson, assistant professor of law at the
University of Wyoming, said conservation offers many
benefits, including reducing conflict. But opening
water up to a freer market could meet fish wildlife
and municipal needs cheaper. “It is more expensive
to conserve water than just to buy water rights,” he
said.
United Water Idaho, the largest municipal water
supplier in Idaho, seeks to develop a freer water
market in the Treasure Valley to meet its growing
needs.
“When I use the word ´lease´ and not ´purchase,´ it
really helps,” said H. Scott Rhead, managing
engineer for United Water.
To offer story ideas or comments, contact Rocky
Barker
rbarker@idahostatesman.com or 377-6484
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