BLACKFOOT, Idaho (KIFI) — On Tuesday, August 5th, the Blackfoot City Council will vote on a critical issue that could determine the future of Jensen Grove, the city’s most popular recreation spot. The core of the problem is keeping the pond full of water, and it is a lot more complicated than it sounds.
The history of Jensen Grove
For decades, the city has relied on a partnership with the Snake River Valley Irrigation District (SRVID) to fill the pond. Three decades ago, the city created a system to divert water from the Snake River into the grove. City leadership initially began the process themselves, purchasing an early water right. However, to avoid some of the hefty permits and contracting costs involved, the city partnered with the SRVID to annex the grove into their district.
“We (would) have to involve the Army Corps of Engineers and get permits and whatnot. And the Snake River Valley Irrigation District can just go make those repairs,” said Blackfoot City Councilwoman Debbie Barlow, explaining the benefits of the original agreement.
The partnership culminated in a diversion dam on the river, which directs water to a 3-foot culvert leading under the interstate and reaching Jensen’s Grove. According to City Councilman Chris Jensen, the work involved with building the dam and culvert that feed Jensen Grove would have cost the City of Blackfoot three times as much as the irrigation district. Under their agreement, the irrigation district would also provide 2,500 acre feet of water to fill the pond in high water years, under the condition that they could use the area for aquifer recharge.
The problem
Earlier this spring, fast-flowing high waters directed by the Snake River Valley Irrigation District’s diversion upstream nearly filled the pond. Here’s where the issues start. The city’s diversion is almost 30 years old, and according to the irrigation board, the fast-moving high waters washed out portions of the city’s already eroding dam. As a result, the river’s flow rate is too low to fill the pond.
“Until we have 5000 cfs (cubic feet per second) we can’t get water there,” explains Councilman Jensen. “Because of that, trying to get water to our head gate is nearly impossible. If the diversion was built up the way it had been, we might get some, but it would be a trickle and wouldn’t be enough to really keep the grove full.”
Last year, the Snake River Valley Irrigation District expanded its diversion to help push water toward its canals and the City of Blackfoot’s diversion and culvert. However, according to their 2007 agreement, the city has to foot the bill for the repairs. According to Mayor Marc Carroll, the city may also owe the irrigation district overpayments from recharge money. There’s been some debate about the accounting and what the city owes, mainly due to the recharge money split between the two groups. But according to the latest accounting, Tracy Hillman, chairman of the SRVID board, says the bill comes out to around $89,000, with more costs to come for repairing the city’s diversion dam.
However, after several changes in leadership in the decades since the deal was made, Blackfoot city officials were not fully aware of the deal or the financial responsibilities involved. Councilman Jensen says the “mechanism of informing the city, other than the parks director, of a bill was never in place.”
Hillman agrees that there have been some problems with communications, but emphasises that on their end, they’re working with a very limited season of low water to do repairs. “We have a small window to get in when it’s time to go, we have to go,” said Hillman.
If they don’t pay the bill, the city risks losing the 2,500 acre-foot of water used to fill the grove. After negotiating with the irrigation district, Tuesday’s city council vote will decide how to move forward with their current draft agreement.
Mayor Carroll has pointed out issues with the past agreements between the groups, stating that they’ve been working with the original 2007 agreement in addition to a 2017 MOS (Memorandum of Understanding), which he says may have led to the confusion. He says he hopes the City Council will approve their draft agreement, authorizing him and the city attorney to finish negotiating “the finer points” with the irrigation district on an agreement to move forward.
“The city’s main objective is to have water in the grove,” Mayor Carroll told Local News 8. “We don’t care about getting recharge money. All of it can go to SRVID (Snake River Valley Irrigation District). Then it becomes a discussion around maintenance and who does what and who’s paying for it. But all of that is part of the draft agreement.”
State Rep. Ben Fuhriman, who joined the discussions, commended the efforts of city leadership and the irrigation district.
“I feel like everybody really wants the same thing. We want the grove filled. We want it filled for generations to come,” said Fuhriman.
Should the Blackfoot City Council approve the latest draft agreement at their meeting tonight, it would then move to the Snake River Valley Irrigation District Board of Directors for approval. The next board meeting is August 12th.
