AMERICAN FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) – The American Falls Reservoir is starting autumn on the low side, being only 3% full. The low water levels have exposed some of the American Falls’ history and highlighted issues with supplying water to the area.
Brian Stevens, Operations Supervisor for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the reservoir and connected dam site, said the reservoir water levels have dipped over the past few days to only a small fraction of what the site can hold.
“The primary reason why American Falls is so low is because of irrigation,” Stevens said.
The reservoir first filled up in 1926 after the original dam was completed. With less water in the reservoir, you can see the foundations of the original American Falls townsite, which was moved in 1925 to make way for the incoming water.
Since then, the dam and reservoir have been a powerhouse of southeast Idaho irrigation.
“America Falls supplies irrigation water to southern Idaho. Which is, approximately 1 million acre-feet of area irrigated lands that American Falls provides water for.” Stevens said.
The water is allocated to irrigation districts based on yearly contracts and their specific needs. This year, the need has been great, but nature’s supply has been lacking.
“Natural flow has been relatively low this summer and fall, and so we’ve had a large draw on the reservoir system due to irrigation demand being about what it was last year, but with lower or less natural flow in the system. And so we’ve seen a bigger drop in the reservoir system this year than we did last year,” Stevens said.
The Bureau of Reclamation monitors the reservoir on a daily and sometimes hourly basis. They say the only thing to do to get water levels in the reservoir back up in time for farmers next season is to pray for rain.
“We’re hoping that we get really good precipitation, during the fall and winter and spring time frame to really bolster the irrigation supplies for next year,” Stevens said.
As of Tuesday, Palisades Reservoir is at 11% full. The whole Upper Snake River system is at 23% of capacity. That includes Jackson Lake, Palisades, Grassy Lake, Island Park, Ririe, American Falls, and Lake Walcott.
To see the Upper Snake River reservoir storage graph click here.
