BUTTE COUNTY, Idaho (KIFI) — Groundwater users in Little Lost River Basin, Big Lost River Basin, and Upper Big Lost River Basin could avoid water shutoffs this irrigation season after reaching a new agreement to join the state’s 2024 mitigation plan.
“We’ve had our crops planted and the ground’s been fertilized. The worry of being curtailed has been really heavy on everybody’s mind,” said Kirk Nickerson, chairman of the Little Lost River Ground Water District. “… We’re happy for a resolution.”
The agreement impacts 220 farmers and about 65,000 acres of farmland around Arco and Howe.
The Surface Water Coalition and Idaho Ground Water Appropriators announced that the Big Lost and Little Lost River basins have been added to the plan through a newly signed addendum. The agreement was filed with the Idaho Department of Water Resources for approval.
The agreement will put groundwater districts under the same requirements as other participants, including conservation targets, water storage obligations and efforts to recharge the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.
“This is a huge relief for the farmers in our basin and for our families, our crops and our communities,” Nickerson said.
The agreement follows weeks of negotiations between surface water users and groundwater districts after curtailment orders from the state went into effect last month.
“They now have the protection of being under a mitigation plan which prevents them from being curtailed,” said Stephanie Mickelsen, Idaho Ground Water Appropriators chairwoman. “But people that are not in a mitigation plan can still be curtailed by the department, especially this year where it’s so dry. That will enable the farmers in the Little Lost (River Ground Water District) and the Big Lost (River Ground Water District) to be able to operate this year to run their pumps.”
With the irrigation season already underway, a sense of urgency to come to an agreement was necessary.
“Every person at the negotiating table represents Idaho farmers and irrigators who depend on this resource,” said Alan Hansten, chairman of the Surface Water Coalition. “Our goal has always been to build a plan that works not just today but for the long-term stability of Idaho agriculture and the aquifer we all rely on.”
Due to Idaho’s “first in time, first in right,” approach to water rights, senior water rights holders are prioritized during shortages. Mitigation plans are designed to allow junior groundwater users to continue operating under agreements, such as taking measures to stabilize and recharge aquifers.
“I think it’s a win for all the farmers, both on the surface and groundwater side for certainty for the 2026 irrigation season,” said Travis Thompson, attorney for the Surface Water Coalition.
The Idaho Department of Water Resources will hold a status conference Monday to review the agreement and is expected to approve it.
Earlier this month the Idaho Dept of Water Resources declared a drought emergency, citing low snowpack as the main cause.
“There’s only so much water in Idaho, and if we’re all willing to share it – and we don’t know what’s coming from year to year – but if we’re able to share it and equal it out between each other, we’ll make things work,” Nickerson said.
