Water Matters

A PETITION TO THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

Update May 2006:  Our original petition to the Idaho Department of Water Resources was submitted in December of last year, augmented by the support of many signatories who joined via this web page (full petition shown below). This month, we received a response from the IDWR Director, Mr. Dreher, agreeing to perform the studies we seek but not agreeing to the requested moratorium.  The text of Mr. Dreher’s response can be reviewed via the following link.

IDWR Response to NACFA Petition

Given the vagaries of government funding processes and general bureaucracy, your support is still needed and valuable. We regularly submit additional signatures to IDWR as addenda to the petition.

Original December 2005 Petition & Signature Link

Anyone who has followed the activities of NACFA, from its formation to the present, knows that our number one concern related to the explosive growth occurring in North Ada County is potential adverse impacts on our groundwater supply.  Many NACFA members rely on wells.  Many new development proposals in the area also wish to tap into groundwater.  We have found, however, that knowledge about the carrying capacity of local aquifers is lacking.  Thus, we are petitioning the Idaho Department of Water Resources to do (or require developers to do) the appropriate studies of aquifer characteristics and carrying capacity in North Ada County and to establish a groundwater budget for the area.  We believe this is the only way to make sure that over-allocations do not occur and that existing groundwater users are not "collateral damage" in the wake of new development.  The text of the petition is provided below.  Any and all residents of the area who share our concern and are willing to show that concern by joining our petition may do so on-line by clicking HERE.  If you want further information or are willing to help this effort by gathering signatures the old fashioned way, contact David Head via the email link on our Contacts/Links page.

A PETITION TO THE IDAHO DEPARTMENT OF WATER RESOURCES

We, the undersigned residents of North Ada County, submit to IDWR the following:

1. Growth in North Ada County, in fact the entire Treasure Valley, has exploded over the past several years.  This growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future at a pace which strains resources and infrastructure.

2. Water is the single most critical resource necessary to support this growth.

3. Large developments, involving thousands of new homes and tens of thousands of acres, have been and are being proposed in North Ada County, both on the valley floor and northerly into the foothills. 

4. These new developments will rely on groundwater drawn from the northern/northeastern part of the broader Treasure Valley aquifer and from adjacent, perhaps interconnected aquifers in the north foothills. 

5 The characteristics of the “aquifer complex” in North Ada County are not well known and no carrying capacity has been established against which the long term viability of supply to new developments can be judged.

6. State of the art groundwater modeling and water budget analysis is needed in North Ada County (and perhaps other areas of the Treasure Valley) in order to avoid over-allocation and repetition of the types of groundwater problems extant in Snake River Plain aquifer and in the Mountain Home region.  With this information, IDWR’s ability to evaluate applications for new water rights/permits would be improved immeasurably and IDWR would be better able to fulfill its mandate of effective water supply management.

ACCORDINGLY, WE JOIN THE NORTH ADA COUNTY FOOTHILLS ASSOCIATION IN URGING IDWR TO:

Immediately begin appropriate technical study of aquifers in North Ada County, especially the area around Eagle and Star and the foothills to the north, to establish the likely carrying capacity of those aquifers

Develop and enforce appropriate water budgets for this area through the water right/permit application process to ensure that current residents do not face water shortages caused by growth and new developments

Declare a moratorium in this area on new municipal and community water developments until water resource carrying capacities and water budgets are developed. 

Protecting our groundwater supply from over-allocation and depletion due to continuing development has been and remains our number one concern. All NACFA members who live near or in the North Foothills rely on wells. This page features highlights of the most recent/most important issues and initiatives on the subject of water supply.   

The most current water supply “threads” include: (For more information, contact David Head, our Co-Chairman, who is also the Chair of our Water Resources committee).

• Summary of Meeting with acting IDWR Director Tuthill:  Following up on the letter noted below to Mr. Tuthill, we were able to meeting with him and were generally pleased with the results--all things considered.  David’s summary of that meeting can be viewed via the following link.

• Foothills Water Budget White Paper:  David Head issued (on 1/29/07) a NACFA white paper on groundwater issues/planning related to Eagle/Foothills development. This document can be reviewed and downloaded via the following link.

• Eagle Water Committee: The City has formed a committee to address water supply issues in the area, including groundwater supplies for the City and the North Foothills.  David Head represents us on this Committee.
• NACFA petition to IDWR: for adequate studies to characterize the carrying capacity of local groundwater sources  The full petition, as well as IDWR’s response (agreeing to conduct the requested studies) is provided below.  Update January 2007:  New Governor Otter has chosen to replace IDWR Director Dreher, placing David Tuthill in the position on an interim basis. We have written to acting Director Tuthill inquiring whether IDWR’s commitment to and plan for a foothills groundwater study, including carrying capacity determination, is still in force. This letter can be viewed via the following link.

• M3 Groundwater Studies:  M3 has initiated groundwater modeling in support of its development proposal.  The area of study is similar to that we cite in our petition to IDWR. We are acting to coordinate this work with IDWR and ensure peer review of the work carried out by M3’s consultant.
• Well Monitoring Program:  We have succeeded in getting a significantly enhanced well monitoring program initiated, centered on the neighborhoods stretching along the south boundary of the North Foothills planning area. This was accomplished through negotiations related to a Suncor application for municipal water rights (i.e. 5 cfs drawn from production wells in the central part of the North Foothills--in Big Gulch--and piped to Suncor’s development to the northeast). The program will give us needed “over-time” data on groundwater levels and serve in part as an early warning system for groundwater problems.

01/29/07 NACFA--Water Budget White Paper

02/12/07 Summary Notes from Meeting with IDWR Director Tuthill

01/16/07 NACFA Letter to IDWR Director Tuthill

North Ada County Foothills Association

One Voice, One Plan