Comprehensive Aquifer Planning Program Status Update

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Comprehensive Aquifer Planning Program Status
Update Helen Harrington October 22, 2009
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Aquifer Planning Management Fund

• Established by the Idaho Legislature in 2008
• Created Aquifer Planning and Management Program
  under the authority of the Idaho Water Resource
  Board

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Purpose

• Establish framework and path forward which will
  lead to sustainable water supplies and optimum
  use of water
• Conduct statewide comprehensive aquifer planning
  and management effort over a 10-year period
• Avoid the Eastern Snake Plain type conflicts in
  other areas of the state
• Develop management plans for selected basins with
  potential water supply issues, ground-surface
  water conflicts or other conflicts

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Initial CAMP Aquifers ESPA Rathdrum
Prairie Treasure Valley
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Status Progress

• Funding reduced due to budget holdbacks (20
  million to 8 million)
• Adjustment of tasks and studies
• Initiated work in Rathdrum Prairie and Treasure
  Valley
• Future basins will await funding

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Stakeholder and Public Involvement

• Contract for public issues scoping and
  facilitation services
• Establish Technical and Policy Advisory
  Committees
• Rathdrum Prairie Situation Assessment complete
  in process of establishing advisory committees
  (November)
• Treasure Valley Scoping in progress establish
  committees in January 2010 (?)

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CAMP Studies

• Global Studies (all basins)
• Situation Assessment (issues scoping)
• Future Water Demands (50-year outlook)
• Climate Change Impacts
• Computer Modeling of Ground Water Systems

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Tentative Basin-Specific Studies

• Treasure Valley
• Ground Water Model
• Water Storage Feasibility
• Weather Modification
• Inter-basin Transfers
• Irrigation Automation
• Recharge

• Rathdrum Prairie
• Groundwater model refinement
• Idaho-centric water budget
• Recharge
• Conservation

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Climate Impacts Study

• Purpose To provide information to assist the
  IWRB in water planning and preparing for
  responding to changing runoff and supply patterns
  that may result from climate change.

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Climate Impacts Study
Goal To understand the impacts that climate
change will have on water supply and to
understand the impacts on the conveyance, storage
and distribution system capacity within the
region.
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Climate Change Study Tasks

• Downscale to aquifer basin
• Develop at least three potential climate change
  scenarios
• Describe and quantify impacts on water supply
• Analyze hydrologic mass balance impacts

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Schedule

• Rathdrum Prairie
• Completion by December 2010
• Treasure Valley
• Completion by December 2011
• Future CAMP Basins
• Dependent on future funding

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For Additional Information

• http//www.idwr.idaho.gov/waterboard/
• WaterPlanning/CAMP/CAMP.htm
• Helen Harrington
• Manager, Water Planning Section
• Idaho Department of Water Resources
• 208-287-4848
• Helen.harrington_at_idwr.idaho.gov