Writing a spring letter to Gov. Dirk Kempthorne requesting a drought declaration has become something of an annual tradition for the Blaine County Commission.
Commissioners on Thursday, April 28, sent a request to the governor. If it is granted, that will mean irrigators will be given more flexibility in the ways state laws govern water use.
"On behalf of the Blaine County Board of Commissioners and the Blaine County water users, I am requesting that you issue an emergency drought declaration for Blaine County," wrote Commission Chair Sarah Michael. "We have been contacted by water users about the upcoming irrigation season and the necessity of this action."
Local water gurus are predicting that weather patterns are not predicted to improve in the near term.
"Current patterns indicate we should expect more aridity in the near horizon rather than less," said hydrologist Lee Brown. "The typical El Niño pattern tends to push westerly moisture both above and below southern Idaho, thus leading to substantially reduced precipitation patterns."
For example, the Big Wood River typically runs at more than 500 cubic feet per second in late April. This year, it ran at about 270 cubic feet per second, about 54 percent of normal.
Michael pointed out that the U.S. Department of Agriculture drought monitor index lists the region around Blaine County as hovering between extremely dry and exceptionally dry.
"We need a great deal of precipitation to replenish the depleted snowpacks across Idaho," said Ron Abramovich, a hydrologist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. "Weather models have forecast warmer and drier conditions than average for the next three months."
