As the Snake River Basin Adjudication of Idaho water rights claims draws to a close in the Wood River Valley after nearly 30 years, the city of Hailey is stepping up to defend its own rights against the Indian Creek Homeowners Association.
The city has two claims totaling 3.52 cubic feet per second of water flowing from springs in Indian Creek canyon northeast of the city, with priority dates of 1880, and a water right dating from 1980 totaling 5 cfs.
The Indian Creek HOA has objected to the claims, stating the city only has rights to about half the claimed amount.
What concerns city officials most is the security of the 1880 rights, which could be relied upon in case senior water rights holders from downstream make a call on the city's water use in a drought year, or under conjunctive water rights management.
Conjunctive management is an innovative regulatory practice that manages surface water, used for irrigation, along with groundwater, or well-pumping rights. When priority dates of the two kinds of water rights are managed together, the well user typically loses if the water is used for "consumptive uses," such as watering lawns.
Idaho Department of Water Resources representatives have said conjunctive management will come to the Wood River Valley in the next few years, sparking interest in securing water rights, which have become increasingly valuable.
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"This water is very important to the city," City Councilman Fritz Haemmerle said. "These are our earliest rights and for a substantial amount of water. Not many could trump them. Under conjunctive management, we could rely upon them. It is in the city's best interest to defend these rights with extreme vigor."
Public Works Director Tom Hellen attended a court deposition in Hailey last week to begin the process of defending the rights. A trial in the dispute between Indian Creek homeowners and Hailey is scheduled to take place in Twin Falls in February.
Haemmerle said the city of Hailey is working on a broader mitigation plan in the case of conjunctive management, which could include delivering water from a water right it holds in the Hiawatha Canal dating from 1883 into the Big Wood River. This would be undertaken to satisfy the demands of senior water rights holders from downstream.
Last year, the city took a 3 cfs portion of an 1883 water right in from Old Cutters developer John Campbell, who was several months behind in annexation fee payments.
That water was worth $930,000.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
