Friday, February 18, 2011

‘There’s going to be a controversy’

Agencies plan for conjunctive water administration


By KATHERINE WUTZ
Express Staff Writer

A data logger on Trail Creek at Second Avenue in Ketchum collects crucial water level information for the U.S. Geological Survey, which monitors the state of the local aquifer in anticipation of the state’s implementation of conjunctive administration. Photo by David N. Seelig

Dave Tuthill, water expert and former director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, says there's a storm brewing over water rights in the Big Wood River basin.

"There's going to be a controversy," Tuthill said. "We're trying to share information ahead of the fight that will come if something isn't done."

As a result, Boise-based Idaho Water Engineers, a water consulting firm founded by Tuthill in 2009, held a public meeting at the Community Campus in Hailey on Wednesday.

The purpose of the meeting, according to Tuthill, was to share the efforts and developments made by the U.S. Geological Survey, Idaho Water Engineers and the Idaho Department of Water Resources in measuring streamflow and groundwater reserves in the Big Wood River basin.

"The data that's there is not enough," Tuthill said. "Are minimum streamflows being met? We don't know."

The problem with the lack of data is that conjunctive administration of water rights—imminent for the valley—will be difficult to carry out without it.

Water everywhere

Currently, water rights on surface water—in the Big Wood and other aboveground streams—are administered and enforced by the state water master, who works for the Idaho Department of Water Resources.

Groundwater—water below the surface pumped by wells—is not currently managed by the state, even though it can affect general water supplies.

"Groundwater plays a huge role," said Lee Brown, Wood River Valley manager for Idaho Water Engineers. "The interconnectivity between the two (surface and ground water) is essential."

Conjunctive administration means managing groundwater and surface-water rights together, under the state's Comprehensive Aquifer Planning and Management Program.

The Big Wood River basin was scheduled to come under this program in 2011, though department hydrologist Lin Campbell said Wednesday that the project has been delayed due to budget constraints.

"Without an infusion of funds, it's not going to happen," Campbell said.

Without conjunctive management, surface-water rights may be cut off in times of water shortage, even as junior groundwater rights are unaffected. Under conjunctive management, there would be a different hierarchy.

"What we're facing, now that adjudication is coming forward, is that there's going to be administration of wells," Tuthill said, which means that wells will be subject to the same rules as surface water.

According to Tuthill, when conjunctive management was implemented in the eastern Snake River Plain, lawsuit after lawsuit occurred as groundwater users were told to stop using their wells.

"[Conjunctive management] could cause great upheaval in a basin where there is no plan," Tuthill said.

Informing a plan

But a plan can't be formulated without data, so Idaho Water Engineers is working with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Idaho Department of Water Resources to use high-tech equipment to monitor water level and streamflow speed.

"The tools are much more accurate than the old days, with a guy driving past a ditch with binoculars trying to read a gauge a quarter of a mile away," Brown said.

< <

Five measurement devices are either in the process of being installed or have been installed in the Big Wood River area. The sites are located on the Big Wood north of Ketchum, the North Fork of the Big Wood, Warm Springs Creek, Trail Creek at the Second Avenue bridge and the East Fork near Gimlet.

Jim Bartolino, project manager for the U.S. Geological Survey, said the agency is also working on monitoring groundwater supplies to help inform future water management.

"Our goal is to come up with some of the information planners need to make decisions," Bartolino said. "Eventually, a water management model will be needed here."

Though funding is not yet available for conjunctive administration, Campbell said early studies would smooth the way for more efficient implementation in the future.

"A lot of these studies are things we would have needed to do," he said. "That'll move us way ahead."

Campbell said the Department of Water Resources could use data collected by Idaho Water Engineers and USGS, so long as it passes certain quality standards.

Public information

County Commissioner Larry Schoen said a committee has been formed to explore conjunctive administration and what it means for the valley. He said the committee is tentatively scheduled to hold its first meeting in mid-March.

The purpose, Schoen said, is to help the public understand the data and models coming from the various studies.

The need for understanding was evident near the end Wednesday's meeting, when Hailey attorney Fritz Haemmerle accused Tuthill and Idaho Water Engineers of working under a "cloak of secrecy." Haemmerle is a water-rights attorney who has previously represented clients in similar forums, but was unavailable for comment on whether he was representing a client during this discussion.

Tuthill said he was "shocked" by the comment and said his company is being as open as possible.

"We wanted to share the data," he said. "This data is all publicly available."

Indeed, the information collected by the engineers is available on their website, www.idahowaterengineers.com. The information for the five new gages can be obtained at the USGS website, id.water.usgs.gov

Next steps

Brown said the next step in the process is to develop a map of the valley's "plumbing," including groundwater and surface water. Such a model would demonstrate how and where water users are tapping into the aquifer and note the different water priorities.

He said the project is still in its early stages. However, a publicly available model of all groundwater and surface water systems may be crucial to avoiding water-related lawsuits once conjunctive management is a reality.

"I don't think any of this will go anywhere without a model," said Nick Purdy, owner of Picabo Livestock. "Without a model, if someone comes over and tells me to shut my water off, I'll say fine, but prove my well is having an impact."

Katherine Wutz: kwutz@mtexpress.com




 Local Weather 
Search archives:


Copyright © 2024 Express Publishing Inc.   Terms of Use   Privacy Policy
All Rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Express Publishing Inc. is prohibited. 

The Idaho Mountain Express is distributed free to residents and guests throughout the Sun Valley, Idaho resort area community. Subscribers to the Idaho Mountain Express will read these stories and others in this week's issue.