The Idaho Water Resource Board, with support from Governor Otter and the Idaho Legislature, has developed a managed recharge program to restore the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) to sustainable levels. Now in its 5th year of operation, the program has a goal of recharging 250,000 acre-feet of water into the ESPA each year. Snake River water is conveyed via existing irrigation infrastructure in the winter months to a series of settling basins and recharge sites to recharge the aquifer.
In Winter 2017, the Board recharged 317,000 acre-feet of water into the aquifer. In Winter 2018, it recharged more than 520,000 acre-feet of water into the aquifer--more than doubling the annual goal. As a result of the Board’s recharge program, reduced water use by ground water users, and two very wet winters in a row, ESPA water levels increased by 1.7 million acre-feet in 2018--the single largest increase in water volume in more than 80 years.
Multiple canal companies and irrigation districts in the Upper Snake River Valley and the Magic Valley are participating in the recharge program. New recharge infrastructure was developed in multiple places to further enhance the program. The Board thanks all of its recharge partners, Governor Otter, and the Idaho Legislature for supporting the long-term program to restore the ESPA.