03/11/05 Water issues abound in Idaho

The Idaho Water Resource Board is preparing to buy all of the water from the Bell Rapids Irrigation district. If the state does buy 74 thousand-acre feet of water more than 24 thousand acres of productive farmland would dry up. The state legislature must still approve the deal and its 24 million-dollar price tag. The money would pay less than two dozen farmers who own the water rights. It would be paid back through a water user fee and by leasing the water to the federal Bureau of Reclamation to aid salmon recovery. Along those same lines, a study shows that curtailing water use in southern Idaho could cost the state millions of dollars. The study commissioned by a legislative committee shows that the state could lose at much as 204 million dollars in labor, property and business taxes if junior water rights on the Snake River Aquifer are curtailed. And as the Idaho Senate prepares to take up the Nez Perce Water Agreement the Shoshone-Bannock tribes say they'll sue the state, the federal government and the Nez Perce tribe if the agreement is ratified. They claim their water rights will be adversely impacted by the agreement. Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott