03/30/05 Drought declaration sent to Governor

The rain and snow that has fallen on parts of Idaho in the past couple of days couldn't have come at a better time. Facing the third worst recorded drought in their history Canyon County commissioners are already asking the governor to declare a drought emergency. Nampa-Meridian Irrigation District water superintendent John Anderson said the outlook was very bleak before the rains came. ANDERSON "We're just kind of cautiously optimistic, my overused word on this. Until we turn the water on and these rainstorms subside it's really hard to second-guess what's going to occur. I look for us to run a near normal season maybe not quite as long as normally we do. Historically we turn off about October 5th." Boise River water will be diverted next Monday into the Ridenbaugh canal to feed Lake Lowell but if the rain continues Anderson may move that date back a week. One thing that Anderson and other water superintendents stress is conservation. ANDERSON "The urban users if that water is running off their property onto the sidewalks and street shut it off. Set their timers, maybe irrigate an little more conservatively but consistently. The farmers are very good at it. In these short water years our farmers really pay attention to that water, there's not an awful lot of waste." Voice of Idaho Agriculture Bill Scott