Judge rules on water

Judge rules on water

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Last November, you may recall there was a big splash in the news about water rights. We reported on it and heard this from Legislator Tom Daly: “This is an important event that we are having here trying to accomplish two things. One, call to the attention of our electorate, every citizen in this Valley, the importance of this issue and, two, to ask the Department of Water Resources in the state of Idaho to stand down in what they are doing in trying to take away our water.”

 

  At the timeTreasure Valley irrigators believed flood control releases should not count against their stored water rights. State Sen. and attorney Jim Rice: "and now the Dir., a bureaucrat wants to take and overrule the courts of the state of Idaho. This issue is because he thinks he has more authority to decide the law than the courts do. He is wrong.”

 

Well guess what? Just about 10 months after that statement, specifically, on September 01, 2016, Judge Eric Wildman, presiding judge for the Snake River Basin Adjudication Court, issued decisions in the Contested Case and Late Claims proceedings addressing the right to fill the Boise River Basin 63 Reservoirs, and use the water following flood control releases.  Stay tuned. Tomorrow we will find out what all this means to agriculture in the Treasure Valley.

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