Magic Valley City Coalition And Issues Arising From

Curtailment of Municipal or Related Water Rights

Presentation by Robert E. WilliamsDecember 9, 2014

January 29, 2014 Order

Rangen found to be short 9.1 cfs

Order required curtailment of diversions for the irrigation of 157,000 acres under junior-priority water rights

9.1 cfs sufficient for irrigating approximately 500 acres

Coalition Cities

Authorized Volume (by Priority Date)

34 rights have priority dates junior to 8/12/1973 (curtailment date listed in the 6/24/2014 Rangen Order)

Water Right Volume & Production

Heyburn

Water Right Volume & Production

Paul

Water Right Volume & Production

Richfield

Plans and Approaches to Avoid Curtailment

Determine amount of non-consumptive use

Where possible, allocate junior consumptive pumping to senior water rights

Address inequities in Idaho Code§42-111(a) and Conjunctive Management Rules

Mitigation in lieu of curtailment

Regional recharge efforts

Curtailment Vulnerability AssumptionAssume that indoor, potable uses (e.g., culinary uses) authorized by

municipal water rights are not vulnerable to curtailment

Non-consumptive municipal uses are already excluded from Rangen curtailment requirements

Protection of municipal in-home-home use from curtailment is consistent with statute and state policy that excludes domestic uses from curtailment requirements

Previous curtailment orders specifically excluded in-home culinary uses under municipal rights from curtailment requirements, without reference to wastewater disposal method

Director's letters to owners of curtailed rights in Rangen Call: "Non-consumptive uses and culinary in-house uses of water are not subject to curtailment"

Exempt from CurtailmentRights exempt from curtailment – Domestic rights (authorize irrigation of up to ½ acre and

maximum diversion of up to 13,000 gpd)

– Any other uses with a maximum diversion of less than 0.04 cfs and diversion volume of 2,500 gpd

Previous orders (Surface Water Coalition, Blue Lakes, Clear Springs) explicitly exempted “culinary” and/or in-home uses from curtailment requirements (regardless of wastewater treatment method)

Director’s letters to owners of curtailed rights in Rangen Call: “Non-consumptive uses and culinary in-house uses of water are not subject to curtailment”