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North Idaho Adjudication— Background and Issues

North Idaho Adjudication— Background and Issues. September 26, 2007 Dave Tuthill Idaho Department of Water Resources. North Idaho Adjudication Background. Rathdrum Prairie Ground Water Management Advisory Committee Membership.

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North Idaho Adjudication— Background and Issues

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  1. North Idaho Adjudication—Background and Issues September 26, 2007 Dave Tuthill Idaho Department of Water Resources

  2. North Idaho Adjudication Background

  3. Rathdrum Prairie Ground Water ManagementAdvisory Committee Membership Two members from Idaho representing the petitioning organizations Dale Marcy, Representing Kootenai Environmental Alliance Allen Issacson, Representing Moratorium Petitioner Two members representing municipalities or municipal providers located within the RPGWMA; Jim Markley, Representing City of Coeur d’Alene Terry Werner, Representing City of Post Falls

  4. Rathdrum Prairie Ground Water ManagementAdvisory Committee Membership (cont.) Two members representing counties included within the RPGWMA (Kootenai County and Bonner County), Rand Wichman, Planning Director, Representing Kootenai Co.; Commissioner Brian Orr succeeded byCommissioner Joe Young, Representing Bonner Co. Three members representing irrigation/commercial/industrial uses within the area. Chris Beck; Paul Klatt; Chris Meyer succeeded by Pat Leffel Bob Haynes, Chairman, IDWR Northern Region Manager

  5. Recommended and Adopted Management Plan • Goal 2, Item B The Department of Water Resources will work with the Rathdrum Prairie Ground Water Management Advisory Committee and local elected officials to determine the feasibility, cost and potential funding mechanisms to begin adjudication of water rights in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. The IDWR will include the preferred alternative in its Fiscal Year 2007 budget request along with any legislation necessary to undertake the adjudication.

  6. JFAC Guidance for 2005 • SECTION 4. It is legislative intent that the Department of Water Resources work with the Rathdrum Ground Water Management Plan Advisory Committee and local elected officials to determine the feasibility, cost and potential funding mechanisms to begin adjudication of water rights in the Coeur d'Alene Basin. The Department is requested to include the preferred alternative in its Fiscal Year 2007 budget request along with any legislation necessary to undertake the adjudication.

  7. 42-1406B. NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. • (1) Effective management of the waters of northern Idaho requires that a comprehensive determination of the nature, extent and priority of the rights of all users of surface and ground water be determined. Therefore, the director of the department of water resources shall petition the district court to commence adjudications within the terms of the McCarran amendment, 43 U.S.C. section 666, of the water rights from surface water and ground water sources in northern Idaho through initiation of three (3) proceedings.

  8. 42-1406B. NORTHERN IDAHO WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATIONS -- COMMENCEMENT. • Separate petitions shall be filed for water rights adjudications for each of the following river basins, and related ground water sources whether or not hydraulically connected to a surface water source, within Idaho: the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane river basin, the Palouse river basin, and the Kootenai and Clark Fork-Pend Oreille river basins. The filing of each petition shall be contingent on legislative funding approval. Each petition shall describe the boundaries of the water source or water sources to be adjudicated.

  9. Basins 91-95 Initial basin boundary – Note position of north boundary

  10. Basin 87

  11. Basins 96-98

  12. Other Provision of Idaho Code § 42-1406b • SRBA Court has been identified as the selected court • Connectivity is enhanced by video teleconference (VTC) District Court having jurisdiction for adjudication to be selected by the Idaho Supreme Court

  13. Other Provisions of Idaho Code • Fees were generally doubled, except the fee for a previously unrecorded domestic use will be $100 • Final date for an accomplished transfer is established as January 1, 2006, for North Idaho Adjudications

  14. Projected Fiscal Year Milestones FY2007 • Prepare updated claims-taking software • Design of software is underway • Develop on-line claims filing capability • Development is underway • Obtain GIS images and layers • Initial images have been obtained

  15. SRBA: 22 Contracts $347,000 North Idaho: Kootenai ($108,286) Benewah ($55,197) Shoshone ($11,385) Clearwater (SRBA)

  16. Projected Fiscal Year Milestones FY2008 • Commence the Coeur d'Alene-Spokane river basin Adjudication • Conduct public information meetings • Round one service to all potential claimants • Conduct filing of water rights claims FY2009 – FY2010 • Conduct field examinations • Prepare recommendations for decrees

  17. Projected Fiscal Year Milestones FY2011 • File Director’s Reports for decree recommendations FY2012 • Resolution of objections to recommendations

  18. Projected Fiscal Year Milestones

  19. Issues

  20. 1. Senate Bill No. 1205IDWR Funding Bill for FY08 • SECTION 5. It is legislative intent that work on the Northern Idaho Adjudication be limited in this fiscal year to the Rathdrum Prairie water rights and to Idaho-Washington cross-border water issues.

  21. 2. Boundary Lines • 1966 -- Original IDWR basin boundaries drawn using USGS topographic maps • 2005 – Initial USGS publication on Spokane Valley – Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer • 2007 – Final publications on Spokane Valley – Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer (Approved for publication March 19, 2007) • 2007 – IDWR basin boundaries officially revised and published August 16

  22. 3. Is IDWR Seeking a Post-SRBA Role? • NIA funding is in addition to IDWR operations • IDWR is understaffed for existing and future operations, not including NIA • Funding from fees is 1/3 of projected NIA cost

  23. 4. Should Domestics be Required to File? • In North Idaho, domestic uses constitute a larger share of total water use than in the SRBA • The last two adjudications in North Idaho (Hayden Lake and Twin Lakes) were initiated by domestic conflicts • This summer numerous domestic conflicts in North Idaho were reported to IDWR

  24. 5. Will IDWR Require Meters on Domestics? • IDWR has not done this anywhere in the State of Idaho • The cost of reading the meters is high compared to the benefit • Tens of thousands of small domestic water rights exist in the state

  25. 6. Will Annual Fees be Added to Domestics? • Collection of fees from domestic users is inefficient • The Legislature is moving toward use of the General Fund to provide water management funding where domestic water rights might have impact

  26. 7. Is pumping in the Rathdrum Prairie really the problem? • One primary driver for adjudication is the flow of the Spokane River • USGS/Washington/Idaho studies now reveal that the Rathdrum Prairie contributes only a portion of the flow of the Spokane River

  27. Mean Annual Flow In Cubic Feet per Second Flow from Rathdrum Prairie ~500 cfs

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