Issues Arising from Curtailment of Municipal Water Rights: Presentation by Robert E. Williams

1. Magic Valley City Coalition And Issues Arising From Curtailment of Municipal or Related Water Rights Presentation by Robert E. Williams December 9, 2014

2. 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

3. Coalition Cities

4. 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)

5. Heyburn Water Right Volume & Production

6. Paul Water Right Volume & Production

7. Richfield Water Right Volume & Production

8. 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

9. Curtailment Vulnerability Assumption • Assume 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"

10. Exempt from Curtailment • Rights 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”