Protecting our water resources in Idaho

For decades, water has been on the mind of every farmer, rancher, and landowner along the Snake River in southern Idaho. There is competition between agricultural uses and hydropower production. There is also competition within the agricultural community between those who use surface water and those who pump water from the aquifer. Water in the Snake River Basin is a finite resource. Conflicts are determined by our “First in time, is first in right” water doctrine.

In northern Idaho, we have historically enjoyed an abundance of water. A growing population, federal government policy, federal government dam operations, and an international treaty threaten the natural resource we enjoy and rely on.

What are we doing in Idaho to preserve our waters? Fortunately, we have decades of experience in water adjudication, starting with the Snake River Basin in 1987, which took until 2014 to finalize. Our state has been in a continual process of adjudicating water rights across drainage basins ever since.  Idaho is nearing statewide completion. Water adjudication is in process in the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille basin and just beginning in the Kootenai River Basin and the Bear River Basin. Statewide adjudication has legal advantages for the state, as well as protecting the individual water rights of all Idahoans without a need to sue your neighbor to resolve a conflict.  Adjudication information is available at idwr.idaho.gov

The Columbia River Treaty, a 60-year agreement between the U.S. and Canada on flood control and hydropower, was ratified in 1964. The Columbia River Treaty partially determines flows and dam operations in the Columbia River System. The Albeni Falls Dam is a part of the system, so Lake Pend Oreille water levels are affected. Now past the sixty-year term, there is some uncertainty in operations. Negotiations on a new treaty began in 2018. There is an agreement in principle for a new treaty, but talks are currently paused. This one is harder to influence, but efforts are being made.

In addition to the state water adjudication, there are local efforts underway to protect our waters. I think most all of us have been disappointed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers delayed initial response to Albeni Falls Dam flood gate repairs, as well as the extended timeline proposed for repairs. It should not take four times as long to change a set of car tires as it took to first build the car.

The Lakes Commission, a six-member advisory board tasked with preservation of Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River, Priest Lake, and Priest River, is heavily engaged with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Commission has been instrumental in providing information to the community and in providing a public forum for feedback to the Army Corps. I believe public pressure is expediting the repair timeline and ensuring lake water level operations that work for the community.

As your representation in Boise, Representative Sauter and I have been working on two Lake Pend Oreille issues. First, in conjunction with the Lakes Commission, we are pushing to move faster with the Albeni Falls Dam gate repairs. If the gate failures require emergency water level operations, then correcting the deficiency is also an emergency.  

Second, we are advocating for an extended full pool period on Lake Pend Oreille, more in alignment with the original agreements that authorized construction of the Albeni Falls Dam. The Lake Pend Oreille Alliance website has a wealth of information on the issue. Operating the lake at higher levels provides quicker access for emergency response, greater recreational opportunities, and safer navigation. Higher lake levels are possible while still providing for fisheries, flood control, and power production.

A few weeks ago, Representative Sauter and I organized an informational session on Lake Pend Oreille in the Senate Resources & Environment to raise awareness in the Legislature on our lake issues. The March 19th committee hearing can be viewed on Legislature.Idaho.Gov.  

This coming week, we hope to request action of the federal government through a Senate Joint Memorial. SJM 105 can be viewed on the same website.

The 2025 legislative session should wrap up this coming week or next. I am looking forward to being back in the district and having a chance to catch up with folks locally.

Idaho Sen. Jim Woodward represents Bonner and Boundary counties in District 1. He can be reached at jwoodward@senate.idaho.gov.