Idaho Water Resources Board and Department of Water Resources outline funding, recharge goals and staffing needs

The Idaho Department of Water Resources and the Idaho Water Resource Board told the Legislative Budget Committee in March that they have committed most existing water-management funds to projects and are asking for ongoing money and additional staff to manage growing workload and recharge efforts.

The Department of Water Resources, Director Matt Weaver said, has seen a recent increase in appropriations driven largely by federal ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) state fiscal recovery funds and now faces both project delivery and administration demands. "We know of $213,000,000 worth of projects that we've identified that currently don't have any funding," Weaver said, adding that implementing the Eastern Snake Plain settlement and statewide recharge projects will require sustained resources.

Why it matters: lawmakers pressed agency leaders on whether available cash is already committed, which projects are shovel-ready, and whether the agency has the staffing and long-term plans to convert appropriations into completed recharge and infrastructure projects. The answers will shape decisions on a governor-recommended $30 million ongoing transfer into the water management fund, additional FTEs, and whether the Legislature should approve one-time or ongoing funding.

Agency finances and committed projects Jeff Raybould, chairman of the Idaho Water Resource Board, described where board-committed funds are directed and the mechanics of project funding. Raybould said the board has committed roughly $290 million of the water management account and that the uncommitted cash balance is about $29 million. "That total committed fund balance is $290,000,000 so that…