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Idaho Falls staff outline plan to convert irrigation rights for new developments
Summary
City staff detailed a plan to use surface irrigation water for new residential developments to reduce potable water demand, describing operational, billing and design issues and a draft agreement with the irrigation district.
City staff told the Idaho Falls City Council at a Feb. work session that they are preparing to convert existing agricultural surface‑water irrigation rights into a secondary (nonpotable) irrigation system for new urban development.
The presentation by Public Works Director Keith explained the goal is to shift irrigation demand from treated potable supplies to district surface water where existing water rights allow, and to set design standards and an agreement with Idaho irrigation districts that would govern how developers connect to and use that water.
A key technical limit the city and irrigation district are using is 8.97 gallons per minute per acre for each converted parcel; the district also expects continuous, around‑the‑clock irrigation scheduling for the subdivisions that tie in to avoid sharp nighttime peaks that can draw down canal deliveries. “It is the key piece of the puzzle, you know, the two items, the 8.97 gallons per minute and then that that’s…
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