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IDWR and IWRB update committee on ESPA work, proposed merger and Bear Lake operations
Summary
IDWR and the Idaho Water Resource Board briefed the Senate Resources & Environment Committee on FY2026 programs including ESPA tributary basin work, a proposed IDWR merger with the Soil and Water Conservation Commission, regional sustainability projects, and questions about Bear Lake operations and water-right priorities.
Mat Weaver, Director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, gave the committee an annual update on IDWRs work, including a budget overview, the departments new water administration bureau, accomplishments on East Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA) tributary basins, and a proposed merger with the Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Weaver also summarized IDWRs involvement with the 2025 Surface Water Coalition Delivery Call and conditions in the Treasure Valley groundwater system.
Chairman Burtenshaw asked where Idahos Lower Division first water right of 125,000 acre-feet under the Bear River Compact was going; Weaver said that water currently flowed into the Great Salt Lake and added that, if Idaho established beneficial uses for the water, it could divert extra water in high water years instead of letting it flow to the lake.
Jeff Raybould, Chairman of the Idaho Water Resource Board, presented IWRB programs and FY2026 projects, including actions to implement Senate Concurrent Resolution 110, water-project funding and obligations, regional water sustainability work, and the ESPA Regional Water Sustainability Program for groundwater-to-surface-water conversion projects, telemetry, measurement, monitoring and recharge. Raybould also reviewed Idahos cloud seeding program and a statewide aging water-infrastructure program.
Senators asked technical questions: Senator Cook asked whether Bear Lake water was used for flood mitigation and about PacifiCorps operations; Raybould and Weaver answered that PacifiCorp operates Bear Lake and typically reduces the lake to an elevation of 5918 feet in the fall and that PacifiCorp may avoid release for flood control due to liability concerns from past flooding. Senator Guthrie asked whether converted groundwater retained the original groundwater priority date when it became surface water; Raybould said the priority date would be the priority date of the water right being used. Raybould also described how canal lining that reduced seepage could lower diversions and ultimately help balance supply for the Surface Water Coalition and benefit the ESPA.
