Idaho Ground Water Users Receive $4M for Rangen Pipeline

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Idaho Water Resource Board says three water districts that paid for a $4 million Hagerman Valley pipeline will be reimbursed.

The 1.3-mile pipeline was part of a deal that kept hundreds of businesses, fire districts and schools from having their water cut off. The pipeline delivers water to Rangen Inc., a Hagerman-based fish farm with senior water rights. Idaho law generally allows senior water right holders to cut off junior water right holders' access to water when there isn't enough to go around.

Lynn Tominaga, executive director of the Idaho Ground Water Association, says the three large ground water districts fronted the costs of the project. However, a collective of smaller districts requested the loan to repay the larger users, which have been cash-strapped since paying for the pipeline. The Idaho Water Resource Board approved the loan last week during its Twin Falls meeting.