Good Water Year Allows Aquifer Recharge

The plentiful snowpack throughout southern Idaho this year will pay an extra dividend…extra water for the aquifer recharge effort.  State officials say the plentiful water supply this year will allow canal companies to use some of that extra water in their efforts to recharge the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.  As the population increases in southern Idaho, so does the demand for ground water.  Many of the canal systems have set up special recharge areas where the extra water can be used to percolate down through the earth and into the aquifer, making that water available for subsequent years.  The amount of water available for the recharge effort varies in each area.  Over the past few years more water has been taken out of the aquifer than can be naturally restored so the recharge effort, which was begun several years ago, was designed to help replace the water during good water years.  Most of the snowpack drainages in southern Idaho are above seasonal averages this year making it a good year for the recharge project.