Protecting Our Idaho Waters

By Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle
Reader Contributor

For decades, water has been on the mind of every farmer, rancher and landowner along the Snake River in southern Idaho. There is competition between agricultural uses and hydropower production. There is also competition within the agricultural community between those who use surface water and those who pump water from the aquifer. Water in the Snake River Basin is a finite resource. Conflicts are determined by our “First in time, is first in right” water doctrine.

In North Idaho, we have historically enjoyed an abundance of water. A growing population, federal government policy, federal government dam operations and an international treaty threaten the natural resource we enjoy and rely on.

What are we doing in Idaho to preserve our waters? Fortunately, we have decades of experience in water adjudication, starting with the Snake River Basin in 1987, which took until 2014 to finalize. Our state has been in a continual process of adjudicating water rights across drainage basins ever since.

Sen. Jim Woodward. File photo.

Idaho is nearing statewide completion. Water adjudication is in process in the Clark Fork-Pend Oreille River Basin and is just beginning in the Kootenai River Basin and the Bear River Basin. Statewide adjudication has legal advantages for the state and protects the individual water rights of all Idahoans without the need to sue your neighbor to resolve a conflict.

Adjudication information is available at idwr.idaho.gov

The Columbia River Treaty, a sixty-year agreement between the U.S. and Canada on flood control and hydropower, was ratified in 1964. The treaty partially determines flows and dam operations in the Columbia River System. The Albeni Falls Dam is a part of the system, so Lake Pend Oreille water levels are affected.

Now past the sixty-year term, there is some uncertainty in operations. Negotiations on a new treaty began in 2018. There is an agreement in principle for a new treaty, but talks are currently paused. This one is harder to influence, but efforts are being made.

In addition to the state water adjudication, there are local efforts underway to protect our waters.  I think most of us have been disappointed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ initial delayed response to the Albeni Falls Dam spillway gate issues, as well as the extended timeline proposed for repairs. It should not take four times as long to change a set of car tires as it took to first build the car.

The Lakes Commission, a six-member advisory board tasked with the preservation of Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend Oreille River, Priest Lake and Priest River, is heavily engaged with the Corps. The commission has been instrumental in providing both information to the community and a public forum to give feedback to the Corps. I believe public pressure is expediting the repair timeline and ensuring water level operations that work for the community.

As your representation in Boise, Rep. Mark Sauter and I have been working on two Lake Pend Oreille issues. First, in conjunction with the Lakes Commission, we are pushing to move faster on the Albeni Falls Dam gate repairs. If the gate failures require emergency water level operations, then correcting the deficiency is also an emergency.

Second, we are advocating for an extended full pool period on Lake Pend Oreille, more in alignment with the original agreements that authorized construction of the Albeni Falls Dam. Operating the lake at higher levels provides quicker access for emergency response, greater recreational opportunities and safer navigation. Higher lake levels are possible while still providing for fisheries, flood control and power production.

The Lake Pend Oreille Alliance website, savependoreille.org, has a wealth of information on the issue.

A few weeks ago, Sauter and I organized an informational session on Lake Pend Oreille in the Senate Resources and Environment Committee to raise awareness in the Legislature on our lake issues. This coming week, we hope to request action from the federal government through a Senate Joint Memorial. The March 19th committee hearing and SJM 105 can be viewed on Legislature.Idaho.Gov.

The 2025 legislative session should wrap up this coming week or the next. I am looking forward to being back in the district and having a chance to catch up with folks locally.

Jim Woodward is the Dist. 1 Republican senator from Sagle. He serves on the Joint Finance-Appropriations (vice-chair) and Education committees. Reach him during the 2025 legislative session at 208-332-1349 (Statehouse), 208-946-7963 (home) or jwoodward@senate.idaho.gov.