Recharging Idaho’s Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer
Water flowing into one of the IWRB’s recharge basins.
T
he Idaho Water Resource Board (IWRB) is a state agency that was created in 1963 to protect Idaho’s water by formulating a comprehensive state water plan. One of its main projects in recent years has been the recharging of the Eastern Snake Plain aquifer (ESPA), which had been depleted by overuse and was no longer supplying enough water for all users. The IWRB has addressed this problem with an array of water conservation solutions and even the creation of new water through cloud seeding. In this interview, IWRB Chairman Roger Chase tells Irrigation Leader about the IWRB’s history and its current efforts on the ESPA. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about your background and how you came to be in your current position.
22 | IRRIGATION LEADER | September 2020
Roger Chase: The IWRB was founded in 1963, when the City of Los Angeles was looking at pumping water from Idaho to Southern California. One of Idaho’s great assets, even though the majority of the state is desert, is good water resources, and the board was formed, quite frankly, to protect Idaho’s water. In Idaho, as in any place, people are always asking how to use the water someplace else, which we try to stop. Irrigation Leader: Is the IWRB a public entity? Roger Chase: It is a state agency. We’re sworn in by the state, and we have to follow all the state rules for public organizations. Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the issue that the IWRB is trying to solve on the ESPA. Roger Chase: The problem is that we are pumping and using more water from the aquifer than is going in. About 13 percent of the water going into the aquifer comes from snow and rain. Another 15–16 percent comes from tributaries and rivers that run across the aquifer. The irrigationleadermagazine.com
PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE IWRB.
Roger Chase: I’ve been involved in politics and water issues throughout my life. I served in the state legislature for three terms and was the mayor of one of the largest cities in the state, Pocatello, for a couple of terms. I was appointed to the board to represent the cities and recreationalists. I’m also a Democrat, which can be hard to find in Idaho. I’ve been on the board for around 12 years and I’ve chaired it for 8.
Irrigation Leader: Please tell us about the IWRB.
