Lake Pumping To Begin For Irrigation Water

Well, our few days of winter helped stave off the irrigation draw on Bear Lake, but only by a few days .   The inflow to the lake has been closed off and the Paris Dike outlet was opened yesterday. This means that all the water diverted from the river is being returned to the river. In a normal year this would happen later in the spring and the natural flow would sustain the first part of the irrigation season. (There is nothing "normal" about this year and we hope this is not the new normal!) It is highly likely that pumping will begin by next Friday and at the very latest by May 1st when more water rights come on line.   As we reported last week, the amount of water that the irrigators can take is already set by PacifiCorp, as per the Bear Lake Settlement Agreement. So, just because they are starting delivery early does not mean that they will or can take more, it just means each irrigator will have to be very vigilant how they use their portion of the allocation because when it is used up, they are o-u-t. They also work together via conference call twice a week to coordinate with each other and PacifiCorp regarding the amount and timing of water delivery. If the demand is greater than the pumps at Lifton can deliver, they have to come to an agreement as to how to take deliveries in turns.   Each delivery is tracked by PacifiCorp according to their specific contract with each Canal Company or individual user. It is also reported to the respective state's Water Resource department where a data model keeps track of each water right's use, both natural flow and storage.   The lake is at 5913.38, most likely this is the high for the year as the only increases now would be from the local streams, springs and upwelling in the lake which would probably negligible.   If we do get a spike in the runoff, it will be pass on downstream in lieu of storage water being pumped. Consequently, unless there is a real wet spring, we will see the lake recede early this year.   We'll keep you posted,     David Cottle, Bear Lake Watch

Claudia & David Cottle  Executive Directors  Bear Lake Watch, Inc. 4544 Hwy 89  Fish Haven, Idaho 83287  801-243-8980 - Claudia  208-530-0058 - David  Working to keep Bear Lake "Clean, Deep and Blue"