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BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The director of the Idaho Department of Water Resources is exercising new authority given to him by lawmakers earlier this year by issuing an order potentially cutting off water to some groundwater pumpers.
Gary Spackman issued the order Thursday that involves some 85 pumpers who are not in compliance with an agreement intended to prevent declines in a giant Idaho aquifer.
The 2015 agreement is intended to stabilize the level of the Lake Erie-sized Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer in eastern Idaho so that surface users and groundwater pumpers have a reliable source of water.
But some groundwater pumpers are ignoring the agreement.
The legislation approved earlier this year gives the state authority to bring those recalcitrant groundwater pumpers in line with the threat of cutting off their water.
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