BOISE, Idaho — Behind closed doors, furious negotiations are taking place to keep the peace between canal irrigators in the Magic Valley and groundwater irrigators in Eastern Idaho as the drought that has gripped the West rears its head in the Gem State.
At stake is a 2015 settlement agreement, a crowning achievement of House Speaker Scott Bedke, which aimed to stop the conflict between the Surface Water Coalition — canal companies and fish farms in the Magic Valley who generally have senior water rights — and the Idaho Ground Water Appropriators — Eastern Idaho groundwater irrigators who generally have junior rights. If negotiations fail, so will crops.
The latest conflict has been kicked off by two successive dry years in which there hasn’t been enough water available to sufficiently recharge the aquifer.
