By Patrick J. Wolf, Featured Contributor
No issue is more consequential for Idaho agriculture than the long-term health of the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. This massive underground water source sustains irrigation across hundreds of thousands of acres in eastern Idaho — the heart of our potato, grain, and sugar beet production.
The aquifer has been in decline for decades. Groundwater pumping has exceeded recharge, and curtailment proceedings have created uncertainty for producers who depend on well water. Surface water users and groundwater users have found themselves in increasingly contentious disputes over a resource that is essential to both.
The path forward requires three things: honest acknowledgment of the hydrological data, collaborative solutions that include all water users, and sustained public investment in aquifer recharge and irrigation infrastructure. We cannot regulate our way out of a water supply problem. We need to build our way toward long-term water security.
Patrick J. Wolf is an agricultural policy advisor and rural economic strategist. Read his full profile in the Idaho Ag Leaders series.