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| trock, the problem in my area is water rights haven't made pumpers put meters on wells yet. All they have done is look at satellite maps and count acres. If over on acres you get a letter and make you drop acres. Within two years I feel we will have meters and find the over pumpage going on. I know for a fact some guys have upsized pumps pulling more water, but state hasn't done a thing yet. I agree on too many domestic well permits being given.
If you want to sell land for development, you need to idle irrigation acres to provide that water for housing. We've also asked water rights to crack down on domestic permits, they won't listen to us. So, our county just put in a very restrictive P&Z development code. It's put a little whoa on building right now. But right now, you can build houses if county will let you, then every one-acre lot can drill a well. Those landowners can then sell their water right out to another farmer, thus water usage just doubled. I do agree what a home uses inside home goes back into aquifer.
One of the big problems is irrigation has become too efficient with sprinklers, thus they aren't recharging the aquifer like surface irrigation did with flooding. Government pays you to convert to sprinklers, then they want to pay you pump water back into the ground to recharge. That one makes me scratch my head.
ICC, I get to meet with TJ this week at his law office over our problems with canal companies in our valley. I'm looking forward to that visit as he's deep involved representing the ground pumpers in this case against water rights. Your wrong ICC, they are going to move to my valley to live during the week. Just like they did in Utah, Tooele County. Then they are going to drive over recreate in your backyard and urinate in your big pool over there on the weekend. I figure you're going to have to start selling burgers and Diet Coke favored snow cones to pay tax bill the Governor is going to impose on your assets yearly. Are you sure you don't want to move out here?
Bottom line I don't think there's been a farmer in Idaho that hasn't wondered every night going to bed if they are going to be in business in the next few years. I just had an appraiser tell me two weeks ago the exodus has begun. Farmers are selling out in Utah & Idaho and buying up land in Missouri. Telling me it's cheaper to mover there. How's that for stirring the pot tonight? | |
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Idaho Irrigation water
