Friday July, 9 2004
ID:
Governor Kempthorne Declares Drought Emergency in Elmore County
Source: Office of Governor Dirk Kempthorne
Elmore County is experiencing severely restricted water supplies due to five consecutive years of below normal snowfall. Reduced reservoir carryover and low storage in the spring of 2004 has decreased the allocation of storage water from 3.0 acre-feet per acre to 1.75 acre-feet per acre.
The Elmore County Commissioners requested the drought declaration and the request was approved by the Idaho Department of Water Resources before being forwarded to Governor Kempthorne for his approval.
Under the declaration, irrigators in the county can work with IDWR to secure temporary water rights and make modifications to existing water rights. The drought emergency declaration is effective until December 31st unless extended or terminated by Director Karl Dreher.
Drought declarations have now been approved for Bannock, Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Butte, Caribou, Clark, Custer, Elmore, Gooding, Fremont, Jefferson, Lemhi, Lincoln, Madison, Oneida, Power, Teton, and Twin Falls counties.
All drought emergency declarations are available on the Idaho Department of Water Resources website at www.idwr.state.id.us.
Contact:
Mark Snider
208-334-2100