On Monday, state officials declared a drought emergency for the state of Idaho.
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In the decree signed by the governor, the declaration allows for "temporary exchanges of water rights," putting pressure on irrigators and water users in the coming months.
The drought emergency is declared for all counties in Idaho. This last winter was the warmest recorded since 1934, and one of the driest snow years for Idaho between the months of October and March.
Local farmers already are adjusting to the season with the lack of snowpack, but Monday's declaration now has the agriculture industry worried about more than just fields.
“You’re going to see different commodity prices going up because there’s going to be a shortage," said local farmer Bethany Gotts, "Different commodity prices going down because they’re cutting back. It’s just this very strange year. The water is impacting all of it.”
WATCH: Farmers react to drought emergency declared for Idaho
On Wednesday, Treasure Valley water users met in Meridian to address some of the concerns to come in the next few months.
David Hoekema with the Idaho Department of Water Resources explained as hard as these water rights exchanges may be, this will help the state prevail past a challenging drought.
“If you go up to the big lost in Butte and Custer County, they have more water rights in those two counties than the Snake River above Milner, and so in counties like that, this is an excellent tool for them," said Hoekema. "We know they would in a year like this request a drought, so we are getting out ahead so that they can get this process underway and make those transfers they need in their basins,” said Hoekema.
As we have reported, basins across the state are releasing water due to the high capacity.
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This doesn't relate to the drought, as the snow runoff is one of the largest reservoirs in the state, and the basins being full doesn't reflect the need for water the state will have later this summer.
