NAMPA, Idaho — Canal flows with the Treasure Valley’s largest irrigation district will be shut off the morning of October 7th to mark the end of the 2019 irrigation season, water managers with the Nampa and Meridian Irrigation District said Monday.
NMID crews will begin slowly closing the headgates of the District’s Boise River diversion near Barber Park in the early morning hours of October 7.
It will take about two to three days for the 500 miles in the NMID canals to fully drain, officials said.
The District manages approximately eighty different canals.
“Overall, this has been a good irrigation season. Deliveries this year were a mixed bag. Rainy spells in April and May along with cooler than normal temps at times, made deliveries fluctuate more than normal this year. But I expect to have some fairly good carry over water left for going into next year,” NMID Water Superintendent Greg Curtis said.
The actual amount of carry-over water will not be known until later this fall. But Curtis said he is “hopeful Mother Nature is generous with the moisture again this winter. Now we all need to ‘Think snow.’”
The Nampa and Meridian Board of Directors made the decision to end water deliveries at a recent regular board meeting. Last year, the system was shut down on October 4.
Area subdivisions with pressurized irrigation systems owned and operated by NMID and that would like to switch to their backup source need to have their home owners association presidents contact the District's Water Superintendent in writing to have their system switched over.
City of Nampa residents need to contact the City of Nampa Water Department at 208- 468-5860 to inquire about their shut off date.
Water managers are planning a series of maintenance and improvement projects as soon as the system is empty. The projects over the coming months will both improve the efficiency of the water delivery system and help conserve water.
The Nampa and Meridian Irrigation District supplies irrigation water to some 69,000 acres of farmland, residential and commercial lands -- including pressurized irrigation -- for more than 17,000 individual parcels of land in Ada and Canyon counties.
(photo courtesy: Nampa and Meridian Irrigation District)
