JEROME, Idaho — Canal companies across Idaho are starting their charging processes after a winter snow drought left many southern Idaho irrigators hoping for a wet spring.
The North Side Canal Company has over 900 miles of canals that provide irrigation water to nearly 160,000 acres of farmland. General Manager Alan Hansten said the winter's snow drought is a cause for concern.
WATCH: Idaho canal companies are charging their systems, but a winter snow drought has irrigators relying on a wet spring to keep them afloat.
"We’ve been in a snow drought, and it's been a long time since that has happened," Hansten said. "We hit January, and things just didn't play out the way it was expected to."
According to the Bureau of Reclamation, Idaho reservoirs like Henry's Lake, Island Park, and the Little Wood all sit above 95% of their total capacity. American Falls is at 81%, and Lake Walcot is at 73%. These are surprisingly good levels considering the lack of snowfall in the valleys this winter.
Hansten said what little snow did fall in Idaho's mid-elevations has already begun to melt, resulting in the current reservoir levels.
"This year, we have decent snowpack up in the higher elevations, but in the mid-elevations, there is not a lot of snow, and with the warm weather we’ve been seeing, the runoff is coming off earlier," explained Hansten.
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Hansten said not to expect those healthy reservoir levels to last long after the canals fill and irrigation begins. With no snow in the mid-elevations and the traditional melt cycle already disrupted, Idaho irrigators are relying on a wet spring to keep them afloat until mid-summer, when higher elevation snowpacks typically begin to melt.
"We’re hoping that these current weather patterns we’re seeing will change a little bit here, and start bringing some more moisture into the hills down into the low-lying areas," Hansten said. "There is a lot that could happen between now and the first part of June, but right now it's a little too early to tell, but we’re hopeful things will improve."
While irrigators hope for a wet spring, the show must go on— the North Side Canal Company started charging its system last week and expects to have full water deliveries to shareholders by mid-April.
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