TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Twin Falls Canal Company has cut water deliveries for the second time this season, dropping allocations to 1/2 inch per acre as an extreme drought grips southern Idaho — and the irrigation season has not even reached June.
The company had already reduced deliveries from 3/4 inch per acre to 5/8 inch per acre before the irrigation season started. The latest reduction marks an unprecedented situation in the 33 years General Manager Jay Barlogi has worked for the canal company.
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"It wasn't an easy decision at all. It's not gonna be an easy summer for anybody. Water users out there are working hard. They've got some difficult, tough decisions to make," Barlogi explained.
Barlogi said the only comparable year in his memory was 1992 — the year before he joined the company.
"The only year that compares to this year was 1992, the year before I started here. But in 1992, we didn't make it through the season," Barlogi said.
While farmers face difficult choices about which crops to prioritize, city residents also have a role to play. More than half of the homes in Twin Falls water their lawns using pressurized irrigation from the canal and are subject to the same delivery reductions.
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The city of Twin Falls holds the majority of water shares in the area, according to Assistant Public Works Director Erin Steel.
"Make sure that you're watering on the days you're supposed to, make sure that if you can cut back instead of watering three times a day, and cut to two, do that. If you can cut back from two to one, do that. We are in a drought; this is a desert area," Steel added.
The city uses an even/odd watering schedule: homes with addresses ending in even numbers water on even-numbered days, and homes with addresses ending in odd numbers water on odd-numbered days. Residents can visit the city's website to find the best watering schedule based on their address.
"We're just trying to make sure everybody's playing by the rules and playing on the same side," Steel said.
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