Teton Basin Water Users Association
Changes to Idaho water legislation and recent groundwater curtailment issues are highlighting the importance of the Teton Basin Water Users Association (TBWUA). The TBWUA came together in 2018 to address water availability issues in Teton Valley, Idaho. Population growth, climate change, and changing land use are depleting the local aquifer, causing shifts in groundwater hydrology that have a big impact on local livelihoods, fish, and wildlife. In response, the TBWUA - an unlikely and effective partnership of local irrigators, agencies, scientists and conservation groups - is finding solutions to change the way we work together and how water is managed to sustain the future of agriculture in Teton Valley.
Among the solutions is an effort to re-implement flood irrigation practices, including annual monitoring and modeling in partnership with Watercourse Engineering and the Henry’s Fork Foundation. The goal of incidental recharge is to convert cheap and abundant early-season water into valuable summer water. As a way to incentivize irrigators and canal companies to partake in incidental recharge, TBWUA has provided an annual stipend for those participating as well as a summary of the collected data. The annual incidental recharge data since 2019 validates the approach and work of the group.
While monitoring and modeling incidental recharge has been a primary focus of the group, there is much work to be done and 2024 has proven to be a pivotal year in transforming the nature of TBWUA. In March 2024, TBWUA reached the close of the 3-year NRCS grant that has funded this project and in July 2024, the group successfully incorporated as their own 501c(3) and is actively working to recruit new members, educate local water users, continue data monitoring, and develop a regional water mitigation plan. LegacyWorks continues to support the group as a facilitator/convener and advisor, with a current focus on seeking funding opportunities going forward. Recently, this has included submitting a BoR WaterSMART grant as well as connecting TBWUA to PERC for potential support.
Partners Include:
Teton Basin Water Users Association
Henry’s Fork Foundation
Friends of the Teton River