BOISE, ID — Snowpack, a key component of Idaho's water supply, is on the decline. Dartmouth research shows that since the 1980s, the Northwest has lost 5% to 10% of its snowpack every 10 years. They attribute this decline to climate change.
Southwest Idaho receives about 12 inches of moisture per year, including rain and snow.
“But without the snow, we'd be a complete desert, and that's all there is to it,” said Lance Phillips, owner and operator of Emmett's Gem Orchards.
Snow cover in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington is essential to a successful irrigation and farming season. Snowmelt water flows into a reservoir, and the reservoir is like a piggy bank. Ideally, the water will be there when you need it. Runoff from reservoirs flows through rivers and canals to homes and farmland.
“I've been farming since I was five years old, and when I was a kid we also had an orchard where we had gladioli and chickens, so we've been orchardting for over 37 years now,” Phillips said. Ta.
“If I can give away fruit for a living, there is nothing better than seeing the joy on someone's face when they come to my orchard and pick the fruit I worked so hard for for nine months.'' No…it's the fruit of my labor so to speak, it's the literal fruit of my labor,” Phillips said.
Phillips moved to southwestern Idaho about 25 years ago. During that time, he has seen many changes in water supply.
“Over the last few years, we've found that we have more moisture in February and March than we used to have in January and February,” he says.
Over the past 50 years, more winter precipitation has fallen as rain than snow, according to an EPA study. They expect that trend to continue. For Idaho in particular, the snow season will be about 40 days shorter, the EPA said.
In dry years, water managers had to shorten irrigation seasons. The most recent one was in the fall of 2021, ending the season about a month early.
KTVB spoke with former Boise River water manager Rex Barry that year (2021) and said, “They've invested a lot of money into these crops, but they're not getting enough water that they really need.'' If I can't do that, it's stressful,” he said. Yields for some of those crops have declined. ”
The Gem State ranks second in the nation in irrigation water use, behind California, according to the University of Idaho.
Phillips lives in several areas of Idaho with different watersheds. “I really like where I'm at, so having a good, reliable watershed that has at least 50% to 80% water on a regular basis would really help me.” This is to cultivate and carry out what we do. ”
Even with a reliable water source, Phillips turned to methods that waste less water and give him more control.
He, like others nearby, uses sprinklers and drip systems to limit the amount of water lost to the soil and air.
“We've changed a lot with the transition from large-scale flood irrigation to most farms and ranches in our region, at least to sprinklers and more efficient systems, and canals and We'll see how we manage it.''It had to change,'' Phillips explained.
As the snowpack is expected to continue to shrink across the Northwest, more changes may be needed to improve the efficiency of the supply we have.
“But I think all of these advances have been great because they allow us to more accurately protect, extend and utilize it. Maybe we can put it back into profits or other benefits that will help everyone,” Phillips said.
In southern Idaho, some watersheds rely heavily on reliable but aging infrastructure: dams and reservoirs. Several dams in the region are approaching 100 years of construction.
The infrastructure on Lance Phillip's property in Emmett is about 90 years old. The current canal system and tunnels were built by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1937. Part of the ditch that brings water to the farmland is still dirt, which is an inefficient option. Dirt absorbs water as it is transported.
The changes to water supply we have seen so far do not yet require large-scale shifts in infrastructure, but improvements in efficiency may become a priority and drive change.
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