06/26/08

What a difference a year makes. Last year, irrigators began using storage water beginning in May, because the weather got so hot and dry so early. But this year, there's a lot more to go around.

Twin Falls Canal Company General Manager Brian Olmstead says, "The fact that the snow stayed up there a long time and came off slow has given us real good natural flow. So we have used virtually no storage yet and I don't think we will for a couple more weeks anyway."

Olmstead says this year the canal company has a good water supply, and that irrigators haven’t needed to draw because the weather was too cold.

Soon the bureau of reclamation will begin releasing water to help with salmon migration, which means about two thousand cubic feet of water coming over Shoshone Falls, resulting in a small but scenic display.

Michael Beus, Water Operations Manager says, "We'll start ramping the flows up at Milner on July first, reach our summertime flow on July fourth. And you should see the flows starting about the fifth, and they'll be steady through the month of July after that."

Overall, the reservoirs in the upper Snake River system are 82 percent full. Olmstead says the Twin Falls Canal Company's canals are almost full right now, which isn't just good for irrigators, but it also helps prevent problems with canal banks, as well.