View original file203922
NOTICE OF AMENDED MITIGATION PLAN
SUBMITTED BY FALLS WATER CO., INC.
IN RESPONSE TO THE
SURFACE WATER COALITION WATER DELIVERY CALL
Notice is hereby given that on February 4, 2026, Falls Water Co., Inc. ("FWC"), through its counsel, Robert Harris, PO Box 50130, Idaho Falls, ID 83405, submitted the First Amended Falls Water Co., Inc.'s CM Rule 43 Mitigation Plan ("Plan") to the Idaho Department of Water Resources ("Department").
The Plan is intended to satisfy the mitigation obligations of FWC for the Surface Water Coalition ("SWC") Water Delivery Call administered by the Department and watermasters of state water districts who administer ground water rights within the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer ("ESPA"). The SWC consists of irrigation water delivery entities with senior surface water rights diverted from the Snake River above Milner Dam. The SWC members include A&B Irrigation District, American Falls Reservoir District 2, Burley Irrigation District, Milner Irrigation District, Minidoka Irrigation District, North Side Canal Company, and Twin Falls Canal Company. FWC is a municipal water provider that serves certain residential, commercial, and industrial properties within Bonneville and Jefferson counties, and holds ground water rights within a portion of the ESPA that are junior in priority to the SWC's senior priority Snake River water rights.
FWC seeks to model its mitigation plan and the calculation of its annual mitigation obligation to the SWC members after the approved mitigation plan filed by the Ground Water Districts, assigned No. CM-MP-2024-003. FWC's annual mitigation amount will be calculated based on a two-year average and consists of two components: (1) pumping reductions; and (2) storage water leases. Plan, at 4. First, FWC will calculate its total annual pumping amount, subtract the non-consumptive portion (in-home uses) to determine the total consumptive amount, and multiply that figure by 11.4% to establish its pumping reduction equivalent. Id. Second, FWC will divide the total consumptive amount by 1,795,034 acre-feet to determine a percentage, then multiply that percentage by 75,000 acre-feet to calculate its storage water obligation. Id. at 5. FWC asserts it has entered into a lease agreement with Progressive Irrigation District to receive storage water and intends to use that storage water to recharge both its reduction equivalent and its storage water obligation amounts at either Progressive's or Idaho Water Resource Board's recharge sites. Id. at 6.
The Department will process the Plan under the Department's Conjunctive Management Rules (IDAPA 37.03.11). A complete copy of the Plan is available for review at the following website link: https://idwr.idaho.gov/legal-actions/mitigation-plan-actions/SWC/fwc/.
This notice does not represent analysis or approval of the proposed plan by the Department. Protests against approval of the Plan must be filed with the Department, together with a protest fee of $25, on or before 3/9/2026. Rule 53 of the Department's Rules of Procedure (IDAPA 37.01.01.053) outlines how documents may be filed with the Department and when they are considered filed. A copy of the Rules of Procedure may be obtained at the following website link: https://adminrules.idaho.gov/rules/current/37/370101.pdf. The protest must include a certificate of service showing that a copy of the protest has been mailed or delivered personally to counsel for FWC.
Mathew Weaver, Director
Published in the Idaho Statesman, Mountain Home News, Idaho Mountain Express, Post Register, & Idaho State Journal on 2/18/2026 and 2/25/2026; in the Times News & Lewiston Tribune on 2/19/2026 and 2/26/2026; and in the Rexburg Standard Journal on 2/20/2026 and 2/27/2026.