NAMPA -- Water managers for the Treasure Valley's largest irrigation will shut off water to 500 miles of canals on September 5, marking a very early end to the irrigation season.
Officials with the Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District made the announcement today.
Typically, the irrigation season lasts until the first week of October. In 2012, water flows were halted on October 4.
Low snowpack and below normal precipitation are to blame for the early shut off.
It has been a tough water year for everyone. But the Board especially thanked our patrons for their hard work and close attention to water conservation that was one of the main reasons we have been able to extend the season as long as we have, said Greg Curtis, NMID Water Superintendent. Everyone has realized with the hot summer we have experienced that we needed to conserve where possible and I have heard very little complaining as we tried to meet everyone's water needs
Water levels in the Ridenbaugh Canal will begin to decline quickly after the canal headgates are closed at the District's Boise River diversion just upstream from Barber Park. But it could take two days before water levels drop in the furthermost reaches of the NMID system.
The entire canal system should be nearly empty in four to five days after the water is shut off, Curtis said.
The canal water shut off means residential water users using pressurized urban irrigation systems managed by the District will need to switch to another water source such as a municipal system if they want to continue to irrigate lawns and landscaping, Curtis added.
The Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District supplies irrigation water to some 69,000 acres of farmland, residential and commercial lands, including pressurized irrigation for more than 15,000 individual parcels of land in Ada and Canyon counties.
