Curtailment order targets 924 groundwater rights across eastern Idaho
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IDAHO FALLS — A water curtailment order affecting 924 individual groundwater rights in east Idaho is now in effect.
The Idaho Department of Water Resources issued the curtailment on May 14 for anyone with a water right obtained after Oct. 11, 1900, who is not covered by an approved mitigation plan. Department spokesman Steve Stuebner tells EastIdahoNews.com the order, which went into effect on May 1, affects 736 people within the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer area of common groundwater supply.
The area of common groundwater encompasses about 16 counties across 10,800 square miles. It includes tributaries that run from Glenns Ferry and Twin Falls to the Henrys Fork near Ashton, Teton and Driggs. It also stretches from the Ketchum and Mackay areas in the Big Lost and Little Lost River Basins — which recently joined the 2024 Stipulated Mitigation Plan — to areas surrounding the Portneuf and Blackfoot Rivers near Malad, Soda Springs and Montpelier.
The 2024 plan provides a safe harbor that protects groundwater wells from being shut off, but only if users comply with a mitigation agreement.
“Groundwater users with consumptive water rights … shall establish, to the satisfaction of the director, that they can mitigate for their proportionate share of the predicted (shortfall),” the order says. “Holders of groundwater rights … may seek to participate in an approved mitigation plan through a groundwater district and shall have 15 days from the date of this order to join.”
Earlier this year, IDWR Director Mathew Weaver found that surface water users may face a shortfall of 181,600 acre-feet of water in the 2026 irrigation season. Under Idaho law, surface water users in Magic Valley have senior water rights, and groundwater users in east Idaho are required to have a plan for recharging the aquifer during times of shortages.
In April, the department issued a drought declaration in response to the water shortage. Although groundwater users are required to conserve a minimum of 205,000-acre-feet of water annually, the water shortage in 2026 means there are no opportunities for recharge.
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Those subject to curtailment are listed in a 21-page court document. Numerous business owners and state agencies are included, as well as school districts, cities, counties and individual homeowners.
The City of Chubbuck is listed in the document, as well as JR Simplot and Jefferson School District 251. EastIdahoNews.com reached out to all three for comment. A spokesman for JR Simplot could not be reached.
Chubbuck’s Public Works director, Bridger Morrison, says that as of Thursday, the city still has access to water. He isn’t sure what impact the order will have on the city or whether it will affect its ability to provide water for residents.
The City is actively working with the IDWR and local groundwater districts to explore options. Morrison says he isn’t when this will be resolved, but he hopes to have a plan in place in the next 30 days.
Jefferson School District 251 Facilities Director Eric Jensen says only one school — Jefferson High School in Menan — is affected by the curtailment. He says the impact isn’t significant.
As members of the Bonneville-Jefferson Groundwater District, which operates under the terms of the 2024 Stipulated Mitigation Plan, it’s forced to cut back water usage by 25%. The cutbacks apply only to outside lawn maintenance, Jensen says; the indoor plumbing utilizes a separate well and continues its normal operation.
“We have a four-year allotment of water, and we’re cutting back to stay within that allotment,” he says. “If we weren’t part of the groundwater district, we wouldn’t have access to water this year.”
The 2024 mitigation plan will be renegotiated in 2027, as it wraps up its fourth year.
Groundwater users in the Big and Little Lost River basins faced curtailment in April, which was ultimately lifted.
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The passage of SB 1341 in 2024 added these districts to the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer common groundwater supply, and required them to implement an approved mitigation plan or join an existing one to avoid shutdowns. They were given 16 months to comply, with a deadline set for Nov. 1, 2025.
The curtailment order went into effect on Nov. 21, 2025. IDWR started checking groundwater wells in March of this year and determined that groundwater users throughout the Big Lost and Little Lost river basins still did not have approved mitigation plans. Red tags and curtailments were issued for some farmers in the area.
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The group had been working for months to comply with state law and join the plan, and signed the addendum on March 31. Days later, Butte County groundwater users and the Idaho Surface Water Coalition met for a status conference to try to resolve the conflict. The parties agreed to lift the curtailment order on April 17, and Butte County water users’ request to join the 2024 plan was accepted on May 1.