Last I heard, the studies to determine the size and shape of our local aquifers, and their use and recharge rates, were still underway. When they are completed we should be able to quantify the sustainable population for this area, based on how much water is available.

An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance isn’t the Holy Grail you seem to be painting it. Although an ideal APFO will establish Levels of Service for a wide range of public facilities (Roads, Water, Sewer, Schools, Parks, Emergency Services, etc.) it will only require that such services be in place, either at the time a proposed development is approved or within a reasonable number of years from the approval (as stipulated in an adopted Capital Facilities Plan).

This is light years ahead of where the land use authorities in Ada County are right now and I will applaud the establishment of a wide-reaching APFO, but if you are truly against Planned Communties an APFO won’t stop them. The PC’s processed in Ada County are (currently) the only developments in the region that come even close to paying their own way.

APFO’s still have to preserve the ability for a land owner to “upfront” the funds necessary to mitigate their proposed development’s impacts on local services. But more to the point, if the Snake River pipeline concept is funded by the landowners whose developments will be using the water then the terms of a water-APFO will have been met.

APFO’s without this “upfront option” keep urban development contiguous and all services centralized. This ultimately leads to large uninterrupted, undifferentiated urban conglomerations – with each “use” cocooned within a network of circulation roads. To carry the biological metaphore forward, this is the type of growth pattern which is truly a cancerous tumour. Unfortunately, this is more than just a metaphore for urban sprawl since a tumour isn’t necrotic – it continues to grow (show progress) right up until the larger organism (which has been hijacked to supply its lifeblood to the tumour) dies. Some cancerous tissue will continue to grow outside of its host as long as it is “fed”. It doesn’t take a big stretch of the imagination to look around our region and identify “communities” that meet this criteria.

A growing family isn’t one where the parents are pumped up on steriods and human growth hormone but one that is producing healthy offspring. Each a little human in its own right, with its potential to grow to adulthood without risk of being consummed by a parent or sibling. The type of APFO you’re envisioning would promote unhealthy and ultimately cannabilistic, undifferentiated urban growth.

When the public was asked, through the visioning process sponsored by COMPASS for the last Long-range Regional Transportation Plan, what kind of future they wanted for the valley they where asked to distribute the projected growth equitably. By an overwhelming majority, they created a pattern of development that allowed existing communities to reach homeostatis (the point of systemic equalibrium which all living things reach when in a healthy state). This affirmed what Treva has written, unlimited growth is not preferable – even if facilitiated by an APFO.

This left the public with one outlet to distribute all the rest of the projected growth, while keeping the existing communities distinct (surrounded by open space), they started creating new (complete) communities where they thought they would stand the best chance of surviving – in the outlying areas, beyond the reach of the existing communities.

Guardian you make good point about robbing water from the Snake does not make good sense(cents). Especially when Idaho Power ask for a rate increase from less power generation. Then there is the minimum flow issues that Idaho Power has to attain for the fish.

George makes a good point that it might be better to assess additional water supplies now than when we get in a real pinch.

And Clippity, I think a Adequate Public Facilities Ord. makes the most sense. AFPO’s would be the teeth that most growthophobes are looking for. They basically say “you have the right to develop, but first you must pay/provide this, this and this.”

I don’t know a lot about Idaho Water Law but expect a war between rural Idaho and metro Idaho.

All sarcasm aside, I truly don’t understand who’s buying all these homes they’re building at warp speed in the valley. We don’t seem to have the job growth to support it. Kids moving out of mom and dad’s house? If they’re working $10/hr call center jobs [a lot of the job growth that there is seems to be low paying service sector], I can’t see how they could be qualifying for these $200k “starter” homes.

In Idaho the legal presumption is that all surface water will be allocated for Ag irrigation, and potable water must be extracted from the ground. This curious situation precipitates into some odd circumstances, such as United Water’s recent foray into extracting & treating river water just to inject it into an underground aquifer – so that it can then extract the water (from the ground) so that it can sell to us for dometic purposes.

I would rather investigate the Snake River proposal now, rather than have it forced upon us (with little scientific analysis) when we’re told our underground drinking water is about to dry up. The laws that are currently inplace to protect senior irrigation water rights can be swept aside with the stroke of a pen, when there are enough voters who are told they have to start rationing their drinking water. Such mad rushes tend to trample individual rights in favor of “hoped-for” results.

If we don’t look into such a proposal, and objectively weigh its costs & benefits, we could end up inheriting the same kind of scenario that built L.A. and Las Vegas.

EDITOR NOTE–You are correct on reason for injection wells. Water Resources Dept. won’t allow water to be extracted faster than it is recharged.

We are also told aquifer must have surface irrigation (from river) to keep recharge rate up.
Solution of course is to LIMIT GROWTH AND LEAVE THE DESERT A DESERT!

Obvious, if you’d only think it through.