Commissioners meet with Irrigation District and landowners to discuss water project

Currently Elmore County has preliminary approval for its Water Right Permit requesting permission to pump water out of Anderson Ranch Reservoir to help replenish the Mountain Home Aquifer. The county is hoping to work with the Mountain Home Irrigation District and private landowners to use the districts canal infrastructure to bring the water to the aquifer.

The County Commissioners held a special session Tuesday, Nov. 12 at the courthouse to discuss all of the moving pieces in the current water acquisition project as it relates to specific landowners. Ultimately, the county would like to use the Mountain Home Irrigation District's existing canal system and asked for their blessing moving forward.

The meeting got off to a rough start, but in the end most were cautiously optimistic. All were in agreement that we need to keep more water in the county.

Upon entering the room, landowners were given a draft of a contract regarding use of the Districts water easement, to which, they did not respond well.

Commissioner Bud Corbus began by thanking everyone for their time and explained that the Commissioners have been working hard on the many facets of the project, while trying to be as transparent as possible.

They would like to ask permission to move water through the current water district lines and referred to the hand-out. But, the commissioners understood that there were probably questions and concerns that needed to be addressed, thus the purpose of the meeting. At that time, they opened it up to questions.

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