City seeks takeover of irrigation canals
“A hearing will likely be set within 30 days on an effort by the City of Caldwell, Idaho, to take by eminent domain a portion of an irrigation district, the district’s lawyer says.
Caldwell is using its powers of eminent domain to condemn a 10,000-acre portion of Pioneer Irrigation District, court documents show.
The lawsuit follows years of legal wrangling between the city and the district over stormwater runoff and other issues affecting the quality of irrigation water. Both sides have spent an estimated $4 million on the litigation.
The city filed a complaint Nov. 26 for condemnation of Pioneer’s drains and water-delivery canals, water rights and reservoir storage water.
The city’s lawsuit threatens several irrigation entities downstream of Pioneer and federal water rights the district holds through Bureau of Reclamation reservoirs, said Pioneer’s attorney, Scott Campbell.
“Water rights with the federal government could be significantly diminished, and it would subject citizens to increased rates for that water,” he said.”
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Dumas, Carolyn Ryan. Capital Press 10 January 2013.