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Court ruling may threaten water transfers; Irrigation canals, ditches may come under Clean Water Act requirements

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 11, 2008 at 8:09 am

From the Capital Ag Press:

A court ruling that forces New York City to have a pollution discharge permit for drinking water the city pipes in from elsewhere may threaten irrigation systems in the West.

The ruling specifically relates to water transfers, something that happens literally thousands of times a year in Idaho and the West, says Scott Campbell, Boise attorney and chairman of the Water Quality Task Force for the National Water Resources Association.

Irrigation canals and ditches are specifically exempt from regulation under the Clean Water Act, but that may change if the court ruling stands, Campbell said.

Campbell spoke twice during a two-day workshop here Oct. 1-2. The event was Practical Paths to Water Use in the 21st Century, presented by the Idaho Council on Industry and the Environment.

“That ruling is literally costing New York City millions of dollars,” Campbell said. “There are a lot of other states with massive water transfer systems, such as Colorado, which pipes water from the West Slope of the Rockies to its eastern plains. That water moves through pipes and lakes. If the state is required to have a National Pollution Discharge Elimination System permit, we’re talking billions and billions of dollars. In some instances, there’s no way the water could be treated.”

California could find itself in a similar situation, given a massive water transfer system there that conveys water from the northern to the southern part of the state, he said.

Read more from the Capital Ag Press by clicking here.

October 11, 2008 · Filed Under Water Quality

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