Issues Facing Bonneville County
Watershed Management
- Few issues are of greater importance to Eastern Idaho than managing its precious quantities of surface and ground water. Within Bonneville County, federal management of Palisades Reservoir helps to maintain the health of the South Fork, its unique cottonwood forests, and an outstanding recreational fishery.
- After its confluence with the Henry’s Fork, the Snake River supplies irrigation water to farms across Bonneville and Bingham counties downstream to American Falls Reservoir. By diverting spring runoff and other unallocated Snake River water into recharge basins, our local irrigation districts also help maintain higher ground water levels in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (ESPA).
- Only by understanding and carefully managing the Snake River in conjunction with the region’s rechargeable aquifer will Eastern Idaho maintain a sustainable water supply for farms, industry and its growing communities.
- The ongoing role of Bonneville County should be to:
- Support scientific studies of the ESPA and its recharge potential to improve aquifer management and water use forecasting models
- Influence legislation that would decrease the existing, permitted volume for the domestic well exemption
- Improve water use efficiencies by gradually metering domestic water wells and incentivizing rural subdivisions to convert to community wells
- Strengthen the county’s subdivision ordinance by requiring community water wells and centralized water treatment for large, new developments
- Help create an interagency watershed council to improve communications and facilitate collaborative problem-solving within the South Fork/Snake River corridor
County Growth Impacts
- Transportation Congestion
- School Overcrowding
- Housing Costs and Availability
- Needs for Law Enforcement
- Health Care/Emergency Services
- Cost of County Services
Outdoor Recreation Opportunities
- Public Land Access
- Hunting and Fishing
- County Recreation Facilities
- County-Wide Trails
- Motorized
- Non-Motorized
- Winter Recreation
- Issues of Concern
Resource Recovery
- Landfill Life and Concerns
- County Recycling Options
- Regional Waste Management
- Composting Organics
- Reuse and Waste Reduction
- New Technologies
