TWIN FALLS -â€" The glass might be half empty or half full. Either way, it is losing water - and there are few signs of a refill coming quickly.

While Twin Falls has seen its water supply reduced for the last decade or so, the city's concerns have been heightened as it comes off a dry winter and still grows about 4 percent each year. City officials, water experts and engineers hired to study the problem said that the result - depleting wells and reservoirs - could be disastrous.

"Long-term, water will determine the destiny of all southern Idaho and it certainly has the potential of ultimately limiting growth, not only in Twin Falls but other communities in the Eastern Snake River Plain," said Twin Falls City Manager Tom Courtney.

Officials say the city is seeking new supply sources and plans to identify one within the next two months. Complicating that are water calls, the ongoing drought, a recent Supreme Court decision and the possibility of water curtailment - the last of which could impact Twin Falls, but is too early to tell, Courtney said.

"There's going to be a lot of competition for available water," he said.

J-U-B Engineers and Brockway Engineering, who for years have been jointly studying water for Twin Falls, will Monday present to the City Council expected future usage projections, possible new sources and progress of southwest wells.

"Does it look optimistic? Not really," said Charles Brockway, "but we're dealing with it and we think we have reasonable opportunities to take care of it."

The city's growth surge has mostly been in the southwest and northeast corners of the city - but that could change, given the water situation. The council will also discuss whether to shrink the city's decade-old water service boundaries: the Snake River Canyon, about a mile west of Grandview, the Low Line canal and Hankins Road.

"The land east of Hankins Road is prime development area and certainly if we were in a position to provide water and sewage we would," Courtney said. "We're just not in that position and haven't been for the last eight, nine, 10 years. It has not limited the growth of the city. It's just an area we've been unable to extend our services."

Courtney said spot shortages are expected around 2011 or 2012 during May or June before the area is recharged from irrigation. Such a scenario is dictated by temperature and demand - in other words, growth.

"If we have hot weather in the early spring we could have some problems," he said. "That's one of the reasons we're actively pursuing additional water services."

Water by the wayside

Water supply is a concern shared across the state, as well as in most Western states. But Magic Valley is hurting not only from the depleting Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer - which is often caught up in lawsuits - but also because of being in the high desert with routine droughts. And with this winter's rather dry winter just one year after great snow and rain, the city's declining water supply has emerged as an even stronger regard.

The city's complex water supply system is a $2.6 million operation - up from $1.5 million in 2004 - that runs almost 24 hours a day overseen by about a dozen employees.

Water comes primarily from three sources: Blue Lakes springs near the canyon and wells in the south and east parts of the city.

Blue Lakes is the main source of water, typically providing about two-thirds of the city's daily water at 52 cubic feet per second. In comparison, during the day Shoshone Falls is typically at 300 cfs.

But the springs and the wells are losing water at 4 percent each year, experts say. It doesn't help that usage fluctuates between about 10 million daily gallons in the winter and 25 million daily gallons in the summer.

"We're not being able to pump much from the wells," said Les Bennett, the city's water supply supervisor who oversees the system. "Our water table is going down."

The wells have their own reservoirs that they empty into, but the water from Blue Lakes travels through two 24-inch pipes to the Canyon Springs Booster Station, where there are four pumps. A single pipe heads up through the canyon to a reservoir on Harrison Street.

The Blue Lakes springs came on board in 1993 when a previous source, nearby Alpheus Creek, was no longer classified as groundwater by the Department of Environmental Quality. Rather than accommodate the creek, which had operated since 1967, the city's cheaper alternative was to install the pumps at Blue Lakes. Nonetheless, city officials said it cost "millions" for the new outfit.

Winning water

J-U-B Engineers said two possibilities to alleviate the problem without manual interference are lower drought and the aquifer stops declining.

But most acknowledge the highest priority is obtaining new water rights, though conservation and recharge remain viable opportunities many wish to see expand. After years looking for additional sources the city hopes to announce a new one by summer.

Another ongoing tool is a 2004 conservation ordinance, which, among other things, mandates lawns be watered on alternate days and restaurants not to serve water to customers unless they ask for it.

Courtney cited the ordinance as why the usage does not go up just because growth rises. Last year's lowest peak day - 27 million gallons - was lower than in 2003, when there were fewer people and logged 31 million daily gallons.

One option is adding more pressurized irrigation systems, which Bennett said are beneficial because during the summer watering lawns takes up 10 million gallons per day. There are currently seven systems - four are in residential neighborhoods and three are parks.

But new systems cost $250,000 and are only for irrigating - not drinking. The water comes off the Twin Falls Canal Company because the city owns some of the water rights.

"The greatest course the city can do is getting more pressurized irrigation system up and running to save our potable water use," Bennett said. "Our water source is going down so we need really good conservation practices."

The other problem - and one that additional water could help solve - is bringing the city into compliance with new arsenic standards that require water to be at 10 ppm from 50 ppm. Blue Lakes is not a concern there but most of the wells are slightly over, officials said.

"We're out of compliance right now," Bennett said.

Courtney said one way to resolve the arsenic issue is to blend the current water with a new source, which Courtney said would likely require building a new filter plant. They have to comply by 2011.

At a recent city council public hearing on a developing property, city staff said the property's changes could be delayed because of water issues. Public Works Director Lance Bates said the city is conservative with developing land for the precise reason it is planning for the future in an atmosphere that often changes.

"If you had $10 to spend and you were committed to spending $9.75, would you go out and tell someone they could spend another $1.50 or $2 without knowing where it's going or coming from?" he said. "There's many different alternatives, but each one of them talks about large sums of money and figuring out which is the best in any situation is a very difficult process."

But any solution - whether it is recharge, buying water rights or adding pressurized irrigation systems - is not cheap. A new source is likely a $20 million investment over 10 years, Courtney said.

The limited water has not hindered development, Twin Falls Mayor Lance Clow said.

"I would say we're trying to fend off a future problem rather than a present problem," he said. "If we had the water from five years ago we would not be in the situation we are in."

People might be optimistic, but there is no guarantee the city will find more water. Courtney said a moratorium on development - which several municipalities in the West have tried - is a possibility only if nothing else works, since they could damage local economies.

"You have to take a decision like that very seriously," he said. "I think we would view a moratorium as a last resort. If we have no other option we still have a responsibility to provide water to people here. If we have no other options to do, I'm sure we would do that."

Government reporter Jared S. Hopkins can be reached at 735-3204 or jhopkins@magicvalley.com.