BOISE - Former state Chief Justice Gerald F. Schroeder is stepping from the bench directly into deep water.

Schroeder, who retired Tuesday from the Idaho Supreme Court, was pegged Wednesday by the state water director to oversee two upcoming water hearings.

Both hearings involve disputes between surface and groundwater users embroiled earlier this year in cases that nearly resulted in the shut down of hundreds of Magic Valley wells.

The curtailment crisis was averted, but with stakes this high, the Idaho Department of Water Resources asked the parties involved to suggest an impartial officer to sort out the dispute, rather than a department officer.

They all chose Schroeder.

"Justice Schroeder was the first choice of the water users and was the first choice of IDWR for this very important assignment," Dave Tuthill, IDWR director, said in a statement released Tuesday.

The appointment of a Supreme Court justice is unusual. In most hearings, department officers preside.

As hearing officer, Schroeder will decide how much water is owed by groundwater pumpers to surface-water users. The groups have fought bitterly over a dwindling water supply for years.

IDWR approached the former chief justice about the hearings several weeks ago, and a team of attorneys and water experts have spent the past month or so examining potential conflicts of interest. Schroeder deliberated more than 30 major water cases during his 12 years in Idaho's highest court, authoring 10 decisions.

However, neither the department nor the parties involved see a conflict.

"Is there a conflict? No," said Tom Arkoosh, an attorney for the Surface Water Coalition involved in the hearings. Arkoosh has argued cases before Schroeder, and he says the former chief justice is as impartial as they come. "He knows what he's doing," Arkoosh said.

Schroeder said he was preparing for retirement but couldn't pass up an opportunity to rule on such an important issue. "We (on the Supreme Court) rank this as the premier legal issue within the state," he said of the water disputes. "I don't think there's a greater issue in Idaho than water. It was just too big a magnet."

A 67-year-old Boise native, Schroeder is a graduate of Harvard Law School. He was appointed by Gov. Cecil Andrus in 1975 to serve as a 4th District Judge in Ada County. Gov. Phil Batt appointed Schroeder to the Idaho Supreme Court in 1995. The Supreme Court elected him chief justice on Sept. 1, 2004, and he's served in that position until this week, when Justice Daniel Eismann replaced him as chief and Justice Warren Jones became the newest judge.

Schroeder's first hearing, involving water disputes in the Thousand Springs area, is scheduled for Nov. 28. The second hearing, involving disputes on Magic Valley's east end, is scheduled for Jan. 16, 2008.

Times-News staff writer Matt Christensen covers the environment. He welcomes comments at 735-3243 and at matt.christensen@lee.net.

Last we knew: The Idaho Department of Water Resources called off plans to shut down hundreds of Magic Valley wells until the department could hold hearings on the water disputes. The latest: Former Chief Justice of Idaho Gerald F. Schroeder was appointed to oversee the hearings. What's next: The hearings are scheduled for Novermber and January.