Rural and urban areas have coexisted for years, albeit sharing an uneasy tension concerning the borderland where big city and backcountry collides.

Lawsuits between irrigation districts and government entities in the Treasure Valley may result in both sides - along with other groups - coming together to discuss their problems.

The Idaho Water Users Association's board of directors voted Thursday to organize a summit on rural-urban interface issues, IWUA Executive Director Norm Semanko said. The decision followed a request for such a meeting from the Pioneer Irrigation District, currently embroiled in a lawsuit against the city of Caldwell.

IWUA intends to send letters out this week to the numerous government entities, local agencies and other groups that may be interested in attending, Semanko said.

The goal, he said, is to spark at least some conversation about what causes problems like the Treasure Valley lawsuits, and to highlight examples of what other groups around the state are doing right.

"We aren't the only urban area in the West that has and is dealing with these issues," Semanko said. "There are certainly a lot of good and bad examples out there."

One of those good examples, Semanko said, is a longtime agreement between the city of Jerome and the North Side Canal Company regarding effluent the city puts into the system.

Renewed a few years ago, the agreement is meant to encourage Jerome to improve the quality of waste it puts into the system, water which is used down the line to irrigate crops, City Administrator Travis Rothweiler said.

Among other things, it specifies daily maximum contaminant levels and emergency procedures in case the city wastewater treatment plant fails, and requires an annual meeting between the two parties to discuss how things are going.

That last item may be the most important, said Ted Diehl, North Side manager. Communication, he said, is the key to such arrangements.

"If we're going to do something, we want the city to know, and vice versa," said Diehl, a member of the IWUA's legislative committee.

It's more than just keeping each other informed, though - in the canal company's case, Diehl wants to make sure people know why he's concerned about water quality, he said.

"If we're going to resolve some water issues … we've got to sit down and talk about how is the best way to do it," Diehl said.

Rothweiler agreed, adding that he's interested in attending the summit, even if Jerome's agreement already seems to be a good one. By the time it starts, he may be representing Twin Falls instead; he's set to start a new job as assistant city manager for Twin Falls in September.

"We may learn a better way (of doing things)," Rothweiler said. "Maybe there are better practices in place or discussed that we didn't contemplate."

Nate Poppino may be reached at 208-735-3237 or npoppino@magicvalley.com.