Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Adaptive Groundwater Governance And The Challenges Of Policy Implementation In Idaho’S Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer Region, Margaret V. Du Bray, Morey Burnham, Katrina Running, Vicken Hillis

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

Globally, groundwater overdraft poses significant challenges to agricultural production. As a result, it is likely that new water management policies and governance arrangements will be needed to stop groundwater depletion and maintain agricultural viability. Drawing on interviews with state and non-state water managers and other water actors, this paper provides a study of a recent resource management agreement between surface water and groundwater irrigators in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer region of Idaho. Using adaptive governance as our descriptive framework, we examine how groundwater governance arrangements emerge and are applied to mitigate the impacts of groundwater overdraft. Our findings suggest …