Has boise ever had water use restrictions? (for sale, houses)

[mlaughlin]

I am considering a move to Boise next year and wondered how available water is. Much of the western US is in drought conditions and is why I have nixed the idea of moving to Colorado. Lack of snow isn't filling the reservoirs and the front range is projecting serious water shortages in the years ahead. My understanding is that Boise gets most of its water from underground. Is this true? I was there in September and was amazed with all the green grass. Everyone's lawns looks very nice, so I wondered if your water bill for usage was cheap. Any restrictions during the long rain-less weeks you've had? Any thing in the media about conserving water usage?

[Lacerta]

Some subdivisons have their own restrictions, such as that you get an assigned 2 hour slot on odd days to water your lawn, and that is all you can have. But I've never heard of there being a city or area wide restriction.

[zedd]

Boise has a lot of pressurized irrigation from the river which results in unmetered water for landscaping for many homeowners. In a good water year, this water is available until early-to-mid October for watering. In a bad water year, this water may have to be rationed or cut off earlier than unusual. Because of this, municipal water is not used nearly as much for landscaping and city-wide water restrictions are much less common than some areas. It also helps that Boise municipal water is less dependent on underground aquifers than many areas.

[boisefan88]

Not so much but it will soon enough.

[backdoordreamer]

Is there any way to tell whether a house for sale has irrigation water available or not? We are looking in the Northend.

[zedd]

The complete MLS data should indicate whether the house is in an irrigation district or not. This is probably a lot less likely in the north end than other areas like west Boise.

[backdoordreamer]

Thanks, zedd!

[benchfan]

There are four fields in the MLS regarding irrigation: whether the property is in an irrigation district, whether the water is deliverable, whether water shares are available, and, if it is part of a district, the name of the district. It is not uncommon for a property to be in an irrigation district but to not have water be deliverable so you'd want to be sure you have both. Sometimes a property will be in a district and have water deliverable but the current owner does not own a share in the district and would have to buy in to obtain water rights.

For example, I own a property that was split off of a larger parcel. The original house kept the water rights. I have an irrigation ditch that runs through the front yard that I could easily use a pump to draw water from except that I don't own rights to the water.

Another example, several newer subdivisions have been developed where the developer pooled all of the water rights and created a pressurized irrigation system for the entire subdivision so that all the houses have pressurized irrigation as part of the homeowner association dues but they don't pay to be a member of the irrigation district separately and they cannot buy additional shares. This is actually a pretty nice feature of some newer subs like Tuscany and others.

So, the moral of the story is... yes, you can get information from the MLS, BUT, it is also wise to call the irrigation district and ask your agent for additional information so you know exactly what you are, and aren't getting.

[backdoordreamer]

Thanks, benchfan! Would you please pm me with your contact info? We will need a buyers agent in Boise as soon as we sell our house in WA state.

[Lacerta]

Also BOISE CITY GIS HOME - City of Boise

Click Interactive Maps, Click Advanced Property Viewer, then on the left, open up Service Providers and check the box next to irrigation districts. You can then zoom all the way down to lot level to know which irrigation company to call for sure, without relying on the MLS data. The map also has quite a bit of other useful information.