American Falls Reservoir at 61%, lowest level in years for May

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:00]New tonight, a dry winter is catching up with one of Eastern Idaho's most important reservoirs, now sitting below normal water levels. Aspen Chamber joins us in studio. Aspen, you talked to the Falls Irrigation District about what to expect.

[00:00:12]>> Yeah, that irrigation district is in American Falls. They say those water levels are just going to continue to drop, and that could affect farming operations and summer recreation.

[00:00:22]American Falls Reservoir is the largest on the Snake River Plain, and Sean Tizendorf, manager at the irrigation district, tells me the district pumps directly out of the American Falls Dam to water 8,500 acres in that area. Most of that is farmland. He says the reservoir never filled to 100% this spring, coming off one of the driest winters Idaho's seen in the last 10 years. The reservoir's level sit at 61% of capacity right now, down from about 70% this time last year. He says he's never seen it this low at this time of year.

[00:00:57]It's lower than normal, and the bureau's outlook show on that American Falls is going to be really severely low by the end of August, beginning of September, which is hard for us.

[00:01:09]Says low snowpack and a warmer than normal winter are behind the drop. Plus, irrigators also started the season about a week earlier than usual. But on top of the dry winter, the Bureau of Reclamation is also releasing water from the American Falls downstream to help migrating salmon, a long-standing requirement under the Endangered Species Act. Irrigators say that hits harder in dry years like this one.

[00:01:34]The farmers have been really concerned.

[00:01:35]Our water district's been really concerned about everything.

[00:01:39]Like I said, with the bureau dumping that power head space for the flow augmentation and that kind of stuff, everybody's been looking for other options for us to get to keep the water in the American Falls Park.

[00:01:52]The boat ramp at Seagull Bay may have only about a week left to be able to launch boats at. Willow Bay is expected to go next, leaving the State Park ramp as the last way in for boaters, which can typically hold out until around 10% capacity. The district has sent letters to farmers saying use less water and prioritize main crops. Now that we've entered wildfire season, the water levels are concerning the district, and he does expect those fire bands to quickly go out here in the near future.

[00:02:20]So, certainly not a very good sign. We did not have a good snow pack this year, Austin. All right, thank you for that update. Appreciate it.