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Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels

339.22 feet

Depth to water at the Milner Dam monitoring well, one of IDWR's 20 Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer sentinel wells, 2026 (provisional)

+0.1% since 2025 (339.02 feet); +2.5% since 2021 (330.85 feet); −2.2% since 2016 (347.01 feet)

Source: Idaho Department of Water Resources, Groundwater Level Data, Sentinel Wells network. Data period 2026. Status: provisional.

Depth from the ground surface to the water table, measured by hand at an IDWR ESPA sentinel well.

Change and comparison

From 2002 (325.26 feet) to 2026 (339.22 feet), the change was +4.3%.

The series high is 347.01 feet in 2016 and the low is 325.26 feet in 2002.

The largest category is 01S 30E 15BCA1, Bingham County at 722.84 feet; next is Crystal Cave Well (05S 28E 26BBD1), Power County at 691.71 feet.

Historical data

Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, 2002 to 2026Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, 2002 to 2026. BOR Milner Dam monitoring well (10S 21E 28BCB1), Jerome County: 325.26 in 2002, 339.22 in 2026.010020030040020102020BOR MilnerDammonitoringwell (10S21E28BCB1),JeromeCountyFeetEastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, 2002 to 2026Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, 2002 to 2026. BOR Milner Dam monitoring well (10S 21E 28BCB1), Jerome County: 325.26 in 2002, 339.22 in 2026.010020030040020102020BOR Milner Dammonitoringwell (10S 21E28BCB1),Jerome CountyFeetEastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, 2002 to 2026Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels, 2002 to 2026. BOR Milner Dam monitoring well (10S 21E 28BCB1), Jerome County: 325.26 in 2002, 339.22 in 2026.010020030040020052010201520202025BOR Milner Dammonitoring well(10S 21E28BCB1), JeromeCountyFeet

Source: Idaho Department of Water Resources, Groundwater Level Data, Sentinel Wells network.

Data table (21 rows)
PeriodBOR Milner Dam monitoring well (10S 21E 28BCB1), Jerome County (feet)
2002325.26
2003329.80
2004334.33
2005338.83
2006338.03
2007338.94
2008339.80
2009342.42
2010340.95
2011341.73
2016347.01
2017344.97
2018337.00
2019334.18
2020329.10
2021330.85
2022334.55
2023340.87
2024337.22
2025339.02
2026339.22

Depth to water by sentinel well

Feet

  1. 01S 30E 15BCA1, Bingham County722.84
  2. Crystal Cave Well (05S 28E 26BBD1), Power County691.71
  3. Brockie Lake (05S 25E 22DAD1), Minidoka County525.22
  4. Funk Well (06S 29E 15BBC1), Power County420.73
  5. Arco Rd BLM (07S 26E 14CCC1), Blaine County340.25
  6. BOR Hawley (08S 26E 03DCC1), Blaine County285.61
  7. Hinckley Well (08S 28E 01AAA2), Power County235.67
  8. WOODLAND (06S 22E 28CDD1), Lincoln County225.53
  9. IF Freeway (02N 37E 02ABA1), Bonneville County178.35
  10. BOR 850 E (09S 25E 23DBA1), Cassia County161.09
  11. IF River (03N 37E 12BDB1), Bonneville County138.04
  12. BOR MW Stock Tank (08S 25E 36DAA1), Minidoka County135.83
  13. BOR Gravel Pit (09S 25E 03CAC1), Minidoka County71.04
  14. Crumley Rd Well (Outer) (03S 33E 25CCC1), Bingham County42.73
  15. Stecklein Rd Well #1 (04S 33E 20CBB1), Bingham County33.51
  16. Taylor Rd Piezo Short (03S 34E 02BCC3), Bingham County31.27
  17. U OF I #73 (05S 31E 27ABA1), Bingham County27.54
  18. Stecklein Rd Well #4 (04S 33E 20CBB4), Bingham County12.65

Source: Idaho Department of Water Resources, Groundwater Level Data, Sentinel Wells network. Data period 2026.

Data table (18 rows)
Sentinel well2026 (feet)
01S 30E 15BCA1, Bingham County722.84
Crystal Cave Well (05S 28E 26BBD1), Power County691.71
Brockie Lake (05S 25E 22DAD1), Minidoka County525.22
Funk Well (06S 29E 15BBC1), Power County420.73
Arco Rd BLM (07S 26E 14CCC1), Blaine County340.25
BOR Hawley (08S 26E 03DCC1), Blaine County285.61
Hinckley Well (08S 28E 01AAA2), Power County235.67
WOODLAND (06S 22E 28CDD1), Lincoln County225.53
IF Freeway (02N 37E 02ABA1), Bonneville County178.35
BOR 850 E (09S 25E 23DBA1), Cassia County161.09
IF River (03N 37E 12BDB1), Bonneville County138.04
BOR MW Stock Tank (08S 25E 36DAA1), Minidoka County135.83
BOR Gravel Pit (09S 25E 03CAC1), Minidoka County71.04
Crumley Rd Well (Outer) (03S 33E 25CCC1), Bingham County42.73
Stecklein Rd Well #1 (04S 33E 20CBB1), Bingham County33.51
Taylor Rd Piezo Short (03S 34E 02BCC3), Bingham County31.27
U OF I #73 (05S 31E 27ABA1), Bingham County27.54
Stecklein Rd Well #4 (04S 33E 20CBB4), Bingham County12.65

Source

Organization
Idaho Department of Water Resources
Dataset
Groundwater Level Data, Sentinel Wells network
Geography
20 wells across the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer (Bingham, Blaine, Bonneville, Cassia, Jerome, Lincoln, Minidoka and Power counties)
Time coverage
2001-2026 (varies by well)
Update frequency
IDWR and USGS measure the network's spring round each year, usually in March or April
Original file
https://research.idwr.idaho.gov/gis/Spatial/GroundWater/GroundWaterLevels/GroundWaterLevels.zip
Methodology
https://idwr-groundwater-data.idaho.gov/
License
Public domain. Idaho Department of Water Resources public service data; IDWR notes the data may be provisional and subject to revision.
Our copy
Groundwater Level Data, Sentinel Wells network

Caveats

  • The wells are IDWR's own 'sentinel well' network, set up to watch how the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer responds to the 2015 settlement between the Surface Water Coalition and groundwater users, which set an annual pumping-reduction target for junior groundwater rights instead of curtailing them outright.
  • A larger figure is a lower water table: it is the distance from the ground surface down to water, not an elevation. A rising figure over time means the aquifer fell at that well; a falling figure means it rose.
  • Each year's figure is the well's own reading closest to April 1, IDWR's spring measurement round, kept only when a reading exists within 45 days of that date; a well not visited that spring has no figure for the year rather than a carried-forward one.
  • IDWR describes this data as provisional and subject to revision.

Cite

Cite this page as Understand Idaho, “Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer levels”, https://understandidaho.com/water/espa-groundwater-levels/, retrieved on the date you read it, and the publisher named above for the figures themselves. The dataset behind it is described in the data catalog.

This page was last updated .