Columbia-Pacific Northwest Region

Oxbow Incentivized Managed Aquifer Recharge Project

Purpose & Need

Reclamation’s purpose for the Proposed Action is to fulfill the WaterSMART grant which would improve drought resiliency of Bingham County by increasing recharge to the Eastern Snake Plain aquifer. This project would allow for up to a 20 cubic feet per second increase in aquifer recharge. Treated water from the Oxbow Wastewater Treatment Plant would be added to Snake River water to increase the volume of water being recharged, as well as decrease the cost of wastewater treatment to residents of the cities of Shelley and Ammon, and unincorporated areas of Bingham and Bonneville Counties. Currently, the ponds have a higher infiltration capacity for water to enter the aquifer than can be supplied by the existing supply pipeline. The proposed pipeline would increase the ability for SRVID to bank water in the aquifer to be used during future drought years.