The Raft River Basin, Idaho-Utah as of 1966: A reappraisal of the water resources and effects of ground-water development

The Raft River basin, mostly in south-central Idaho and partly in Utah, is a drainage basin of approximately 1,510 square miles. Much arable land in the basin lacks water for irrigation, and the potentially irrigable acreage far exceeds the amount that could be irrigated with the 140,000 acre-feet estimated annual water yield. Therefore, the amount of uncommitted water that could be intercepted and used within the basin is the limiting factor in further development of agriculture irrigated with water derived from within the basin; Water for additional irrigation might be obtained by pumping more ground water, but only if large additional ground-water storage depletion can be tolerated. Alternatively, supplemental water might be imported.