A Brief History of Drainage District No. 2:
As a high desert, irrigation has long been the key to the Treasure Valley’s growth.
Numerous canals and pipes take water from the Boise River and the foothills, and stretch the water far beyond the river and foothills’ usual boundaries to turn dry, rocky soil into the lush farm fields we see today.
When the irrigation systems began nearly a century and a half ago, they were so effective at moving water to dry areas of the valley, that the water tables in the region’s shallow aquifers rose rapidly. This caused the ground to turn alkaline, making it impossible to grow certain crops, so much of the farmland was turned into pastureland for cattle.
A network of drains was built to lower the water tables. Some of these drains would eventually become Drainage District 2.
As the water tables lowered and the alkalinity disappeared, farmers in the area were once again able to turn the cattle grazing land into fertile farm ground, growing high dollar crops such as sugar beets, corn, potatoes, and wheat.
The Introduction of Drainage District 2:
The district was formally recognized as a taxing entity in 1919 and has been a taxing district ever since.
The District is a quasi-public entity under Chapter 29, Title 42 of the Idaho Code and its rights include the right to assess its landowners for the operation and maintenance of the drainage system.
The district doesn’t generally own property along the drains. Instead, a network of open drains and pipes is built on land using court appointed easements, which means the district has permission to be on private property in order to clean, maintain and repair the drains. The easements also allow a place for the district to put their spoils.
A small staff keeps the drains open so that the run-off from the irrigation can be returned to the Boise River.
The Drainage District Still Provides an Essential Service:
Many of the farm fields that Drainage District 2 used to drain are now under streets and sidewalks or are inhabited by houses and businesses, but that doesn’t mean the drains aren’t still doing their important job.
Just because the fields aren’t being irrigated at the same rate anymore, that doesn’t mean that the irrigation system doesn’t still keep water moving throughout the valley. If the drainage system didn’t keep the water levels under control, there would be potential flooding under the ground and underneath the Treasure Valley’s homes and businesses. The district keeps that water draining through neighborhoods the same way it did/does for farm fields. The system provides an outlet for the water and allows that water to drain off elsewhere instead of flooding.
The boundaries of the District, which were created and confirmed over one-hundred years ago, provide that all lands within the boundaries are benefited as either highlands or lowlands by the construction, maintenance and repair of the drainage system.
Particularly in Boise, there are subdivisions without any flood irrigation or farming nearby where the ditches still move three and four feet of water through them. It is not necessary for a parcel to have a drainage ditch coursing through the property for the parcel to be benefited because the District’s drains capture and collect both surface and subsurface drainage and carry said drainage away from the lands and back to the Boise River.
drainagedistrict2ofadacounty.org 