Water access and flowering trees in Boise ID (Teton: low crime, allergies)
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From reading here and elsewhere, Boise has many of the things I'm looking for, like four seasons, low humidity, city large enough to have things going on but small enough to be manageable driving, access to mountain pines, low crime, active population, thriving downtown, good walkability, and lower cost of living. I have a couple questions that I haven't found posts on, and they are both related to water.
I know Boise is high desert area with some shortage of water, especially as the city grows. My question is whether there are any plans for Boise and other towns in the valley to access water from Northern Idaho, where apparently water is plentiful? Or maybe from the Tetons? Are these future options? Maybe Boise already gets its' water from these sources. How is the quality of the drinking water in Boise? I know when living in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, water was paid for and routed by pipeline to Denver and Fort Collins from East of the Divide, and the states/cities West of Colorado had/have arrangements for water from West of the Divide.
I'm editing because I just found the websites for the Botanical Gardens in Boise and the FarWest Garden Center, and yes, the gardens are beautiful in the Spring, including some flowering trees, which answers my second question. Looks like you have many of my favorite flowers. Anything you want to add about gardening in Boise area, I'd be interested in, and my question about where the Valley gets its water, and its future plans for water, still stands.
I know Boise is high desert area with some shortage of water, especially as the city grows. What I haven't seen is any discussion or photos of Boise in the Spring showing flowering trees. I see that it is in a zone 5 for gardening. Are there any flowering trees and shrubs in the Spring? I have seen photos of some really pretty perennials in the parks there. I looked at garden nursery websites in Boise, but since it isn't the planting season, didn't get any info there.
Boise is in high desert but we have access to plenty of water, we are in an agricultural valley that has a few rivers and streams and numerous canals in addition to an aquifer. The city becomes really lush in Spring and flowering trees are everywhere, beware allergies, and for being in a high desert Boise is really impressive as far as trees are concerned, in the city. The river has lush foilage and groves of trees along its course through the city and valley. I have several pics of spring in Boise and I can pm you some links.
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Originally Posted by frazl
My other question is whether there are any plans for Boise and other towns in the valley to access water from Northern Idaho, where apparently water is plentiful? Or maybe from the Tetons? Are these future options? How is the quality of the drinking water in Boise? I know when living in the Rocky Mountains, water was paid for and routed to Denver and Fort Collins from the East of the Divide, and the states/cities West of Colorado had/have arrangements for water from West of the Divide.
Northern Idaho would be too hard to get water from because most of Idaho is mountains and pretty rugged between Boise and the North. The water in the Snake River which flows south of Boise begins in Yellowstone near The Tetons, but Boise gets our water from the immense Boise River Drainage which begins in the Sawtooth Mountains a few hours from the city and the Sawtooth's are a much more vast and larger range than The Tetons, several rivers begin in the Sawtooth's.
Water supply in Boise is fine for now, but as the valley continues to grow water will need to be taken more seriously. I believe of all of the Rocky Mountain cities that Boise has access to the most water easily, mainly because of the large river drainage above the valley in the Boise Mountains, Idaho has the most miles of rivers in the lower 48, and far ahead of what any other Rocky Mountain state has. This is a state of big powerful rivers and many are near Boise and one runs through the city. A lot of water is used to irrigate the agricultural land west of the city, we are not nearly as dry as the sandy SW.
Quote:
Originally Posted by frazl
I'm editing because I just found the websites for the Botanical Gardens in Boise and the FarWest Garden Center, and yes, the gardens are beautiful in the Spring, including some flowering trees. Looks like you have many of my favorite flowers. Anything you want to add about gardening in Boise area, I'd be interested in, and my second question about the possibility of getting water from Northern Idaho or the Tetons still stands.
FarWest is amazing and so is Edwards Greenhouse, Northend Organic on Hill Road is great too. Pretty soon Crocus will start blooming with the tulips not far behind. I love to garden and am looking forward to next month! Again, we already have access to plenty of water, rivers, and an aquifer other places would envy but we need to be good stewards of our liquid gold as the city and valley continue to grow. A lot of our water outlook depends on the snow pack each winter.
Here are a few links for gardening info: The Idaho Nursery and Landscape Association
Great information, Tohobitpeak. That gives me a much clearer understanding of the water sources for Boise, and it makes more sense to me now how the city can have both lush green and desert-like components. Coming from the Colorado mountains and seeing how water, or the lack of it as the area becomes more populated, has me sensitive to the need for that natural resource. I saw the photos posted on the forum of the river running through the city, but didn't connect the plentiful rivers and the Sawtooth mountains being your resource.
Thanks again for your photos. Boise and the whole area is really alive with people, and looks like it is filled with opportunities for people like me who like nature. I really like exploring lakes and mountain areas. I've seen the Tetons but not the Sawtooth, so that gives me something more to look forward to. You took some great shots of Spring flowers and trees--some I could identify and some I couldn't. It looks like dogwoods are plentiful in the area. There is a disease getting to them in the Eastern states, so it's good to see them flourishing in Boise. You have some of my favorite flowers, so I'm really excited. I'll check out the nursery links.
Last edited by frazl; 02-13-2011 at 07:22 PM..
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but we need to be good stewards of our liquid gold as the city and valley continue to grow. A lot of our water outlook depends on the snow pack each winter. 
