POCATELLO, Idaho — The southeastern Idaho city of Pocatello is close to making a deal with a canal company that would help the city meet federal rules concerning water quality in the Portneuf River.

Mayor Roger Chase said the 3,100 acre-feet from Chesterfield Reservoir will also help the city meet future growth needs.

"I think that's going to mean a lot to our community," he told the Idaho State Journal.

The agreement still has to be approved by the Portneuf-Marsh Valley Canal Co. board of directors. The board is scheduled to meet Jan. 11.

If the deal goes through, it will cost the city $6 million and give the city the most senior water rights in the reservoir. The city will pay for the water using money from a $9.5 million Water Department bond city voters approved in 2006.

"It's a really good water right and it really achieves what the voters approved in that bond issue," said Dave Swindell, the city's chief financial officer.

The additional water should help with certain quality and temperature standards in the river, particularly in August and September when most of the problems occur.

The canal company said the money it gets from the city will be used to provide a local match for an $18 million federal grant, allowing the company to line its canals to reduce water loss.

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Swindell said the company expects to save enough water to replace the water being sold to the city.

"So the agriculture community gets to keep the same amount of water they have available for their crops, but the city can obtain a substantial part of the reservoir," he said.

The city also has rights to 50,000 acre-feet of water in Palisades Reservoir.

"In combination with our Palisades water, we're putting Pocatello in a situation that most towns now envy," Chase said.

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