A plan to add treated wastewater to the Farmers' Union Canal is sparking a debate. Neighbors say they weren't properly informed about the $20 million plan, while Farmers' Union leaders defend their proposal with Eagle Sewer Dist rict.The canal supplies water to more than 8,000 acres, from farm fields to front lawns. Several neighbors, like Dana Hofstetter, have raised concerns about the proposal to add Class-A treated wastewater into the Farmers' Union Canal.Watch to hear from local neighbors and Farmers' Union leaders. Eagle neighbors oppose $20M plan to add treated wastewater to irrigation canalHofstetter has been a Farmers Union water user for 37 years and learned about the agreement in May 2025."Without informing us or even asking us, agreed to take sewer water in our canal for delivery and disposal to our properties," Hofstetter said. "All these substances are going to be delivered on our properties and accumulated in our soils over time." "It's time for us to vote in new leadership that doesn't do things in secret, that is responsive to the shareholders' concerns, that respect property rights," Hofstetter said.Farmers' Union leaders say the water will meet state safety regulations and is meant to keep the canal flowing during dry months."With all the growth that's happening in the valley, we're going to need more water," said Bert Browen, a director of the Farmers' Union. "The partnership with Eagle Sewer allows us to possibly extend our water season but also get through drought periods as well," Browen explained."It's really important to realize that Farmers Union is not in the water quality business. We're in the water delivery business," Browen added.The partnership discussions started in 2024, with their estimate showing wastewater would start at about 3.5% of the canal flow and rise to 7% as the city builds out.Seth Kettering, the Farmers Union ditch rider and water manager, sees the dramatic difference in water usage patterns firsthand during his daily 26-mile route. "So a big farm like this, you know, they grow alfalfa, heat turns on, you know, probably middle of May, starts watering. He turns off, he turns on, he turns off, he turns on as he's harvesting his hay. This subdivision, like this over here they turn on, and they're on from April to October," Kettering said."So, the farm uses way less water than the HOAs, the subdivision," Kettering said.Corey Blaine, vice president of the Farmers' Union company, says less than 10% of their coverage area is farms anymore. "What we've found is [that] residences use more water than the farms have. So as we find subdivisions turn on their pumps, they suck from the day the water turns on till the day the water turns off, and those sprinkler clocks just keep turning on and watering, and so it does use far more water," Blaine said.The company says they did public outreach, sending postcards out to shareholders."Nearly 500 of these went out, and we got less than 50 back," Blaine said."And then it's really up to them to disseminate it to their HOA shareholders," Blaine said.Brown says the meetings have been public and advertised, disputing claims that decisions were made in secret.Hofstetter says shareholders were not notified prior to the agreement being signed and disputes the need for additional water sources.RELATED | Water Outlook does not look promising in SW Idaho, but it could be worse without all the precipitation"They signed the agreement in October 2024. And shareholders were not notified prior to that," said Hofstetter. "The first time this issue came up on the Farmers' Union meeting minutes was in 2025, after they had already signed the agreement.""In my 37 years as a Farmers' Union water user, never have we had such a dire water season that it would require the use of sewer water," Hofstetter said."Do we irrigate with sewer water, or do we let our lands go dry? That's basically the situation they're putting us into," Hofstetter said.Kettering says the canal has historically been "water poor," and the partnership would provide stability."I've been told by some of the old timers that used to run this canal that this ditch is what they used to call water poor. Means we're servicing more ground than we have water for," Kettering said."This is going to be water that's going to be there regardless of the weather, regardless of our winter. And what we don't use, we get to save in storage," Kettering said.PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Eagle's $20 million wastewater reuse project sparks debate among neighbors"We really understand the concerns that some of our water users have, and we're listening, and you know, we're not water experts. We are in the water delivery business, and we look forward to, you know, working with them and answering any of the questions they have," Browen said.The Farmers' Union shareholder meeting is Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Riverside Hotel in Boise.For more information from shareholders, you can check out their website by clicking here.The Farmer's Union Ditch Company's website can be found by clicking here. ...read more read less