BOISE - A $15 million water sustainability budget request that contains $500,000 for uses on the Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer appears to be bound for state legislative approval, Rep. George Eskridge, R-Dover, said Tuesday.

Eskridge - a member of the Idaho Legislature's joint budget committee - described as "not an unreasonable amount" the $15 million water resources request authored by Idaho Gov. Butch Otter and driven by House speaker Scott Bedke.

Otter unveiled the $15 million one-time spending request in his State of the State and Budget Address on Monday, the first day of the 2014 Legislature.

"Water and energy are the economic backbone of our economy in Idaho," Eskridge said. "And we do have serious water concerns, especially this year with the low snowpack."

"So, the governor's proposal I think allows for some enhancement of water storage and sustainability and I think that proposal will probably be supported by not only JFAC (Joint Finance Appropriations Committee) but the Legislature," he said.

The $500,000 Rathdrum Prairie portion of the governor's request would be used for "conducting studies" to support establishing municipal water rights "for long-term needs," according to budget materials released by the state's Division of Financial Management.

According to DFM numbers, post-recession Idaho will have an estimated surplus of $79.7 million going into the 2015 budget year that begins July 1. And Eskridge said the $15 million being requested to bolster water resources projects, "might be considered a backfill of sorts," following state cutbacks during the recession of recent years.

"We cut back so significantly the last four or five years that now we've got some responsibilities to catch up," Eskridge said.

In the JFAC, the work will include scrutinizing the $15 million request to see whether the entire amount is needed for the water resources projects, Eskridge said.

Bedke's influence factored into Otter's decision to include the $15 million "Water Sustainability Initiative," in his state budget year 2015 executive budget, the governor confirmed Monday.

"I would say Scott's information, which was validated by the (Idaho) Water Resources Board on need and on priority, I thought was very important in our decision," Otter said at a Monday afternoon news conference following his speech.

The seven-item budget request also includes $4 million "to provide a reliable water source to Mountain Home Air Force Base." Another $4 million, if approved, would be for "developing additional managed (aquifer) recharge capacity," on projects that could be within the vast Eastern Snake River Plain Aquifer, pending Idaho Water Resource Board approval, Otter said.

"It is a critical investment in our capacity for responsible future growth," Otter said, referring to the Water Sustainability Initiative during his 37-minute Monday afternoon speech.