By Dan Kelly and NBC 16 Staff | Jan. 3, 2026 | KMTR-TV The 134-year-old Winchester Dam could be seeing some large changes regarding fish passage along the North Umpqua River after a judge ordered the Winchester Water Control District to build new fish passage facilities by 2028. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife […]
Winchester Water Control District Ordered to Update Fish Passage Facilities Read More »
By Gloria Coleman | Dec. 26, 2025 | Roseburg News-Review The Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) was told to start work next week on improving the fish passage in the Winchester Dam to be consistent with current standards, but an appeal might change all that. An Office of Administrative Hearings ruling issued by Senior Administrative
Judge Allows ODFW to Order WWCD to Fix Winchester Dam Fish Ladder by 2028 Read More »
By Alec del Pino Gil-Casares | Dec. 26, 2025 | Harvard Political Review While prompting your AI chatbot does not directly use water, many data centers rely on evaporative cooling to keep their computing chips, in charge of processing, manipulating, and transforming data, at a functioning temperature, consuming millions of gallons of potable water every day.
By John Oliver | Dec. 16, 2025 | Grants Pass Tribune A long-running dispute over a water right tied to a 65-acre property in Josephine County has reached a significant turning point, with state regulators declining to cancel the water right despite objections from environmental advocates. The decision clears one legal obstacle for property owners
Water Rights Dispute Clears Hurdle as Former County Commissioner Seeks Mining Transfer Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Dec. 15, 2025 | Capital Press Rights holder wants to change use from irrigation to sand and gravel mining. An environmental group has failed to convince Oregon regulators to cancel a water right associated with a Josephine County property whose owners are seeking a controversial transfer. The owners of the 65-acre
Request to Cancel Water Right in Southern Oregon Rejected by Regulators Read More »
By Alejandro Figueroa | Dec. 12, 2025 | Oregon Public Broadcasting Farmers in Harney County have come to rely on an aquifer that has long been known to be in serious decline. Now, Oregon water regulators will make drastic changes to how much water they can draw from the ground, following more than two years
Oregon’s Harney Basin is Now a Critical Groundwater Area — Here’s What That Means Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Dec. 12, 2025 | Capital Press Critics of the state’s adopted plan say it doesn’t protect the region’s ag-based economy. A petition seeking alternative rules to stabilize groundwater levels in Oregon’s Harney basin has failed to persuade regulators, who instead adopted the strategy preferred by a state agency. Though the Oregon
Stakeholder Proposal for Harney Groundwater Rejected by Oregon Regulators Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Dec. 11, 2025 | Capital Press Water board will take testimony, but says it has grounds to deny application. Oregon water regulators are proposing to again reject a new irrigation reservoir in the Willamette Valley, though they plan to hear additional arguments before making a final decision. The Oregon Water Resources
Oregon Water Regulators Recommend Against Rejecting Irrigation Reservoir Read More »
By Stephen Floyd | Nov. 28, 2025 | Our Town Community News The Oregon Water Resources Commission (OWRC) is set to discuss next steps on whether or not to approve an irrigation dam on Drift Creek, outside Silverton, during its regular meeting in December. This follows an Aug. 7th Oregon Supreme Court decision undoing the
By Sean Patrick Cooper | Nov. 24, 2025 | Rolling Stone Amazon has come to Oregon’s eastern farmland, worsening a water pollution problem that’s been linked to cancer and miscarriages. In the spring of 2022, Jim Doherty kept having the same conversation with folks at the only grocery store in Boardman, his eastern Eastern Oregon
How Oregon’s Data Center Boom is Supercharging a Water Crisis Read More »
By Chrissy Ewald | Oct. 12, 2025 | Grants Pass Daily Courier One year after a concrete irrigation dam that spanned the Illinois River was demolished and removed, it’s hard to tell the dam was ever there. It was too early in the season on Thursday to see fall chinook salmon, but small juvenile fish
By Alejandro Figueroa | Sept. 29, 2025 | OPB A coalition of irrigators, tribes and local governments organized under state Rep. Mark Owens — a Republican from Harney County and a farmer — recently filed a petition asking the Oregon Water Resources Commission to consider a different set of rules that diverges from regulators own
By Mateusz Perkowski | Sept. 18, 2025 | Capital Press WaterWatch continues to express skepticism over a proposed regulatory scheme to boost groundwater in the Harney basin. Irrigators and other water users are advocating for alternative groundwater restrictions to be adopted in Oregon’s Harney basin rather than those proposed by state regulators. The coalition, which
Alternative Proposed to Harney Basin Groundwater Restrictions Read More »
By Kendra Chamberlain | Aug. 27, 2025 | Columbia Insight A court decision has upheld existing instream water rights held by the state on Drift Creek, a tributary of the Pudding River. A decision by the Oregon Supreme Court is being lauded as a win for fish, but could throw a wrench into future water
Proposal Denied for Dam Near Oregon’s Silver Falls State Park Read More »
By Monique Merrill | Aug. 21, 2025 | Courthouse News While a controversial southern Oregon dam may delay the migration of a threatened species of salmon, the impact isn’t significant enough to violate federal environmental laws, a federal judge in Portland ruled on Thursday. “This court concludes that plaintiffs have not proven by a preponderance of
WaterWatch Continues its Efforts to Remove Winchester Dam Read More »
By Bill Poehler | Aug. 12, 2025 | Salem Statesman Journal The Oregon Supreme Court remanded the Oregon Water Resources Commission’s denial of water rights by the East Valley Water District. The Oregon Water Resources Commission must reconsider its denial of a proposed dam in farmland south of Silverton, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled on
Oregon Supreme Court Rules Water Rights for Proposed Dam Were Improperly Denied Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Aug. 8, 2025 | Capital Press Read WaterWatch of Oregon’s corresponding press release on the Oregon Supreme Court decision. An irrigation district must get another chance to persuade Oregon water regulators to approve a new Willamette Valley reservoir, according to a recent state Supreme Court ruling. The East Valley Water District’s
Oregon Supreme Court Orders Reconsideration of Irrigation Reservoir Denial Read More »
By Nathaniel Perales | Aug. 1, 2025 | High Country News “My vision was to build a healthy ecosystem for all who live in it.” Mary Lou Soscia is a Columbia River advocate and a 38-year employee of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “When I came to work at the EPA, it was still
WaterWatch’s Mary Lou Soscia Profiled in High Country News Read More »
By Tim Palmer | July 12, 2025 | New York Times Floods are inevitable. Catastrophe is not. Images and stories of the devastation wrought by the July 4th flood of the Guadalupe River in Texas will stay with many of us for a long time. There has been an outpouring of compassion and sorrow for
By Mateusz Perkowski | June 30, 2025 | Capital Press Oregon’s legislative session ended with lawmakers not taking action on bills that would impose new environmental review regulations on certain water rights transfers. The debate over stricter rules for water rights transfers persisted throughout the session, but even the proposal with the most momentum, Senate
Stricter Oregon Water Transfer Rules Die with End of Legislative Session Read More »
By Marcy Cottrell Houle | May 14, 2025 | Los Angeles Times We are on the cusp of losing the integrity of one of the most significant environmental acts ever enacted in the United States. Why should this matter? As the Pulitzer Prize-winning evolutionary biologist E.O. Wilson put it: “We should preserve every scrap of
The Endangered Species Act Faces Its Own Existential Threat Read More »
By Morgan Owen | April 9, 2025 | Bend Bulletin In a major win for water rights activists, a Deschutes County judge has dismissed an appeal made by developers of the luxury Thornburgh Resort, upholding an earlier decision denying the resort a permit to draw water from the Deschutes River aquifer. This ruling is the
Judge’s Ruling Creates Another Water Rights Roadblock for Thornburgh Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | April 8, 2025 | Capital Press Oregon lawmakers won’t prohibit building large livestock operations in areas with heightened groundwater protections this year, but the idea may not be abandoned for long. Though there isn’t enough agreement on this “explosive issue” for the proposal to pass in 2025, discussions about remedying aquifer
Oregon CAFO Prohibition Bill Won’t Move This Session Read More »
By Peter Madsen | April 8, 2025 | The Source Weekly Circuit court ruled in favor of state regulators’ previous denial. The developers of a disputed resort were handed the latest in a series of setbacks in their attempt to tap the Deschutes River Basin. On March 31st, the Deschutes County Circuit Court dismissed Thornburgh
Thornburgh Resort Once Again Denied Access To Deschutes River Basin Read More »
By Emily Cureton Cook | April 6, 2025 | Oregon Public Broadcasting A Deschutes County Circuit Court judge recently dealt a blow to plans for the much-contested Thornburgh resort in Central Oregon. In a March 31st opinion, Judge Raymond Crutchley shot down a petition brought by the developer against state regulators over access to groundwater
Thornburgh Resort Site in Central Oregon Hits Another Water Rights Roadblock Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | March 31, 2025 | Capital Press Bipartian legislation meant to staunch groundwater depletion in Oregon’s Harney Basin by bolstering voluntary conservation measures is drawing opposition from across the political spectrum. Though House Bill 3800 received support from some farmers and community leaders at a recent hearing, the proposal was characterized as
Bipartisan Groundwater Proposal Draws Bipartisan Opposition Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | March 27, 2025 | Capital Press Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek backs a bill would create a “targeted review” of water transfer requests to ensure they don’t impair water quality or threatened, endangered, or sensitive aquatic species. Of the three bills proposing to reform Oregon water rights transfers this legislative session, the
Governor Kotek Backs Oregon Water Transfer Reviews Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | March 20, 2025 | Capital Press Two Oregon lawmakers want to streamline how water rights disputes are resolved but the proposal is drawing criticism from organizations representing farmers and environmentalists. The amount of time needed to process certain water rights applications has been the subject of “constant complaints,” but grumbling won’t
Streamlined Water Rights Dispute Procedures Raise Due Process Fears Read More »
By Samantha Kadera | March 11, 2025 | KDRV News WaterWatch of Oregon is urging residents to oppose House Bill 3501, a bill that would prevent the state from considering the public interest, such as the impacts to fish, wildlife, and water quality, when reviewing water right transfers. The bill would weaken protections for Oregon’s
WaterWatch of Oregon Takes Stand Against HB 3501 Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | March 11, 2025 | Capital Press Public interest considerations couldn’t weigh on water rights transfers under an Oregon House bill, clashing with Senate legislation that would strengthen environmental reviews of such transactions. Proponents say House Bill 3501 would simply preserve the “status quo,” since state water regulators already don’t consider the
Oregon Proposals Clash Over Water Rights Transfer Reviews Read More »
By Brinkley Hill | March 7, 2025 | KDRV News The Pomeroy Dam was demolished and removed from the Illinois River during the summer of 2024, but the overall project continues this spring with infrastructure improvements to benefit native fish habitat and river ecosystems. WaterWatch of Oregon, a statewide environmental organization focused on streamflows and
Work Continues on Pomeroy Dam Project, Improving Illinois River Health Read More »
By Mateusz Perkowski | Feb. 22, 2025 | Capital Press Oregon lawmakers may overhaul grant-making policies for water projects, which an environmental group worries would undermine public benefits in the name of improving efficiency. The Democratic and Republican leaders of the House Agriculture Committee have introduced House Bill 3364, which would revise numerous rules for
By Mateusz Perkowski | Feb. 21, 2025 | Capital Press Oregon farm organizations are leery of a bill that would buttress the state government’s authority to require irrigators to measure and report water use. State regulators have been able to require irrigators to measure water use under certain circumstances for more than a century, but
By Mateusz Perkowski | Feb. 14, 2025 | Capital Press Oregon lawmakers are considering a bill to expedite aquifer recharge projects but a group of irrigators is questioning whether the proposal goes far enough. Under House Bill 2988, state agencies would be directed to “reduce barriers” and expand the practice of recharging aquifers, which included
Irrigator Group Wants More “Teeth” for Aquifer Recharge Proposal Read More »
By Claire Huber | Jan. 27, 2025 | The Cool Down The privately-owned Pomeroy Dam in southern Oregon has been removed from the Illinois River. As detailed by KLCC Radio, removing this dam will allow migratory fish native to the Illinois River to pass the irrigation dam’s original site without harm for the first time
The Caddis Fly | Jan. 12, 2025 | Oregon Fly Fishing Blog Last spring the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced it applied for over 260 new instream water rights in the Willamette River system to protect instream flows for native fish and wildlife in the North Willamette, Mid-Willamette, and South Willamette basins.
The Caddis Fly: Support New Instream Water Rights in the South Willamette Basin Read More »
By Gloria Coleman | Dec. 23, 2024 | Roseburg News-Review On Sept. 17, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) issued a Notice of Noncompliance to the Winchester Water Control District (WWCD) regarding the Winchester Dam. The notice highlighted unauthorized repair activities, including concrete capping and foam injections, which deviated from the 2022 temporary
By Alejandro Figueroa | Dec. 4, 2024 | Oregon Public Broadcasting The Harney Basin region in southeast Oregon sits in a semi-arid high desert. Yet, it’s dotted with green circles of water-hungry alfalfa grown for cattle feed. For years, scientists have closely studied the basin to get a more clear picture of just how much
By Chrissy Ewald | Nov. 27, 2024 | Grants Pass Daily Courier Demolition is complete of a concrete dam that used to arc 270 feet across the Illinois River near Cave Junction and blocked access to 100 miles of spawning grounds for salmon, steelhead, and other migratory fish. The removal of the Pomeroy Dam marks
On the Illinois River, Pomeroy Dam is Now Just a Memory Read More »
By Kade Stirling | Nov. 26, 2024 | KOBI-TV News With the successful removal of Pomeroy Dam, the Rogue Basin’s highest-priority barrier to native fish has come down. WaterWatch of Oregon, the statewide water conservation group, worked with state and national partners like the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the U.S. Forest
Pomeroy Dam Removal Complete, Construction Continues Into 2025 Read More »
