Water News

A Message from Our Executive Director on the Presidential Election

Nov. 8, 2024 I realize many of us have been feeling upset, anxious, and concerned over the last couple of days. The presidential election results present new and unprecedented challenges for the environment and the conservation movement. It’s understandable to feel disheartened. While there is no doubt the second Trump administration will bring fresh threats […]

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Thank You for Your Support So Far for New Willamette Instream Water Right Applications

Nov. 1, 2024 Earlier this year the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced it had applied for a total of 269 instream water rights in the Willamette River system to protect instream flows for fish, including 102 applications in the North Willamette, 68 in the Mid-Willamette, and 99 in the Upper Willamette. Public

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Coalition Letter to EPA on Use of Safe Drinking Water Act in Areas of High Nitrate Contamination

Oct. 29, 2024 Bruno PigottActing Assistant Administrator of WaterU.S. EPA Office of Water1201 Constitution Ave. NWWashington, DC 20004 Dear Mr. Pigott, Everyone in America deserves access to clean drinking water. But in multiple states and rural communities across the country, the undersigned organizations have documented numerous instances where communities face increasing threats to their drinking

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Instream: WaterWatch-Led Fish Barrier Removal Project Wins Award

Oct. 24, 2024 By Jim McCarthy We’re thrilled and honored to announce the WaterWatch-led Takelma Creek Barrier Removal Project, completed in 2023, has won the 2024 Western District American Fisheries Society Award of Excellence in Riparian Management. This multi-faceted project is primarily located on Siskiyou Field Institute property in the Illinois River subbasin of the

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Support New Instream Water Right Applications in Willamette River Streams and Tributaries

Oct. 22, 2024 We need your help generating support for new legal protections for instream flows for fish along the middle basin of the Willamette River, including segments of the North, Middle, and South forks of the Santiam River, Calapooia River, Luckiamute River, Long Tom River, West Fork Marys River, and many more. As we

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WaterWatch’s 22nd Annual Celebration of Oregon’s Rivers — What to Know Before You Go

Oct. 5, 2024 We’ve arrived! Today is the day of our annual auction event. We can’t wait to see you this evening at our 22nd Annual Celebration of Oregon Rivers! To help you get ready, we’ve added some final details and reminders below. Please feel free to connect with development officer Jesse Robbins if you

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Deadline to Support for Flow Protections for North Willamette is Today at 5 p.m.

Sept. 26, 2024 We need your help TODAY to support new legal protections for instream flows for fish in Oregon’s beloved Willamette River system! Comments are due today at 5 p.m., so please TAKE ACTION NOW. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has applied for 269 new instream water rights, including 102 in the

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Virtual Columbia River Treaty Presentation This Monday at 12 Noon

As WaterWatch recently detailed, along with fellow environmental organizations in a Columbia River Treaty Conservation Caucus press release, and as reported by the Associated Press and PBS, the U.S. and Canada have reached an agreement in principle on some items that were the subject of negotiations in the ongoing update to the Columbia River Treaty. Unfortunately, that update remains focused on utility revenue and flood control at the

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Instream: Summertime River Hikes

July 3, 2024 By John DeVoe with Tommy Hough Wenaha River Tim Palmer’s Field Guide to Oregon Rivers calls the Wenaha “one of the Northwest’s wildest streams … with no roads, dams, development or diversions.” He should know. A few years ago, Tim and a couple of friends hiked up the Wenaha from the lower

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Written Remarks in Support of Revised Groundwater Allocation Rules

May 21, 2024 The public comment period has now closed on this initiative. If enacted, long-overdue updates to the state’s groundwater allocation rules will begin to rein in Oregon’s decades-long pattern of over-issuing pumping rights, and implement the guidelines of Oregon’s forward-looking, landmark 1955 Ground Water Act, including proposed changes to better account for impacts

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Instream: At Long Last, Revised Groundwater Rules for Oregon

April 18, 2024 By Lisa Brown After an exhaustive and scientifically rigorous process, the Oregon Water Resources Department published proposed groundwater allocation rules reliant upon science and data to implement Oregon’s forward-looking 1955 Ground Water Act — and put Oregon on a more sustainable path to smart, sensible, environmentally-sound groundwater allocation. On March 1st, the

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Comment on the State’s Integrated Water Resource Strategy (IWRS) Update

March 27, 2024 Note: We’re currently between Oregon Water Resources Department comment periods for the IWRS update. When the state resumes taking comments we’ll let you know — thanks! The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) will soon resume collecting public comments on its ongoing update of the state’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS). Originally adopted

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