Please help Oregon’s rivers by speaking up in support of ODFW’s Water Program! The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s (ODFW) Water Quality and Quantity Program plays a vital role in protecting water in our state’s iconic rivers. Whether it’s reviewing new water right applications to ensure that they won’t harm our rivers, securing new instream water rights to legally …
Google’s water use is soaring in the Dalles, records show, with two more data centers to come
By Mike Rogoway | Updated: Dec. 18, 2022 | Published: Dec. 17, 2022 | The Oregonian/OregonLive Google’s water use in The Dalles has nearly tripled in the past five years, and the company’s data centers now consume more than a quarter of all the water used in the city. That’s according to records released this week after the city settled …
Restoration Stories: Slate and Welter Creek Dam Removals
https://vimeo.com/765788391
32 Pacific Northwest Groups Urge U.S. to Take Action to Modernize the Columbia River Treaty to Avoid Ecosystem Collapse
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 14, 2022 Media Contacts: Joseph Bogaard, Save Our wild Salmon Coalition, joseph@wildsalmon.org, 206-300-1003 John DeVoe, WaterWatch of Oregon, john@waterwatch.org, 503-295-4039 x 1 32 Pacific Northwest Groups Urge U.S. to Take Action to Modernize the Columbia River Treaty to Avoid Ecosystem Collapse Seattle, Washington – Today, 32 Pacific Northwest-based conservation, clean energy, faith, fishing, and civic organizations …
Race to the bottom: How Central Oregon groundwater sells to the highest bidders
By Emily Cureton Cook | July 19, 2022 | OPB In Oregon’s fastest-growing region, more residents are struggling to reach an affordable water supply. A developer’s quest to keep pumping tests what state officials are willing to do about it. Editor’s note: This is the third story in a series about how Oregon officials managing groundwater supplies have fueled crises …
Columbia River Treaty Non Governmental Organizations Letter
American Rivers ● Association of Northwest Steelheaders ● Audubon Society of Portland ● Center for Biological Diversity ● Center for Environmental Law and Policy ● Columbia Riverkeeper ● Earth Ministry/Washington Interfaith Power & Light ● Endangered SpeciesCoalition ● Engineers for a Sustainable Future ● Faith Action Network ● Federation of Western Outdoor Clubs ●Great Old Broads for Wilderness ● Idaho …
The Radical Songbook-Fishing with Jeff
https://www.theradicalsongbook.com/fishing-with-jeffhttps://youtu.be/U4mfSflSVGo
Stricter groundwater regulations contemplated for Oregon
Mateusz Perkowski | Capital Press | June 17, 2022 SALEM — Oregon water regulators want to impose stricter rules for drilling new irrigation wells next year to preserve groundwater levels and prevent over-pumping. A preliminary analysis of available data suggests that little groundwater across the state is available for new allocations, said Ivan Gall, field services division administrator at the …
WaterWatch Featured in Jefferson Journal May-June 2022-Water Is the ‘Lifeblood’ of Oregonians
http://www.journalgraphicsdigitalpublications.com/epubs/JeffersonJournalMay-June2022/73E49A2184E2EF0895FA953851810F15/JeffJournal2022May-June.pdf
Removal of the Gold Hill Dam
Craig Harper of the Rogue Valley Council of Governments explains why the water diversion dam was removed in July 2008 from the Rogue River. https://youtu.be/U4mfSflSVGo
2010 Gold Ray Dam Removal
The story of removing the Gold Ray Dam on the Rogue River. https://vimeo.com/135799225
Elk Creek Dam demolition
A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers video shows an explosion Tuesday, July 15, 2008, that begins demolition of Elk Creek Dam in Southern Oregon. The Pulitzer Prize winning Mail Tribune is one of the oldest and most trusted newspaper organizations in Oregon. Based in Medford, OR, we cover Southern Oregon’s breaking news, local news, sports, politics, and all the important …
The Removal of Savage Rapids Dam
The Savage Rapids Dam built by the Grants Pass irrigation District in 1921 was designed to deliver Rogue River water to the fields of local farmers; It did not offer water retention, electrical creation, or flood control. Because the age of the dam was leading to costly replacement issues and its disruption of adult and juvenile fish passage caused local …
Rogue River Dam Removals
WaterWatch of Oregon began a campaign 20 years ago to improve fish passage on the Rogue River in Southwest Oregon. Through WaterWatch’s efforts four dams have been removed: Savage Rapids Dam, Gold Hill Dam, Gold Ray Dam, and Elk Creek Dam. https://youtu.be/VLOUgDoD6ek
2017 Flyover of Rogue River Dam Removals
Three mainstem dams were removed on the Rogue River between 2008-2010 and this is a flyover of each site in 2017. https://vimeo.com/222089256
2015 Wimer Dam Removal
Removal of the Wimer Dam on Evans Creek, Oregon to enhance fish passage and river connectivity. Spearheaded by WaterWatch and Geos Institute in cooperation with the landowner. Engineering by River Design Group and dam removed by Staton Companies. https://vimeo.com/135754205
WaterWatch’s Mission: Protecting and Restoring Oregon’s Rivers
A brief video from WaterWatch’s 2020 Celebration of Oregon Rivers about why WaterWatch’s mission and work is so important, especially in a climate-changed Oregon. https://youtu.be/sA4hAwV2qQA
Ongoing Harm at Winchester Dam
WaterWatch captured this video of migrating salmon jumping repeatedly at false attraction flows gushing through the poorly maintained face of Winchester Dam. There are many such holes through the dam’s face and under its foundation. The delayed fish in this video risk injury and death when falling back on areas of eroded concrete, exposed rebar, and other hazards. They may …
Meet the WaterWatch Staff!
Several of WaterWatch’s program staff discuss what drives them in their work in this video that premiered at the 2020 WaterWatch Celebration of Oregon Rivers. https://youtu.be/Cx65RGUav_Y
2020 Auction: Special Appeal
The special appeal from WaterWatch’s 2020 Celebration of Oregon Rivers! https://youtu.be/lMzFZHiBjAs
2021 Auction: Free Flowing Rivers Program
Watch a video of WaterWatch’s 2021 Annual Celebration of Oregon Rivers Auction video, “Free Flowing Rivers Program” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN79QbKrj4c
Jim McCarthy featured in The Conservation Alliance’s Rogue River video on dam removals
Watch an interview featuring WaterWatch Southern Oregon Program Director, Jim McCarthy. Jim McCarthy featured in The Conservation Alliance’s Rogue River video on dam removals https://vimeo.com/383363908
John DeVoe on X-Ray Radio’s Non-Profit Happy Hour
Listen to an interview featuring WaterWatch Executive Director, John DeVoe. X-Ray FM Non-Profit Happy Hour. https://soundcloud.com/the-non-profit-hour/nphh-s7e10-waterwatch-of-oregon
John DeVoe speaks on the water impacts of proposed Google data center in the Dalles
Watch an interview featuring WaterWatch Executive Director, John DeVoe “Google Threatens Water Supply of Drought-Stricken Town” 11.6.21 Google is racing to win approval for two massive new data centers—which use millions of gallons of water—in a small, drought-stricken farming town in Oregon. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NRTHDERxANA
Jim McCarthy speaks on the Klamath Basin OPB
An OPB Audio Story Featuring WaterWatch Southern Oregon Program Director Jim McCarthy. “Klamath Basin drought: Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex” 7.13.21 https://www.opb.org/article/2021/07/13/klamath-basin-drought-klamath-basin-national-wildlife-refuge-complex/?fbclid=IwAR1bBFzbxDUOpMJbcgwiEQEkg7g_vilEQfVYu9rTJdRSlst-cuTPjFn7tC4
Lisa Brown speaks on Summer Lake NPR
An NPR Audio Story Featuring WaterWatch Staff Attorney Lisa Brown. “Encore: A vital lake in Oregon, around for eons, could run dry within a generation” 4.11.22 https://www.npr.org/2022/04/11/1092117495/encore-a-vital-lake-in-oregon-around-for-eons-could-run-dry-within-a-generation
Water is the ‘lifeblood’ of Oregonians. How will the next governor manage a future of drought?
Jefferson Public Radio | By Alex Schwartz Published April 26, 2022 at 5:39 AM PDT The Klamath Basin provides a cautionary tale for Oregon about the need to plan more intentionally and sustainably with its shrinking water supply. Despite growing up on a ranch near John Day and living in the Klamath Basin for more than 20 years, Misty Buckley …
Race to the bottom: Draining Summer Lake
By Emily Cureton Cook (OPB) | March 28, 2022 5 a.m. Oregon has protected land at Summer Lake Wildlife Area since 1944. Water is another story. Under current water rights, vital springs could run dry within a generation. Editor’s note: This is the second story in an ongoing series about how Oregon officials managing groundwater supplies have fueled crises and …
Race to the bottom: How big business took over Oregon’s first protected aquifer
By Emily Cureton Cook (OPB) | March 16, 2022 6 a.m. In Malheur County’s Cow Valley, state regulators have ignored known issues with overpumping groundwater, leaving the region at risk of economic and ecological damage that will be difficult to reverse. Editor’s note: This is the first story in an ongoing series about how Oregon officials managing groundwater supplies have …
In turnaround, Oregon agencies say they’re ‘ready to work together’ for Lake Abert solution
By Rob Davis | The Oregonian/OregonLive | Published: Feb. 21, 2022, 5:32 p.m. After ignoring its decline for years, state agencies have pledged to help Lake Abert, Oregon’s only saltwater lake and a vital stop on the Pacific Flyway, which has run dry twice in the last eight years. In a Feb. 16 letter to environmental groups, the leaders of …
‘The state must do more.’ Lawmakers weigh how to protect dry Lake Abert
By Rob Davis | The Oregonian/OregonLive | Published: Jan. 25, 2022, 7:00 a.m. State lawmakers and environmental groups responded to an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive into the state’s failure to protect Lake Abert, Oregon’s only salt lake, by promising oversight hearings and calling for immediate action to restore the migratory bird stop that has run dry twice in the last …
Oregon’s Lake Abert is ‘in deep trouble.’ The state shut down its effort to figure out why
By Rob Davis | The Oregonian/OregonLive | Published on Jan 16, 2022 When Oregon’s only saltwater lake mysteriously dried up in 2014, turning a vibrant landscape teeming with migratory birds into a desiccated, abandoned salt pan, state environmental regulators mobilized. Lake Abert, a 64-square-mile lake in south central Oregon’s high desert, had gone almost completely dry for the first time …
Largest Dam Removal in US History Set to Begin
By BO EVANS | EW Scripps | bo.evans@scripps.com HORNBROOK, Calif. — The Iron Gate Dam, one of four dams on the Klamath River, will be removed in 2023. It will be the largest dam removal in U.S. history. For Pachomio Feliz, the waters of the Klamath River and Pacific are life. He’s a member of the Yurok Tribe. “This is …
Big tech data centers spark worry over scarce Western water
By ANDREW SELSKY and MANUEL VALDES THE DALLES, Ore. (AP) — Conflicts over water are as old as history itself, but the massive Google data centers on the edge of this Oregon town on the Columbia River represent an emerging 21st century concern. Now a critical part of modern computing, data centers help people stream movies on Netflix, conduct transactions …
Three Priority Dam Removals Completed in Rogue’s Applegate Subbasin
For Immediate Release October 13, 2021 Contacts: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-941-9450 Brian Barr, Rogue River Watershed Council, 541-621-7226 Harboldt Dam before and after removal images here: https://tinyurl.com/eaz9kswe Photo credit Crystal Nichols, Rogue River Watershed Council Three Priority Dam Removals Completed in Rogue’s Applegate Subbasin Collaborative project benefits salmon and steelhead while meeting private land use needs Wilderville …
Environmental coalition demands state reject proposed Easterday Dairy
By Bryce Dole | East Oregonian | August 26, 2021 BOARDMAN — A coalition of environmental groups is calling on Gov. Kate Brown to reject a permit application for the proposed Easterday dairy in Boardman. In a press conference Tuesday, Aug. 24, leaders from the Stand Up for Factory Farms Coalition said the dairy will exacerbate a variety of environmental …
Administrative Hearing Underway Over Botched 2018 Winchester Dam Repair River Advocates Intervening to Protect North Umpqua Water Quality
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR HEARING CALL-IN INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-941-9450, jim@waterwatch.org July 13th, 2021 Salem – Today, river advocates were again working to hold a polluter accountable for a botched October 2018 repair at Winchester Dam on the North Umpqua River. An Oregon administrative law judge has scheduled three days of hearings beginning Tuesday July …
Listen to WaterWatch’s own Jim McCarthy featured on this week’s OPB’s “Think Out Loud!”
Klamath Basin drought: Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex By Elizabeth Castillo (OPB) Broadcast: Tuesday, July 13 This week, David Miller from Oregon Public Broadcasting’s “Think Out Loud” interviewed WaterWatch’s own Southern Oregon Program Director, Jim McCarthy, about our longstanding work to protect and restore waterfowl and wetlands on the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuges, then took a deep dive …
Administrative Hearing Over Botched 2018 Winchester Dam Repair Begins July 13 River Advocates Intervening to Protect North Umpqua Water Quality
FOR HEARING CALL-IN INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, 541-708-0048, jim@waterwatch.org Administrative Hearing Over Botched 2018 Winchester Dam Repair Begins July 13 River Advocates Intervening to Protect North Umpqua Water Quality Salem – Next week, river advocates will again be working to hold a polluter accountable for a botched October 2018 repair at Winchester Dam on the North …
Cheese in the desert: Why mega-dairies are piping water onto Oregon’s shrub-steppe
By Dawn Stover | Columbia Insight | May 6, 2021 Cody Easterday is still waiting for the Oregon Department of Agriculture to approve his application, submitted in June 2019, for a Confined Animal Feeding Operation near the city of Boardman (pop. 3,340), 165 miles east of Portland. Easterday, a 49-year-old rancher whose family owns a huge agricultural operation in Washington …