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 […]

Written Remarks in Support of Revised Groundwater Allocation Rules Read More »

WaterWatch Supporters, Staff to Testify in Support of Groundwater Allocation Revisions at Final OWRD Groundwater Meeting in Salem

May 20, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information please contact: Tommy Hough (pr: “how”), WaterWatch of Oregon, tommy@waterwatch.org WHEN: Tuesday, May 21st – 5:30 to 9 p.m. (information session to begin at 5:30 p.m., public meeting to begin at 7 p.m.) WHERE: North Mall Office Building 725 Summer St. NE Room 124 Salem, OR 97301 WHAT:

WaterWatch Supporters, Staff to Testify in Support of Groundwater Allocation Revisions at Final OWRD Groundwater Meeting in Salem Read More »

Oregon Water Partnership Supports Appointment of Ivan Gall as Director of Oregon Water Resources Department

May 10, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information please contact: Tommy Hough, WaterWatch of Oregon, tommy@waterwatch.org Oregon Water Partnership Supports Appointment of Ivan Gall as Director of Oregon Water Resources Department Oregon Senate to begin confirmation process of 26-year agency veteran at the end of May. Salem, Oregon — The Oregon Water Partnership (OWP) supports

Oregon Water Partnership Supports Appointment of Ivan Gall as Director of Oregon Water Resources Department Read More »

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

Instream: At Long Last, Revised Groundwater Rules for Oregon Read More »

Declining Aquifer Levels Raise Alarm Among Central Oregon Hydrologists and Officials

By Michael Kohn  |  April 13, 2024  |  Bend Bulletin Amid patches of snow and ponderosa pines, a half mile from Lava Island Falls in the Deschutes River, a pair of hydrologists with the Oregon Water Resources Department dropped a cable down an observation well to determine the depth of groundwater near Bend. The cable

Declining Aquifer Levels Raise Alarm Among Central Oregon Hydrologists and Officials Read More »

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

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

Oregon Water Partnership Recognizes Progress in 2024 Legislative Session

March 20, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Ahead of World Water Day, Oregon Water Partnership Recognizes Progress in 2024 Legislative Session Coalition applauds Legislature’s attention to important water issues during 32-day “short session.”  Salem, Oregon — The Oregon Water Partnership (OWP) applauds the Oregon Legislature’s attention to important water issues during the 32-day “short session,” including

Oregon Water Partnership Recognizes Progress in 2024 Legislative Session Read More »

As Massive Klamath Dam Removal Project Nears Completion, Who Gets Once-Submerged Land?

By Kurtis Alexander  |  Feb. 22, 2024  |  San Francisco Chronicle The nation’s largest dam-removal project, the dismantling of four hydroelectric dams near the border of California and Oregon border, may be the end of one story — but it’s the beginning of another. The native Shasta people, who were exiled from the banks of the

As Massive Klamath Dam Removal Project Nears Completion, Who Gets Once-Submerged Land? Read More »

Court Hearing in Winchester Dam Water Storage Case

Feb. 16, 2024 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information, please contact: Jim McCarthy, WaterWatch of Oregon, jim@waterwatch.orgWHO:  Winchester Water Control District v. Oregon Water Resources Department, Dwight French (Case No. 23CV33445) WHAT:  Hearing on Oregon Water Resources Department Motion to Dismiss WHEN:  Friday, February 16, 2024 WHERE:  Marion County Circuit Court, Salem, Oregon Documents relevant to

Court Hearing in Winchester Dam Water Storage Case Read More »

Uncharted Waters: As Groundwater Dwindles, Powerful Players Block Change

By Christopher Flavelle  |  Produced by Claire O’Neill, Matt McCann and Umi Syam  |  Edited by Lyndsey Layton and Douglas Alteen  |  Research contributed by Julie Tate  |  Nov. 24, 2023  |  New York Times Some of the people fighting efforts to conserve a vital resource that’s disappearing across the United States include the owners

Uncharted Waters: As Groundwater Dwindles, Powerful Players Block Change Read More »

Court of Appeals Denies Proposed Drift Creek Dam But Water District Intends to Appeal

By Bill Poehler  |  Nov. 17, 2023  |  Salem Statesman Journal The Oregon Water Resources Commission and the Court of Appeals have prohibited the dam, saying it might harm cutthroat trout that spawn in the creek. Oregon’s Court of Appeals this month upheld a previous ruling prohibiting construction of a new dam south of Silverton

Court of Appeals Denies Proposed Drift Creek Dam But Water District Intends to Appeal Read More »

Oregon Water Officials Say Permitting Must Change to Keep Tens of Thousands of Wells from Going Dry

By Alex Baumhardt  |  Nov. 13, 2023  |  Oregon Capital Chronicle The cost of digging deeper wells could climb into the hundreds of millions if the state does not revamp groundwater permitting, officials told lawmakers. The Oregon Water Resources Department must update its 68-year-old rules for permitting new wells or double down on regulating existing

Oregon Water Officials Say Permitting Must Change to Keep Tens of Thousands of Wells from Going Dry Read More »

Oregon Water Partnership Praises Proposal to Modernize State Groundwater Allocation Rules

Nov. 6, 2023 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For information please contact: Tommy Hough, WaterWatch of Oregon, tommy@waterwatch.org Oregon Water Partnership Praises Science-Based Proposal to Modernize State’s Groundwater Allocation Rules As groundwater depletion becomes an even greater crisis throughout Oregon and the U.S., the Oregon Water Resources Department has developed science-based rules to put Oregon on a

Oregon Water Partnership Praises Proposal to Modernize State Groundwater Allocation Rules Read More »

Denial of Permit to Build Dam on Drift Creek Marks Legal Victory for Instream Water Rights

Nov. 3, 2023 WaterWatch of Oregon has won the latest round in its fight to stop construction of a 70-foot-high dam on Drift Creek, a tributary of the Pudding River in Marion County. On Wednesday, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the state Water Resource Commission’s denial of a permit for the proposed project, which

Denial of Permit to Build Dam on Drift Creek Marks Legal Victory for Instream Water Rights Read More »