Stricter Groundwater Regulations Contemplated for Oregon

Mateusz Perkowski  |  June 17, 2022  |  Capital Press 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

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Water Is the “Lifeblood” of Oregonians. How Will the Next Governor Manage a Future of Drought?

By Alex Schwartz  |  May 1, 2022  |  Jefferson Journal 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

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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,

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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

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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

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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

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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,

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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

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Water is the “Lifeblood” of Oregonians. How Will Oregon’s Next Governor Manage a Future of Drought?

By Alex Schwartz  |  April 26, 2022  |  Jefferson Public Radio 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

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Groundwater Over-Allocation in Oregon — the Deschutes, Umatilla, Klamath and Harney Basins

By WaterWatch Staff  |  April 6, 2022  |  Instream While groundwater permitting standards require Oregon to determine whether water is available before issuing a new groundwater permit, in practice, the state all too often lacks enough data to make that determination. As a result, and a habit, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) often operates

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State Groundwater Management, Capacity and Investment: A Transformative Package

By WaterWatch Staff  |  April 5, 2022  |  Instream In addition to the critical reforms advocated for by WaterWatch to ensure Oregon manages its groundwater in a sustainable manner, funding and agency capacity are also essential. As a result of past underinvestment in groundwater in many areas of the state, the Water Resources Department (OWRD)

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Urgent Groundwater Reforms Needed for a Sustainable Water Future

By WaterWatch Staff  |  April 5, 2022  |  Instream WaterWatch works across Oregon in administrative, collaborative, legislative and legal forums to advocate for reforms needed to secure sustainable groundwater management. WaterWatch has identified five critical and urgent reforms needed to put Oregon on a course to manage groundwater sustainably: 1  —  Stop issuing permits without

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Protecting Groundwater Resources is Critical for Oregon’s Environment and People

By WaterWatch Staff  |  April 5, 2022  |  Instream Groundwater provides a myriad of irreplaceable ecological benefits and is the sole source of drinking water for nearly one in four Oregonians. WaterWatch has a long history of working to ensure that Oregon’s management of groundwater preserves the vital role of this resource in maintaining streamflows,

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Race to the Bottom: How Big Business Took Over Oregon’s First Protected Aquifer

By Emily Cureton Cook  |  March 16, 2022  |  Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) 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. The warnings were hard to miss on a forsaken stretch of Highway

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In Turnaround, Oregon Agencies Say They’re “Ready to Work Together” for Lake Abert Solution

By Rob Davis  |  Feb. 21, 2022  |  The Oregonian 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

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“The State Must Do More” — Lawmakers Weigh How to Protect Dry Lake Abert

By Rob Davis |  Jan. 25, 2022   |  The Oregonian State lawmakers and environmental groups responded to an investigation by The Oregonian 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

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Oregon’s Lake Abert is “In Deep Trouble.” The State Shut Down Its Effort to Figure Out Why

By Rob Davis  |  Jan. 16, 2022  |  The Oregonian 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

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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 Credit photos to 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

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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

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Jim McCarthy of WaterWatch Discusses the Klamath Basin on OPB’s Think Out Loud

By Elizabeth Castillo and David Miller  |  July 13, 2021  |  Oregon Public Broadcasting David Miller from Oregon Public Broadcasting’s Think Out Loud spoke with Jim McCarthy, Southern Oregon program director for WaterWatch, about our longstanding work to protect and restore waterfowl and wetlands in the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge Complex, and took a

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