Sept. 12, 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Tommy Hough, tommy@waterwatch.org
WaterWatch of Oregon Commends State on Finalization of Long-Needed Groundwater Allocation Rule Updates
Revised rules herald new era of water sustainability, marks conclusion of lengthy process to put state into alignment with mandates set out in Oregon’s landmark 1955 Groundwater Act.
Central Point, Oregon — In a victory for long-term water sustainability, the Oregon Water Resources Commission unanimously adopted amended groundwater allocation rules that will better protect waterways that are hydraulically connected to groundwater, ensure future groundwater right allocations are guided by a science-based process focused on long-term water sustainability and reliability for Oregon communities and waterways, and end the decades-long “default to yes” approach of the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) in issuing new groundwater rights.
“WaterWatch sounded the alarm about flaws in Oregon’s groundwater permitting process in 2014, which was leading to dramatic over-issuance of permits, and have steadily advocated for reform since then,” said Lisa Brown, staff attorney for WaterWatch of Oregon. “We commend the Oregon Water Resources Department for methodically collecting and analyzing data and applying modern science to develop the revised rules which chart a much brighter future for Oregon.”
The revised allocation rules apply to new groundwater permits only. They do not apply to uses exempt from permitting, such as domestic wells.
Previously, in a practice known as “default to yes,” the state would approve new groundwater rights when it lacked data to determine whether an area had enough groundwater to support new pumping. The newly-amended rules close this loophole.
The new rules define “reasonably stable” groundwater levels, and prevent new groundwater permits from being issued when groundwater levels do not meet the reasonably stable threshold. While the 1955 Groundwater Act requires regulators to identify and preserve “reasonably stable” levels of groundwater in aquifers, state officials never established a metric that defined what qualified as reasonably stable. As a result, OWRD permitted groundwater pumping that ultimately caused groundwater levels to decline in some areas by well over 100 feet.
The new rules also establish the amount and type of data needed to determine whether groundwater levels are reasonably stable, and require denial of a permit application if that data is not available.
And the rules protect senior surface water rights, including instream water rights, by requiring a full accounting of the impacts of proposed pumping on hydraulically connected rivers and streams (the physical connection and interaction of streams and waterways throughout a river network). This marks an important improvement, as the state’s practice over the last several decades has resulted in an issuance of groundwater permits that has injured senior surface water rights.
“Oregon has been over-issuing groundwater pumping permits for decades, to the detriment of senior water users and rivers, lakes, and wetlands that rely on cold, clean groundwater,” said Brown. “These rules apply science and data to implement Oregon’s Groundwater Act, securing a more sustainable water future for all Oregonians, and for rivers across the state and the fish and wildlife that depend on them.”
Today’s adoption of new groundwater allocation rules will also dramatically improve how the state accounts for how proposed wells would impact surface water flows. These changes will better protect the senior surface water right holders and instream water rights that depend on those flows, as required by law. Unsustainable groundwater use due to over-allocation of groundwater rights has already resulted in chronic well level declines, and threatens senior surface water rights on streams and rivers that are fed by springs.
“OWRD conducted several public information sessions around the state in the fall of 2022, then embarked on an exhaustive, nearly yearlong process with a Rules Advisory Committee in which to develop new rules over the course of eight lengthy, in-depth meetings, followed by an extensive public hearing and comment process on the proposed rules,” said Brown.
Coming on the heels of another record-breaking summer of hot, dry weather, the state’s revised groundwater allocation rules provide scientifically sound options for meeting the reasonable needs of cities that do not sacrifice the sustainability of aquifers and streams, ensure surface water flows are not harmed further, and that impacts to domestic well owners are controlled.
WaterWatch supported the rules package the Oregon Water Resources Department submitted for consideration to the Water Resources Commission, and is grateful for the Commission’s positive decision today.