Oregon Water Resources Congress

Good afternoon.  My name is John Herlocker and I’m here as the President of the Oregon Water Resources Congress.  The Congress represents irrigation districts and other water supply systems serving irrigated agriculture in Oregon. The mission of OWRC is to promote the protection and use of water rights and the wise stewardship of water resources. 

OWRC commends the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Reclamation for undertaking Water 2025 and the effort to move from crisis management to participation in proactive, planned management of federal western water actions.  Without sufficient funding to maintain existing Reclamation projects and to bring those projects into compliance with federal regulations such as the ESA and CWA, crisis management will continue to dominate the federal water efforts in the West.  It becomes just a matter of which crisis gets attention – an endangered species of fish, a deteriorating dam at risk of rupture, an irrigation canal that is eroding and losing water to seepage or flooding neighboring land, or non-agriculture needs that are successful in demanding water from the project and the risk of losing that water for irrigation needs. 

OWRC supports the effort in the Water 2025 Initiative to improve collaboration among federal and state agencies and the water suppliers in the West and the effort to improve interagency cooperation.  We want to be a part of this effort and have provided some specific areas where we think these efforts would be particularly beneficial.  

OWRC sees rural water needs in the West as having two parts:  water quantity, which appears to be the focus of the Water 2025 Initiative and water quality, which is just beginning to be a force in western water and appears to be missing in the Water 2025 Initiative.  OWRC believes that addressing only water quantity without addressing water quantity will result in a failure to be able to meet western rural water needs.   While water quality may often be a function of water quantity, water quality, in and of itself, is moving to the public forefront, at least in Oregon.  Water systems that deliver water to agriculture is facing regulation directly on the system or indirectly on the water source to reduce pollutants (e.g., regulation of aquatic herbicides in irrigation canals) and to reduce water temperature (e.g.,  reducing diversions to ensure more water is left in the stream).   Our membership is fairly certain these requirements will not disappear nor will they decrease.  Failure to address the water quality issues will result in litigation and/or federal or state intervention and regulation of the water system. 

The following list represents specific actions we hope the Water 2025 Initiative will incorporate in the planning for rural water needs in the Oregon and the rest of the West. 

§         Keep existing projects whole and healthy with adequate funding and administrative support to update, repair, replace, and improve project infrastructure.  This includes dam safety and security; protection and rehabilitation of reservoirs and storage structures; rehabilitation, upgrading and replacement of aging diversion structures, canals and ditches.  Project facilities age and new technology is available to improve the water delivery system and reduce water lost through evaporation and transportation.  That “saved” water can be used for new irrigation or placed instream to meet environmental requirements depending on the district and governing state law.  

§         Provide funding and leadership to bring Bureau projects into compliance with current regulations (i.e., ESA, CWA)

1. Funding of operation and maintenance needs is important to districts.  Rehabilitation of fishscreens, authorities for rehab and maintenance of the existing Reclamation projects must be funded at a level to ensure the ongoing viability and safety of these systems. 

2.      ESA and CWA related mandates must be funded. The Endangered Species Act and the Clean Water Act, as well as state regulatory requirements, continue to mandate system changes.  Oregon’s irrigation districts (including water control and related districts) have shown that cost effective environmental mitigation can be accomplished.  To build on these successes and meet today’s requirements, cost-share funding programs are the districts’ highest need.

Oregon irrigation districts are significantly impacted by ESA listings and need funding to meet the public benefits necessary to provide additional fishery protection.

Recovery for Bull Trout (a salmonid related species) should be included in all funding programs for fishery recovery related to the Endangered Species Act requirements.  Oregon districts are impacted even more broadly by Bull Trout than by Salmon species.  In addition to a proposed recovery plan for Bull Trout in critical habitat areas, where Bull Trout currently exist, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also considering requirements for reintroduction of Bull Trout in areas where habitat exists but there is no longer a fish presence.

3.      There are a number of existing programs that have been authorized by the federal government to provide cost sharing for the public benefit portion of district projects. These programs are important to OWRC and should be maintained as authorized;  funded at an adequate level to meet today’s needs; updated to operate more effectively and more efficiently; accessible to both federal projects and non-federal irrigation projects; and should provide for a focus on local governments, including irrigation water supply districts (non-potable water). 

§         Drought planning.  Water supply in the west has been impacted this irrigation season as precipitation and reservoir storage levels are below average capacity.  There are forecasts that the drought could continue for another year or even longer.  The Bureau of Reclamation Emergency Drought Assistance needs to be funded at least to the $10 million level.  Many other actions suggested by OWRC would increase the ability of the Bureau to respond to drought, such as increased water storage and water conservation activities. 

§         Water storage

No one believes that existing water supplies are sufficient to meet future demands for water, even those demands that will occur sooner than in 2025.  The need for additional off-stream storage that is environmentally sensitive cannot be understated.   This will provide additional water to meet irrigation needs and address other water demands in Oregon and provide stored water releases for fishery mitigation when federal agencies are shareholders in projects.  However, the cost of developing new off-stream storage facilities or expanding existing storage facilities is beyond the financial capacity of irrigation districts or even the states under their current financial crises.   New storage capacity will be developed only with the financial participation of the federal government. 

§         The Bureau must be willing to use an innovative thought process in developing “new” water to meet increased and competing rural water needs of the West.  OWRC supports new and innovative programs either as full authorizations or as “demonstration projects” in this period of economic challenge.

-        Reuse and Recharge Programs - Programs that provide reclaimed or reuse water to districts provide a more stable water supply.  Aquifer storage opportunities similarly enhance supply while providing a water cleansing opportunity.

-        Technology Transfer Funding - Reclamation needs to encourage the use of technology to operate mapping systems, automated water delivery and other techniques.  OWRC promotes enhanced funding for these tools to provide more efficient and cost-effective water delivery while protecting the environment.

-        Research Funding - Many of the agency programs have been cut back in the area of research funding, yet the tools that are implemented from research are significant to resolving problems for fishery protection, water conservation and other needs. 

-        Aquifer Storage Recovery (ASR) is a tool that Oregon districts are interested in developing to restore and cleans water to enhance the water supply.

§         Fish Passage and Fish Screening

There is a significant need in Oregon for the design and funding of fishscreens and fish passage facilities at existing water delivery facilities, including reservoirs. 

1. Several years ago OWRC worked hard on the passage of the Fish Restoration and Irrigation Mitigation Act of 2002 (FRIMA).  USFWS became the responsible federal agency for this program.  In three years this program has been funded at a minimal level without any funding whatsoever in FY 2003.  OWRC wants to have the program continued beyond its current sunset (FY 2005) and have it funded at an amount approaching the authorization level.  
2. OWRC strongly supports the Bureau of Reclamation’s Off-Site Mitigation Legislation Authorization and Funding that would broaden the agency’s authorities for conservation funding, fish passage and screening and other off-site mitigation activities.   This is a creative step toward helping irrigation districts in Oregon meet ESA requirements.   Once the Bureau’s  bill is passed, we would strongly recommend that the FRIMA program be moved to the Bureau to provide better coordination of funding for fish screens and fish passages in Oregon.

§         Need to streamline consultation process with NOAA Fisheries and USFWS

1. Expedite NEPA Process for Existing Facilities -- Irrigation districts have had to face costly procedures and lengthy delays going through NEPA procedures when changes in operations do not change water flow at the diversion or create any impacts on fish and wildlife, merely because “any federal action” requires NEPA.  When there is in effect not a change in operations, NEPA should not apply.
2. Allow Coordination with Federal Agencies for Takings Permits under ESA - We urge looking at the ability of federal agencies to acquire takings permits in coordination with local districts so that districts can operate as required under state and federal law prior to the federal agency completing fish passage or screening requirements where the federal agency is the owner of the facility and has not yet completed its obligation to screen of provide passage.

§         Small Reclamation Loan Act

For decades SRPA has provided an opportunity for districts to complete and rehabilitate infrastructure projects.  Environmental mitigation requires a broader program with more flexibility to meet today’s needs.  OWRC has been a member of the Small Reclamation Program Coalition for the past several years.  The coalition, made up of Western state associations and water districts, has been working to modernize the Bureau of Reclamation’s Small Reclamation Loan Program.  A number of our districts have used this program in the past and would like to undertake additional work under the program in the future, but with additional flexibility.

§         Shared efforts through conservation of water

OWRC’s philosophy as an organization has been to support conserving water with the conserved water shared between instream benefits and creation of a stable water supply for the district and its members without removing the land permanently from potential production.   Our membership is committed to working cooperatively with other federal, state, local authorities to use conservation funding to put water in stream and take other actions for the long-term benefit of our districts’ water users.  Conservation provides an opportunity to stabilize current water supplies so that districts can react better to drought conditions and efficiently and effectively supply a more consistent water supply to irrigable lands.  

Oregon has been a leader in water conservation programs of this nature since 1987 when the Legislature enacted the instream water right law (ORS 537.332 to .360) to place and keep water instream for fishery protection.  That same year the Legislature enacted Water Conservation Incentive Program.  This program allows a water user or district supplier to conserve water, retain a portion of the conserved water to store to stabilize its own water supply or apply to additional uses while dedicating 25% of the conserved water to instream benefits for fishery protection, water quality and recreation.

Water conservation funding is currently hampered by limited funding and by the machinations districts must undertake to be able to use those limited funds for conservation activities.  As currently operated, districts must work through other programs, such as fisheries programs, to find money for conservation actions.  The Bureau and DOI need to recognize water conservation as a good management practice and support conservation through direct funding. 

Projects envisioned as conservation include, but are not limited to:  replacing open canals with pipe or lining, moving points of diversion to conserve water, water measurement and management tools to maximize water supply, reservoir expansion, rehabilitation and renovation of facilities to maximize system efficiency.  Off-site mitigation legislation will enhance opportunities to at the same time protect fish and wildlife, promote enhanced water quality and protect wetlands and other protected areas.   

§         GIS funding.  GIS systems allow Oregon districts to move water within the district through the state’s temporary transfer program.  Pending legislation would give districts with a complete GIS system more flexibility in managing water within the district.  This management flexibility means the water will be more effectively and efficiently used, reducing the demand on the water supply. 

§         Warren Act amendments.  Amendments proposed to the Warren Act need to be less restrictive and provide flexibility for districts in moving water to their patrons.  As an example, districts in Oregon need the ability to run non-project water through Reclamation facilities including, among other waters reuse water developed under state law. 

OWRC and its members are committed to working with DOI and the Bureau to improve, expand and enhance water in Oregon.  OWRC has been a leader in the effort to conserve water and to reduce the demand on the water supply through conservation measures and improved management systems in the irrigation districts.  The ability to expand these measures is hampered by the costs and by state and federal laws and regulations.  OWRC will continue to take an active role in addressing the legal and regulatory impediments at the state level and will be an active partner with the Bureau and other organizations serving irrigated agriculture to address these impediments at the federal level.   Even as the regulatory and legal issues are addressed, the funding needs cannot be met at the local level.  Oregon’s irrigation water systems are dependent on federal assistance for this funding, but we need the Bureau and DOI to recognize that the old structures of funding will not fit with the modern day needs of water management in agriculture and other rural needs in Oregon.  We look forward to working with you to develop funding programs that are flexible and adaptable to the changing environment in which irrigation districts find themselves in Oregon. 

Thank you for this opportunity to provide comments on the Water 2025 Initiative today.