---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 16 Oct 1996 09:48:17
From: Doug Heiken <dh@onrc.org>
--------------------------------------
Date: 10/15/96 2:54 PM
From: WaterWatch
OPPOSE THE OREGON DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE'S
SNAKE RIVER BASIN WATER GRAB!
The state is proposing to "reserve", or set aside for future use, 173,000
acre-ft of water in eastern Oregon's Grande Ronde, Powder, Malheur and
Owyhee basins. Most of this water will go for irrigation and other
agricultural use. Agriculture already is responsible for taking so much
water out of eastern Oregon streams that little remains for fish and other
"instream" needs. Unless you speak up, these water "reservations" will lock
up nearly all the available water remaining in these basins for future dam
projects, with no meaningful protections for instream flows.
Once again, WaterWatch needs your help speaking up - either in person or in
writing - for instream flows during the on-going "water reservations"
process. Public hearings will be held next week (see details below ) and the
state is accepting written comments anytime before 5 p.m., Nov. 8, 1996. The
state does listen to you! After some earlier hearings on reservations in the
John Day and Umatilla basins where opponents of reservations outnumbered
proponents, the state decided to postpone action on the John Day and
Umatilla basin requests.
These latest hearings cover only a portion of the requests filed by the
Oregon Dept. of Agriculture (ODA) and the Oregon Dept. of Land Conservation
and Development to reserve more than 4.3 million acre-feet of unallocated
water from rivers and streams, existing storage reservoirs, and "future"
storage reservoirs in the Columbia Basin. The water would be set aside for
"future economic development," with about 75 percent of this water
designated for agricultural use.
ODA is seeking huge amounts of water throughout Oregon for "multi-purpose
storage" projects, but currently, there is no provision that any of this
water go for instream flows. OWRD is proposing to offer ODA the following
amounts of water in basins tributary to the Snake River:
GRANDE RONDE BASIN - 35,900 acre-ft. for future storage in new reservoirs
POWDER BASIN - 29,600 acre-ft. for future storage in new reservoirs
MALHEUR BASIN - 48,200 acre-ft. for future storage in new reservoirs
OWYHEE BASIN - 60,000 acre-ft. for future storage in new reservoirs.
Unless the public demands that this process sets aside water for fish, water
quality and other instream needs, there won't be water in the future to
designate for these uses. We urge you to attend a public hearing or write
OWRD and raise these issues:
1) Any reservation adopted must require that a portion of the reserved
water go to protect and restore instream flows.
2) ODA also has requested more than 2 million acre-ft. of live streamflow
from the Snake and Columbia basins, in direct conflict with regional efforts
to restore Columbia Basin flows for endangered salmon. While this request is
not being considered by OWRD at this time, it sheds light on ODA's apparent
disregard for salmon recovery efforts.
3) The requesting agencies have not demonstrated a need for the water. The
requests are based on unidentified future needs that may or may not come to
pass.
4) Given the huge amounts of water requested and the fact that Oregon's
water is a public resource, the reservation requests should undergo a
comprehensive and rigorous public interest review, focusing on the overall
impacts of the development proposed by these reservations and their
cumulative effects. The review should include hard data on how much water is
available in these basins, existing water uses, and economic and
environmental needs.
5) To quality as a "multi-purpose storage" project, the project must
provide for storage and release of water to meet instream flow needs.
In addition to these points, WaterWatch asks that everyone who writes a
letter or attends a public hearing provide personal knowledge of the
important fishery and other environmental values that would be impacted by
ODA. We also would appreciate receiving a copy of your comments.
The hearings schedule is as follows:
Oct. 21, 7 p.m., LA GRANDE, Extension Office, 10507 N. McAlister
Oct. 22, 7 p.m., BAKER CITY, Extension Office, 2610 Grove St.
Oct. 23, 7 p.m., ONTARIO, City Hall, 444 S.W. 4th St.
Oct. 24, 7 p.m., JORDAN VALLEY, Lions Club Community Center
All written comments must be received by OWRD by 5 p.m., Nov. 8, 1996.
Written comments can be mailed to: Planning Program, Oregon Water Resources
Dept., 158 12th St., N.E., Salem, OR 97310-8130, or faxed to: (503)378-8130.
RIVERS NEED WATER for future generations of fish and people, and for good
water quality. Please convey this message to the OWRD. If you have
questions, please contact Karen Russell or Reed Benson at: (503)295-4039,
fax: (503)295-2791 or e-mail: watrwtch@teleport.com.
WaterWatch of Oregon
RIVERS NEED WATER