drillerbill wrote:
Do any of you understand how house bill 3164 pertaining to split use water rights will help fish? I have some assumptions but am trying to find out more about it?
This what I found on it.
https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2023R1/Downloads/PublicTestimonyDocument/53106#:~:text=HB%203164%20will%20support%20access%20to%20instream%20leasing,the%20water%20needs%20of%20our%20rivers%20and%20streams.
February 21, 2023
House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water 900 Court St. NE Salem, OR 97301
Re: HB 3164 - Support Chair Helm, Vice-Chairs Hartman and Owens, and Honorable Members of the Committee:
Thank you for opportunity to provide testimony on HB 3164. Central Oregon LandWatch
(“LandWatch”) is an Oregon non-profit, public interest organization of about 700 members. Its
offices are located in Bend, Oregon. LandWatch’s mission is to defend and plan for Central
Oregon’s livable future, and it has advocated for the preservation of natural resources in Central
Oregon for over 30 years.
LandWatch is a member of the Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative, a body working to meet
the water needs in the basin for agriculture, municipalities and rivers. In 2019, an effort funded
by the Bureau of Reclamation and State of Oregon Water Resources Department, and developed
in partnership with the collaborative, led to publication of a report on water supply, demand, and
management options in the Deschutes Basin. The 2019 study—known as the Upper Deschutes
River Basin Study—outlines broad management strategies to address water shortfalls for
agriculture and instream needs across the basin; these include water conservation projects (e.g.
piping projects, and on-farm infrastructure upgrades), market-based incentives (e.g. water
leasing, transfers, and duty reduction), and enhanced or new storage (e.g. relocating existing
storage farther downstream and restoring water storage capacity).
The 2019 report indicated that meeting all the water needs in the basin will require senior water
right holders in irrigation districts to reduce demand and to share their water through innovative
programs, including water transfers, leasing and more efficient water use on farm. Without a
concerted effort to implement these programs, it will not be possible to enhance stream flows to
meet the critical needs of fish and wildlife in the basin.
HB 3164 will support access to instream leasing programs by permanently authorizing split
season leasing, ensuring this important tool is available to help move water to where it is needed
most. In the Deschutes Basin, split season leasing is one of a suite of tools that can help us make
meaningful progress towards to meeting the water needs of our rivers and streams.
LandWatch supports passage of HB 316