drillerbill Loc: Oregon

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?

Flytier Loc: Wilmington Delaware

Don't know I w anything shout it. State of fed??

Jeremy Loc: America

Is it Fishing Topic? House Bills are all Public Record. I am not sure asking a bunch of fishing Nerds will answer your question. You can probably query the State Of Oregon Database. Fishinstage is not the Legislature and from my experience could never be.

Jeremy Loc: America

Please let us know what you find out.

Jeremy Loc: America

i

I will guess Oregon due to his location that pops up. HB=Housebill

Waterdoglured Loc: DFW Metro, Lake Grapevine

I googled it. However I didn’t read it or try to understand what it is proposing. Hope this helps.

Blackdog Loc: Round Rock, TX

HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

Sometimes you Kill me!!

BD

plumbob Loc: New Windsor Maryland

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

JimR Loc: Albany, Oregon

HB 3164 (Oregon House of Representatives 2023) would allow a water rights holder to lease all or a portion of the right to take that water out of a stream, for the purpose of leaving that water in the stream. More water in a stream/river better for the fish.

drillerbill Loc: Oregon

State. I read more on it. A few ranchers have been for it due to using water for irrigation in the spring when it is more productive to irrigate for volume of crops. They then would be allowed to use their irrigation rights to feed the streams to increase flows in the hot months when fish need more cold water.

I don’t know enough yet, but that sounds reasonable. I have always believed that we need to work with the farmers/ ranchers and loggers along with being excellent stewards of God’s Creation.
Figuring out how to get strong healthy runs back is always the battle with so many opinions. Personal responsibility along with government agencies truly desiring strong healthy returns is a start.

drillerbill Loc: Oregon

Maybe true on the fish nerds, but you all understand the fish more than legislators😁

drillerbill Loc: Oregon

That’s what it looks like to me. That is a good bill unless I am missing sometjing

drillerbill Loc: Oregon

Thank you everyone