In eastern Oregon, lawmakers call for “real, hard conversations” about water policies and say urbanites need to be educated about issues
Scarce resource: The water situation for farmers and ranchers east of the Cascades is increasingly dire. Photo: CAJC: in the PNW/CC
By Leslie Thompson, Argus Observer. May 6, 2022. Even during historic drought cycles there’s plenty of water to go around for the entire state of Oregon—it’s just a matter of figuring out how to capture, store and distribute it to areas in need.
That was one message coming from eastern Oregon lawmakers during a virtual talk on April 27. Water—or lack thereof—was a hot topic.
More than 100 people attended the talk, which was hosted by Sen. Lynn Findley, R-Vale, Rep. Mark Owens, R-Crane and Rep. Daniel Bonham, R-The Dalles.
The GOP lawmakers said the way to change the shape of how the overall situation is perceived by people living in urban areas and by the majority Democratic Party in Salem is to invite urbanites to rural areas to take tours and to take part in the election process to restore balance to the Legislature. Currently in Oregon, the Democratic Party controls the executive branch and both chambers of the legislative branch, the Senate and the House.
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Owens said drought is an ongoing issue for farmers and ranchers. He said some people have sold cattle because they can’t afford hay, and many will allow their land to go fallow, which means they won’t produce crops this year.
All of this has a trickle-down impact at the grocery store, and the hope is to educate people in urban areas about that.
The lawmakers say that funding allocated toward the drought through the state’s Emergency Board is only a temporary fix for a larger problem. More relief is expected to come through that channel in June, but the trio said the state needs to seriously study its water supply.
Findley said in January the Legislature passed its $99.1 million “Drought 1” package, and is currently looking at “Drought 2” for June.
“The packages are just Band-Aids, as we’re trying to figure out how to keep alive and survive,” he said.
Use less, distribute smarter
Some residents in Lake County are looking to the state to see if there’s a way to save its dwindling Lake Abert, a large, shallow, alkali lake that’s currently drying up.
However, after having taken a tour near the Paisley area and learning about how that watershed works, Owens said it was clear that even if all the runoff is piped into the lake, it would still be dry at the end of the summer.
“We are amid a 1,200-year drought. Things are changing,” Owens said. “If we start pulling one string there, it’s going to unravel. There are a lot of things that don’t have water in a 1,200-year drought.”
Owens said his biggest concern is how to work through Oregon’s situation in the long-term.
“We need to have real, hard conversations in Oregon and we need a plan of how to use less water and evenly distribute it,” he said.
This will include “empowering communities” to understand what their own water capacities look like. Owens said until we get there, the state will continue to be in a reactive mode, noting the situation is bankrupting farmers.
“I believe in most parts of the state, if we manage resources, we can do it, but it needs help,” he said.
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Bonham said the state is “dumping more [water] in the Pacific Ocean than it should be.”
He said without capturing and storing more water, the state could face having to desalinize ocean water, like Israel does, to pipe to the eastern side of the state.
At some point, Oregon is going to have to face these questions.
Bonham said that 65% of farmland in Jefferson County will be fallow this season, with growers looking for creative solutions to water rights.
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