Something seemed amiss in Harney County last summer, long before it became the scene of January's armed standoff at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
After years of liberally granting access to underground water across the high desert of southeastern Oregon, the state abruptly told irrigators it would accept no new applications to pump wells. Regulators launched a 5-year study, saying they feared newly dug wells were sucking up unsustainable quantities of water. Cattle ranching and alfalfa, once bright spots in the struggling rural economy, were thrown into limbo.
How could Oregon so freely approve pumping permits for so long, then suddenly announce concerns so serious that they required immediate action?
The Oregonian/OregonLive found that Harney County fits a disturbing pattern. State regulators frequently lack the basic information they need to make sound decisions about the water that flows under Oregon's surface. Faced with knowledge gaps, they regularly dole out water anyway. The result, often, is groundwater declines that threaten people and the environment.
We've published a four-part series on the problem. Here are some key takeaways:
- Underground water in Oregon is a big deal.
- Oregon regulators are granting irrigators access to water they don't know we have.
- Regulators also have no way to know how much we're using.
- Even when regulators have reason to suspect there isn't enough water to sustain new well development, they sometimes grant permits anyway.
- Oregon's approach to groundwater management has diminished groundwater supplies.
- The overpumping of Oregon's groundwater harms people, plants and animals alike.
- Why aren't we doing better? Politics, naturally.
- Alternatives are out there; we just haven't pursued them.
Who to contact:
Gov. Kate Brown: 503-378-4582; email form at bit.ly/gov-brown; 900 Court St. N.E., Suite 160, Salem, OR 97301-4047
Richard Whitman, Gov. Brown's natural resources policy director: 503-378-5145; richard.m.whitman@oregon.gov; 900 Court St. N.E., Suite 160, Salem, OR 97310
Tom Byler, director of Oregon Water Resources Department: 503-986-0900; director@wrd.state.or.us; 725 Summer St. N.E., Suite A, Salem, OR 97301.
Rep. Brian Clem, D-Salem, chair of House Committee On Rural Communities, Land Use, and Water: 503-986-1421; rep.brianclem@state.or.us. 900 Court St. N.E., H-284, Salem, Oregon 97301
Sen. Chris Edwards
, D-Eugene, chair of
:
503-986-1707;
. 900 Court St. NE, S-411, Salem, Oregon 97301.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post listed the incorrect name for the Senate environmental chairman. It is Sen. Chris Edwards, D-Eugene,