The North Unit Irrigation District, which supplies irrigation water to Jefferson County, is delivering just 0.45 acre-feet of water to its patrons, a fraction of the normal 2 acre-feet.
This year is (again) a wake-up call for how we use and manage water in the Deschutes Basin. Central Oregon, as well as much of Oregon, is headed into another year of extreme drought. While the water shortage and associated climate situation is bleak, we have two things working for us. Solutions and collaboration.
The unseasonably cold and snowy weather helps the water picture for Jefferson County farmers, at least for the time being. In fact, the North Unit Irrigation District board met in an emergency meeting Monday, April 18, to decide how to handle the extra water.
An estimated 2,100 people from across the Northwest attended the inaugural edition of the Central Oregon Agricultural Show last weekend at the Deschutes County Fair & Expo Center in Redmond.
Low water storage and snowpack levels have prompted the declaration in Jackson County. It follows declarations by Klamath, Jefferson, Morrow and Crook Counties.
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is asking anglers to complete a listening survey about fishery management in the Columbia Basin and the Deschutes River.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced it will help fund Oregon’s $70 million plan for key drinking water projects and $70 million plan to improve wastewater infrastructure.
For the third year in a row, ranchers and farmers will be applying for state assistance once Gov. Kate Brown approves the drought declaration made earlier this month by Jefferson County officials.
The last two years represents the third-driest two-year period in the state’s history, mostly driven by Central and Southern Oregon that’ve experienced the driest period in recorded history. Seven Oregon counties, including Deschutes and Crook, experienced worse drought than ever, and surrounding counties are much drier than usual.
