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Project Updates

Restoring Whychus Creek

Restoring Flows Since the early 1900s, Whychus Creek ran dry in two out of every three years due to irrigation diversions. Through a combination of water conservation (i.e. piping) and both permanent and temporary water transfers, the creek is now...

McKay Creek Water Rights Switch Summer 2018 Project Update

McKay Creek flows 37 miles from its headwaters in the Ochoco National Forest through private agricultural lands and joins the Crooked River just northwest of the City of Prineville in Crook County. Due in part to irrigation diversions, streamflows are...

The state of Oregon has released its 2017 Integrated Water Resources Strategy

Artwork by Susan Luckey Higdon The state of Oregon has released its 2017 Integrated Water Resources Strategy (IWRS). The purpose of the strategy is to “bring various sectors and interests together to work toward the common purpose of maintaining healthy...

2.3 CFS to be protected in Middle Deschutes through project with Swalley Irrigation District

The DRC is partnering with Swalley Irrigation District to pipe its Rogers Canal, which will restore and permanently protect 2.3 cubic feet per second (or more than 1032 gallons per minute) of flow in the Middle Deschutes River during the...

Notes from the Field: Measuring Flows at McKay Creek

For the past three years the DRC has monitored streamflow on McKay Creek to develop a baseline before implementing its McKay Creek Water Rights Switch project. Developing a solid baseline now will allow the DRC to compare pre and post...

Changing the Story in the Deschutes River – A Letter From DRC Executive Director, Tod Heisler

A confluence of forces in our basin today is shaping a bright future for our beloved Deschutes River. To me, the river is not only a fabulous recreational attraction but a spring-fed ecological marvel. Since arriving at the DRC thirteen...

Our focus reaches for 2017: Upper Deschutes, McKay Creek and Whychus Creek

McKay Creek Upper Deschutes River The Basin Study Work Group is a basin wide collaborative working to restore flows in critical reaches such as the Upper Deschutes for the past 2 years. This year, the group is identifying the specifics of...

Three 2016 River Successes You Need to Know About

We are here because we love the Deschutes River. Our local rivers give life to an otherwise arid, high desert climate. No matter who we are, we are all connected to the river, and therefore, to each other. ...

Restoring rivers by improving irrigation

Up to 90% of the water used in Central Oregon supports local agriculture. Much of the irrigation system was developed more than 100 years ago with technology that's now outdated. Today, the DRC works closely with local irrigation districts and...

Some successes from this year we would like to share with you:

Crooked River In the past year, DRC and our partners have improved fish habitat in the Crooked River by ensuring streamflows up to six times greater than they had been in the past. We expect to improve those streamflows even more in...