30 Years of Collaboration: How Irrigation Diversions and Flow Restoration Shape the Deschutes River
Irrigation diversions have a big impact on the Deschutes River and across the American West.
In the Deschutes River below Bend, up to 94% of the water can be diverted for irrigation. For more than 30 years, the DRC has worked with irrigation district partners and others to make irrigation infrastructure more efficient and use market-based approaches, like instream leasing, to restore flows to the river.As a result of decades of collaborative work, flows in the Middle Deschutes have seen a nearly five-fold increase. Come join us for a guided tour of the Deschutes River above and below several major irrigation diversions and tour the diversions themselves. Learn about how water rights were established in the basin and across the west, and how that continues to shape our landscape today.
The tour starts at Pioneer Park and will move to the diversions (near the intersection of NE Division and NE 3rd St.) before ending at Sawyer Park. Drinks will be provided after tour at the park.
Tour Leaders:
- Lisa Seales, PhD, Senior Program Manager, Deschutes River Conservancy
- Jeremy Giffin, Deschutes Basin Watermaster, Oregon Water Resources Department
Notes: Tour will begin promptly at 4 pm. Please make sure to arrive on time. Check the weather and plan to wear closed toe shoes and appropriate clothing. Please remember to bring a water bottle.
Thank you to Season 4 Raise the Deschutes Event Sponsors:
