Help Us Raise the Deschutes
Our Rivers Need Help. Be Part of the Solution
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why do our rivers need help?Water in the Deschutes Basin has been over-allocated since the early 1900s, causing many stream reaches to suffer from unnaturally high and low flows at different times of the year. These altered flows have resulted in poor water quality, degraded habitat for fish and wildlife, fish mortality, and streambank erosion. |
why do our rivers need help?Water in the Deschutes Basin has been over-allocated since the early 1900s, causing many stream reaches to suffer from unnaturally high and low flows at different times of the year. These altered flows have resulted in poor water quality, degraded habitat for fish and wildlife, fish mortality, and streambank erosion. |
UNDERSTANDING WATER RIGHTSUnder Oregon law, all water is publicly owned and a water right is needed to use water from any source. Irrigators with the oldest water rights are the last to be shut off in times of low streamflows. This creates inequity between senior (older rights) and junior (younger rights), especially in dry years. |
UNDERSTANDING WATER RIGHTSUnder Oregon law, all water is publicly owned and a water right is needed to use water from any source. Irrigators with the oldest water rights are the last to be shut off in times of low streamflows. This creates inequity between senior (older rights) and junior (younger rights), especially in dry years. |