This article was published on: 04/22/19 12:00 AM
I have read several articles recently regarding piping of the irrigation canals, and the thought that over 3 miles of those canals should be considered historic, and not piped. This is really counterproductive to saving wildlife habitat and conserving water.
Those canals also are becoming more and more dangerous as more people move to Bend and Deschutes County that are not familiar with them, and don’t realize how dangerous they can be.
More people and pets drown in them every year. My suggestion to solving this problem would be to pipe the canals, but have signs posted about the old canals, their history and why they are now piped for water conservation. I would also build some demonstration plots at the High Desert Museum, and several other of the historical museums around Central Oregon showing how the old canals worked using recirculating water systems, then explaining why they are now piped and how much water that saves both in the river and for irrigation. The farmers and our elected representatives have worked long and hard to find solutions to the water issues and pipe these canals Maybe this is a compromise that can save both water and lives.
Ann Snyder