Newsletter - 7/23/21
Email: SaveChehalemMountain@gmail.com
Website: www.SaveChehalemMountain.com
Mailing Donations:
Payable to Save Chehalem Mountain
15532 SW Pacific Hwy C1B#331, Tigard, OR 97224
IMPORTANT NOTICE: WAG Holdings, LLC (18505 NE Jaquith Road) Water Application #G-18843 request to drill a well to irrigate over 20+ acres of cannabis is on a second hold at the Oregon Water Resources Dept. The hold expired on 7/5/21. We are monitoring the situation daily, will keep you updated and are in contact with OWRD & Water Attorney.
View application: https://OrdWagHoldings. View Resident’s comments: https://OwrdResidentsComments
WATER RELATED: WATER WATCH OF OREGON’S HARD WORK YIELDS SUCCESSES!
Save Chehalem Mountain will be joining forces with Water Watch and they shared good news for our cause.
OWRD = Oregon Water Resources Dept / ODFW = Oregon Dept of Fish & Wildlife. Key agency budget highlights include:
OWRD Groundwater Data & Studies: The Oregon Legislature not only rejected a proposed cut in the Governor’s Recommended Budget that would have lost 6 groundwater study positions, but it approved both HB 2018 and Policy Option Package 110, which together bring an additional 16 groundwater staff to the agency. With streams across the state over-appropriated, more and more people are turning to groundwater to serve their needs. Having adequate groundwater data to make sound decisions is one of the most important areas needing attention. We are thrilled with this news.
OWRD & ODFW Tackling Complex Water Issues: The OWRD Budget includes funding for staff to work on complex water issues in the Deschutes, the Willamette and select other basins. The ODFW budget includes three new staff to work on the Willamette Basin Reallocation.
OWRD Field Staff For On-the-Ground Water Management: The OWRD budget includes 6 new Watermaster positions to help with on-the-ground management, including managing for instream water rights.
ODFW Water Program: The ODFW Water Quality and Quantity Program is one of the most important programs across agencies for protecting and restoring instream flows. Bolstering this program has been a priority of WaterWatch for the last several biennia. The legislature added 5 new positions to this program in the 2021-23 budget, and we couldn’t be more excited!
OWRD Water Measurement Cost Share Fund: The Legislature dedicated $1 million dollars to the Water Measurement Cost Share fund. This fund helps water right holders pay for water use measurement devices. We are hopeful this will help incentivize increased measurement and reporting of water use across the state.
OWRD Data Collection: The OWRD received $3 million dollars to purchase and deploy data collection devices to document both surface and groundwater (e.g. gages to measure streamflow and groundwater levels).
ODFW Habitat Division: The legislature established and funded the newly formed Habitat Division within ODFW to elevate the land and water issues facing fish and wildlife and to allow the agency to more effectively work with other agencies to promote habitat health, protection, and restoration, and focus resources on challenges presented by climate change.
Groundwater: In addition to agency budget attention to groundwater data, a number of bills passed that will help not only with critically needed data gathering (HB 2018) but also on the ground repair of wells to help protect our groundwater resources (HB 2145), funding mechanisms to help domestic well owners address water shortages due to over-appropriation of groundwater and large agricultural wells (HB 3092, HB 2145), and other provisions to help the state better manage groundwater.
RESCHEDULED: COUNTY WATER TASK FORCE: MON AUG 23RD 10:00 – Noon. This public meeting will be held in person (location to be determined) hosted by Yamhill County Commissioner Casey Kulla. It is intended to identify problems and brainstorm solutions regarding usage of water in our area. We have requested this meeting also be available by Zoom. Stay tuned for more info.
Per Casey, “We will be dedicated to ground water discussion, centered around a presentation by Justin Iverson of Oregon Water Resources Dept. on groundwater quality and quantity, monitoring, water rights, the designations for different groundwater areas mean, and more. Please be prepared with questions, from “does my pond improve ground water supply?” to “can the county deny land use applications due to lack of water?” to “what recourse do I have if my well runs dry after others install new wells?”
IN OTHER RELATED NEWS: Home Owner’s wells drying up in Central & Southern Oregon
https://ktvz.com/news/2021/06/02/amid-drought-some-s-deschutes-county-homeowners-say-their-wells-are-drying-up/
https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2021/07/wells-run-dry-in-many-klamath-basin-homes.html
WILD FIRE SEASON:
Excellent tip submitted by neighbor Kerry S. “Carry a fire extinguisher in your car. This simple & easy task could save lives and a wildfire from spreading”. During last year’s Chehalem Mtn fire, a Resident on Neugebauer put out a grass fire with an extinguisher he had in the car.
Please Donate toward Attorney Fees & Volunteer a little time
We NEED your help!
THANK YOU
Originally Posted on July 23, 2021 by savecm
