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Irrigators
leery of water measuring bill
Local water users say they’re already keeping a close eye on
usage
By
TY BEAVER
H&N
Staff Writer
 |
| H&N photo by Ty Beaver Dave Solem, manager of Klamath Irrigation District, works with part of the technology used to measure water flow through the headgates of the A Canal at |
The
headgates for the A Canal are the primary water measuring point of the
Klamath Irrigation District.
Installed
in 2003 at a cost of $12 million, the measuring technology is accurate
within 1 to 2 percent and requires at least two computer monitors to
display all the information it is gathering.
“There
is nothing more accurate out there that we know of,” said Dave Solem,
irrigation district manager.
But
that amount of measurement may not be enough, according to state
lawmakers. House Bill 2564, which would require water measuring devices
on all major diversions, is scheduled for a public hearing by the House
Energy and the Environment Committee Friday and may move to the House
floor. The bill would require all water users to measure amounts of
water withdrawn or stored in the state.
Unintended
results
Local
water officials and lawmakers in
Greg
Addington, executive director of the Klamath Water Users Association,
said the association isn’t flat out against the legislation, but he
did send a letter to the committee about unanswered questions and vague
language in the bill.
A
call Wednesday to the office of committee chairwoman and state Rep.
Jackie Dingfelder, D-Portland, was not immediately returned.
One
of the primary concerns, Addington said, is whether the bill would
require individual irrigators to measure the water used on their land.
All the irrigation districts in the Basin already measure and record the
water taken out of the system and delivered to the irrigators they
serve.
“If you already know how much is going into the district, why do you
need to know how it is split up?” he asked.
Solem
said he doesn’t think the bill will affect individual irrigators
within irrigation districts such as the one he manages, but that could
change depending on how the bill is interpreted.
Addington
and Solem also question the costs of implementing the bill. Solem said
that if installation alone cost $1,000 per device, that would be about
$1.5 million in initial costs for the entire Basin.
Sen.
Whitsett opposed
State
Rep. Doug Whitsett,
The
legislation would also affect water users beyond agriculture, bringing
household wells that are currently exempt from measurement under its
influence. Whitsett said he’d heard that installing measuring devices
on those wells would cost a homeowner $350-$500 each.
Addington
said the cost of maintaining the devices and recording the measurements
they take would add more expense, possibly to irrigation districts and
individual irrigators.
Solem added that the Oregon Water Resources Department has jurisdiction to place measuring devices where it sees they are necessary. Irrigation districts also calculate flows through various methods.
“They can look and tell you how much water is coming out of the headgate,” he said.
Addington
said he was sure that the motivation behind the bill was well
intentioned toward making sure water is used responsibly in
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