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Farms, Salmon Needs Vie for Columbia River Water Levels by Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press Statesman Journal, March 11, 2012

Issue divides Democrats, Republicans but long-debated bill founders in Legislature

Farmers in Eastern Oregon couldn't persuade the Legislature to take more water from the Columbia River, but proponents insist the issue will not go away and they are vowing to find ways to store winter rainwater to irrigate crops during dry summers.

Conservation groups worry that such a move would jeopardize water levels during salmon runs.

Republicans pushed aggressively to take more water from the river for agricultural use, but they couldn't reach an agreement with Democratic leaders during this year's legislative session, which ended last month.

"We do believe that there's some opportunity for further conversations around water," Rep. Bruce Hanna, the House Republican Co-Speaker, said last week.

Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber has offered tepid support, saying he's open to studying the concept.

Farmers complain that much of Oregon's abundant winter rainfall flows into the Pacific, and they argue that some of it should be captured and stored to irrigate crops during warm and dry months. They hope additional water would extend the growing season or allow them to replace lower-margin crops like wheat with more profitable -- but thirstier -- carrots, potatoes or onions.

The Republican-backed measure, House Bill 4101, would have directed state officials to aggressively pursue new water supplies through conservation, storage and reuse. More controversially, it also would've required them to "take all actions necessary and proper" to draw an additional 100,000 acre-feet of water for use in agriculture.

Key lawmakers and the governor's office negotiated extensively on the measure, but Republicans said they gave up because the offerings from Democrats wouldn't go far enough.

"We were asked to compromise to a point where we did not believe the bill actually accomplished its goal," Rep. Matt Wingard, R-Wilsonville, said this week. "So we held our ground."

In 2006, Washington passed a bill that appropriated $200 million to improve water conservation, storage and water-use agreements in the Columbia River basin.

Some lawmakers in Oregon have proposed working with Washington to store excess winter water that could be released in summer for Oregon's use. Republicans say that's only a short-term solution and should not stop Oregon from building up its own storage infrastructure.

Conservation groups worry that the Republican bill would not have prevented Columbia water withdrawals during low-flow periods, when migrating salmon depend on having sufficient water in the river. They also say education isn't needed, noting that Oregon already is using excess water to recharge an aquifer in Eastern Oregon.