Friday, May 24, 2013
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Public comment on a Washington Department of Ecology plan to reduce water temperatures in the main stem of the Palouse River will continue through June 14. Elaine Snouwaert, water quality specialist for the department, said the river is too warm for fish and other animals. Snouwaert said altera ...
Monday, May 20, 2013 10:59 AM
An Eastern Washington irrigation district is starting to gear up for expanding into more of the Odessa Subarea as it awaits word from the federal government on which farmers are eligible to receive water from the Columbia River. Craig Simpson, manager of the East Columbia Irrigation District in ...
Thursday, May 16, 2013 10:04 AM
NAMPA, Idaho (AP) -- Canyon County Commissioners in southwest Idaho say they will not use local law resources to enforce on-water regulations that might be enacted by federal authorities on Lake Lowell at the Deer Flat National Wildlife Refuge. The Idaho Statesman reports (http://bit.ly/15MDEa ...
Wednesday, May 15, 2013 9:33 AM
Idaho Gov. Butch Otter signed drought emergency declarations May 14 for Fremont, Lincoln, Butte and Blaine counties, according an Idaho Department of Water Resources official. IDWR Compliance Bureau Chief Tim Luke said the initial drought declarations of the season have come earlier than last s ...
Tuesday, May 14, 2013 10:11 AM
More indications of potential trouble for Oregon farmers and ranchers are coming from the Umpqua River Basin, where snow and rain have been sparse. Officials say irrigators along the South Umpqua River could face restrictions on water supplies as early as this month. Flows in the river are expec ...
Friday, May 10, 2013 2:38 PM
GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) -- With drought looming, the state of Oregon is preparing for the likelihood it will have to shut off irrigation access for many of the 200 cattle ranchers and hay farmers in the upper Klamath Basin as the Klamath Tribes take control of senior water rights in the region ...
Wednesday, May 08, 2013 8:56 AM
McCAMMON, Idaho -- A southeast Idaho canal company has completed a $4.8 million project to pipe irrigation water formerly moved through a network of open ditches. Officials with Portneuf Irrigating Co. say the upgrade to their Arimo Canal should conserve water and power and improve filtration to ...
Tuesday, May 07, 2013 10:14 AM
Surface, spring and groundwater users generally agree that Idaho's Comprehensive Aquifer Management Plan holds the most promise for addressing declines in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer. Based on litigation stemming from water conflicts, the Idaho Water Resource Board hired Colorado-based CDR Ass ...
Friday, April 26, 2013 12:00 AM
Backers say $32 million from the Washington state Legislature will help get work underway to expand irrigation water availability in the Odessa Subarea. The Columbia Basin Development League and Columbia Snake River Irrigators Association are ramrodding efforts to fund the rest of the project, ...
Thursday, April 25, 2013 12:43 PM
About 565,000 acres of irrigated land on the Eastern Snake River Plain could be dried up if a trout farm prevails in an upcoming water call case now before the Idaho Department of Water Resources. For years, a water call filed by Rangen Inc., of Hagerman, Idaho, was dismissed as futile due to the ...
Thursday, April 25, 2013 12:00 AM
SALEM -- Two farmers are among executive appointments the Senate Rules Committee endorsed in a hearing April 24. The appointments of Hermiston farmer Bob Levy to the Port of Portland Commission, and vineyard and winery owner Kenneth Evanstad to the Oregon Tourism Commission now go to the full S ...
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 10:41 AM
BOISE -- Many Treasure Valley farmers could face a 30 percent reduction in irrigation water this year and that looming shortage is affecting planting decisions. "(The shortage) will have quite a bit of an impact," said Meridian, Idaho, farmer Drew Eggers, who grows several crops. "My guess is ou ...
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 10:11 AM
SACRAMENTO -- A federal agency is looking for ways to augment water supplies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, where farmers have been grappling with a devastating lack of water. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced it is taking advantage of water banking and transfer opportu ...
Monday, April 22, 2013 10:59 AM
SALEM -- A bill to create a new water right management fee that could have cost some farmers as much as $1,000 a year is dead. Senate Bill 217 was introduced at the request of Gov. John Kitzhaber as a means to generate more fee revenue for the Oregon Water Resources Department. Under the bill, w ...
Thursday, April 18, 2013 3:47 PM
SALEM -- A House committee has moved a bill to the legislative budget-writing committee that would allow the Oregon Water Resources Department to increase fees annually. An amended version of House Bill 2259 gives authority to the department to raise its fees up to 2 percent annually or at the rat ...
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 10:55 AM
SALEM -- In a legislative hearing April 16, Oregon farmers and ranchers spoke out against a proposed water right management fee that could cost some farmers as much as $1,000 a year. The new fee is inequitable, they said, unduly burdens farmers with the responsibility of funding the Oregon Wate ...
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 10:05 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Klamath County commissioners have unanimously declared a drought and urged Gov. John Kitzhaber to follow suit. The action declared Tuesday is the first step toward allowing the county to access aid for farmers and ranchers in what is shaping up to be a historically low water ...
Wednesday, April 17, 2013 9:14 AM
YREKA, Calif. - The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued its final revised recovery plan for Lost River and shortnose suckers in the Klamath Basin. The plan outlines steps to reduce die-offs of the fish species by restoring habitat, increasing connectivity between spawning and rearing habita ...
Tuesday, April 16, 2013 2:03 PM
U.S. Geological Survey and Idaho Department of Water Resources officials are asking for landowners' cooperation as they measure groundwater levels in more than 1,300 private and public wells throughout the eastern Snake River Plain in southern Idaho. The effort will help water officials gain a ...
Monday, April 15, 2013 9:46 AM
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- An Idaho snowpack that started the year well above average hit a three-month dry patch that left every basin in the state below the 30-year average by mid-April. Most of the central part of the state is in 50 to 90 percent range. Four of the state's 21 basins are in the 90 ...
Monday, April 15, 2013 8:26 AM
SALEM -- Oregon could move one step closer to obtaining new water supplies for irrigators and other water users if a Senate committee on April 16 votes to establish a water supply development fund. Although Senate Bill 839 doesn't provide funding, it does establish the fund and it sets up eligi ...
Friday, April 12, 2013 2:06 PM
SALEM -- Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, has brought forward a resolution designed to quash rumors that the Oregon Water Resources Department plans to tax or institute a fee on domestic wells. First off, Esquivel said, the rumor is untrue. The department has no plans to institute a fee on domestic ...
Thursday, April 11, 2013 10:40 AM
AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. -- Farmers and irrigators worry how changes to the Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada could impact their water supply. Norm Semanko, executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association, said water supply and irrigation are not getting enough atte ...
Thursday, April 11, 2013 10:10 AM
LYNDEN, Wash. -- A Whatcom County dairy plans to appeal a $17,000 fine assessed against it for allegedly improperly applying manure to a field and allowing waste water to flow into salmon habitat. The Washington State Department of Agriculture on April 4 cited Edaleen Dairy in Lynden for two vi ...
Tuesday, April 09, 2013 10:47 AM
A federal appeals court has refused to order the U.S. Interior Department to provide adequate drainage for some irrigators in California or pay them monetary damages. The Firebaugh Canal Water District and Central California Irrigation District have been litigating with the agency over drainage ...
Tuesday, April 09, 2013 10:27 AM
YREKA, Calif. - A former U.S. Bureau of Reclamation senior science adviser is criticizing the Interior Department's review of his scientific integrity complaint about the Klamath River dam removal process. Paul Houser, who reached a settlement with the government in December after claiming he was ...
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