Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and
Ron Wyden announced that $198,668 is coming to Oregon from the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation for project to improve water efficiency in Bend, Morrow County, and
Klamath County.
“Reliable water supply is vital for communities, farmers and
ranchers, and for many iconic wildlife species?to thrive,” said Merkley.
“I’m pleased these funds are going to help improve water efficiency
improvements in Oregon’s agriculture industry so there’s more water to go
around. Ensuring that every community has up to date water infrastructure will
benefit Oregonians across the state, and I will keep working to secure federal
resources to make these vital water infrastructure projects affordable for
every community that needs them.”?“I have heard from communities around Oregon about their
desperate need for reliable water infrastructure that supports both
agricultural goals and conservation efforts,” Wyden said. “I
am gratified to see these important investments in water efficiency for
Deschutes, Morrow and Klamath counties go toward increasing water efficiency,
managing flow rates and preventing seepage into the soil so that communities
can better plan for their water use.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is awarding $7 million for 82
local community projects across the country, including measuring water flow,
automating water delivery, or lining canals. This funding is part of the WaterSMART
Program, which was provided $1 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law (BIL) to support irrigation and water districts, tribes, states and
other entities with water or power delivery authority for small water
efficiency improvements.
Information on the awards coming to Oregon can be found
below:
- Arnold Irrigation District: $28,668 for the
River Diversion Gate Automation and Flow Measurement project to modernize the
Deschutes River main headgate and allow the district to better manage and
measure a highly fluctuating river flow that requires daily adjustments. - Van Brimmer Ditch Company: $100,000 for the Van
Brimmer Falvey Road Piping Project, which will convert 1,000 feet of an open
canal to 60-inch high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipe and will benefit the
water supply by eliminating the subterranean seepage, water lost in charging
the ditch, and evapotranspiration making more of its water available in the
lower end of its system. - West Extension Irrigation District: $70,000 for
the Canal Automation and Monitoring Project, which will install three automatic
supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) controlled gates within its
Relocation Canal and provide continual monitoring capabilities and automatic
adjustment of flow rates to decrease daily water consumption.
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