06/21/2009

Associated Press

Secret House Vineyards ran into Oregon's emerging water shortage when it sought irrigation for 16 acres outside Eugene.

The state Water Resources Department told vineyard operators they couldn't have a new well because it would take water from a tributary to the Long Tom River.

About the same time, the state turned back a request for underground water for 18 homes north of Hillsboro. There wasn't enough.

Deciding who gets Oregon's water falls to the tiny Water Resources Department. But as water challenges mount, the department has lost employees and suspended research. An agency that lives off how much, how deep, how fast is starved for information. It doesn't know how much water is available underground.

Gauges along streams are outdated or missing. A measuring program launched nine years ago is still years from completion.

"We're not well prepared for the future," said Susie Smith, Springfield public works director and a former state water commissioner.

Members of the state Water Resources Commission pushed for years to make water planning a priority but couldn't convince people that water was getting scarcer and that more money was needed for research.

Two years ago, the water commission persuaded Gov. Ted Kulongoski to seek the biggest boost in years in the agency's budget, and it got a 21 percent increase.

But with the recession the ambitious planning could stall, and hopes of catching up on research are vanishing with the departed employees, leaving Oregon with water challenges and a weakened agency in charge.

In the 1990s, agency money requests were stifled by a Democratic governor who saw no point in advancing them to a Republican-controlled Legislature.

The Water Resources Department primarily lives off state income taxes, making it vulnerable when school kids and senior care are at stake. In 1999, 161 people worked there, but only 138 did in 2007.

Staffing shot up with the current budget, but most of that will be lost in the coming months.

Agency directors substituted computers for people where they could, but computers can't replace water masters checking whether rancher is using up a neighbors water. The agency monitors 85,000 water rights with 20 watermasters and 15 assistants.

The agency's most pressing need, says Director Phil Ward, is groundwater research to tell regulators how much is down there and how much can be safely pumped. There is data for only one-fourth of Oregon, just three of 18 basins.

Figuring out the rest could cost $30 million but for the next budget cycle the agency asked for $800,000, less than half the cost of one study.

In the Umatilla Basin, the agency permitted major farming wells without fully knowing the story underground, then restricted pumping because there wasn't enough water to go around.

"If we had known in the 1960s what we know now, the department would not have issued as many groundwater permits," said Brenda Bateman, the agency's senior policy adviser.

Another need, the agency says, is expanding the stream gauge network. Gauges tell water managers when a stream is dropping so much that some water users have to stop drawing. and they help forecast floods.

Paula Burgess, former Gov. John Kitzhaber's natural resources adviser, said the Water Resources Commission should be saying, "Look over here. What were missing is the vision and planning for the future" in a way that grips people.

"It's like trying to figure out how far you can drive without a gas gauge in the car," said Anita Winkler, executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Congress, representing irrigation districts.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com