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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 2022)
8 Wednesday, January 12, 2022 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon DROUGHT: More moisture is needed to overcome dry years Continued from page 1 water collection. Observed data on January 9 by Natural Resources Conservation Service, a unit of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, puts the Upper Deschutes- Crooked River Basin at 91 percent of normal. Whychus Creek peaked on January 6 at 98 CFS (cubic feet per second) and sat at 67.9 on Sunday. That9s nearly five times normal, but five times a small number. Since the start of the water year, October 1, the basin is only at 111 percent of nor- mal, not statistically impor- tant. The snow water equiva- lent is 132 percent, again not meaningful in turning the tide on the deep hole in which water users find themselves. In an upcoming edition of The Nugget we will cover the ongoing problems of dry wells in Sisters Country. <The recent rains, while a great start to the water year, has done little to quench the drought,= Larry O9Neill, an associate professor in the Oregon State University College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences said at the end of November. O9Neill, who is Oregon9s state climatologist, told reporters: <Precipitation in Deschutes County has been below normal in 16 out of the last 22 years, and well below normal in three out of the last four water years& last year was the eighth-lowest water year on record.= Summaries from the PHOTO PROVIDED Central Oregon remains under drought conditions. National Weather Service in Pendleton tell us that Water Year 2021 precipita- tion through December was below normal across much of Oregon and Washington. Currently, precipitation since October 1 ranges from 75 to 110 percent of normal over most of central and northeast Oregon. Average temperatures for this period have been above normal as well. Most areas have been two to four degrees above normal. Average streamflow at the majority of USGS gaging stations across central and north-central Oregon con- tinue to be below normal to much below normal. The snowpack has seen a lot of variability through the fall. There were some storms that produced good amounts of mountain snow, followed by some warm rain events that washed some of the snow away. Since December 1, it has been more consistent and showing improvement. For the East Slopes of the Cascades, snow water equiv- alent is 70 to 80 percent of normal. Most of us take water, snow, and rain for granted, and observe snow-packed mountains as a good sign. For those in Central Oregon who rely on water for their livelihood, it9s an entirely different picture. Some dairy- men are already culling their herds in anticipation of not enough grass this summer from lack of water. 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Conservancy and North Livestock operators are Unit Irrigation District. already paying record dol- (See related story, page 9.) lars for hay. Beef prices are Volunteers will not use their at a point of national concern, water allotment in the 2022 so much so that the White irrigation system. House is holding emergency A c c o r d i n g t o K a t e meetings in an effort to ame- Fitzpatrick, executive direc- liorate family worries. tor of the conservancy, the On the flip side, the unused water will be allo- Climate Prediction Center, a cated to North Unit Irrigation unit of the National Weather District, a junior water rights Service, is forecasting a holder that has battled limited 33-40 percent increase in water levels throughout the precipitation for the part of current drought. Oregon that just touches us Fitzpatrick said the pro- here in Sisters. The other side gram will be evaluated after of that line indicates an equal a year and possibly extended, chance of no increase in pre- depending on interest from cipitation for the next three irrigation district patrons. She months.