Opinion
4A
Thursday, August 12, 2021
OUR VIEW
State’s water
challenges
need to be
addressed
he Oregon Legislature has hit on a winner
with the Irrigation District Temporary
Transfers Pilot Project.
While the name sounds a bit off -putting, the
project is eff ective. It allows some irrigation
districts to internally make temporary transfers
between water users. The project has been in
operation 18 years. During that time it has been
extended and expanded to 15 of the state’s 40 or
so irrigation districts.
The beauty of the project is its simplicity. A
farmer or rancher within an irrigation district
with an unused water allocation can transfer it
temporarily to someone who needs it.
This not only addresses some of the water
shortages that have arisen over the years, but
it helps farmers and ranchers hold on to water
allocations that otherwise might be lost, cour-
tesy of the state’s “use it or lose it” law.
While not perfect — nothing is — the project
brings out the best in cooperative spirit among
farmers in addition to getting water to where
it’s needed.
It is time for the Legislature to expand the
program to all Oregon irrigation districts and
make it permanent.
While they’re tackling water issues, legis-
lators should take a close look at the Oregon
Water Resources Department, which appears to
be chronically underfunded and understaff ed.
The department has a national reputation for
its sluggish performance. Daugherty Water
for Food Global Institute at the University of
Nebraska has found the state has an unneces-
sarily complex and bureaucratic water transfer
system.
Year after year, the department also reports
that it is behind in its work, in part because of
red tape and in part because the Legislature
does not provide enough money from the gen-
eral fund.
Some believe water users should provide
most of the department’s funding, but since the
state owns the water, all citizens should pony
up adequate funding to manage it. After all,
everyone eats the food grown with that water.
More also needs to be done.
Water issues in Oregon will not go away.
The state needs a fl exible game plan for man-
aging the water that grows our food and powers
our economy. Leaders need to take a close look
at everything from recharging aquifers in the
winter to lake taps and increasing water storage
behind dams. Instead of constantly talking
about taking out dams, we should be looking
at ways to increase their number and capacity.
That’s because scientists say the mountain
snowpacks that serve as water storage will con-
tinue to shrink.
We should also come up with a statewide
plan to transfer water from locations with
plenty of water to those facing drought and
other shortages. California, for example, has a
massive intrastate water transfer system.
Climate change means Oregonians will have
to be smarter in how they manage water.
Expanding the Irrigation District Temporary
Transfers Pilot Project statewide and making it
permanent is just a start.
T
La Grande traditions spur wish
for in-depth historical articles
DOROTHY
FLESHMAN
OTHER VIEWS
f this were my old “Dory’s
Diary” column, I’d be writing
about the La Grande Fire
Department’s breakfast this year
and how my annual enjoyment of it
extends to observing the folks who
line up in appreciation of the service
and safety aff orded by those who
see to our protection in so many dif-
ferent ways.
It may be a silent thank-you in
the guise of fi lling tummies with the
well-prepared food, drink and gen-
eral needs, but it speaks on its own
with a steady line of all ages in wait
to be served.
The annual fi re department’s
breakfast once held during Crazy
Days in downtown La Grande has
been a tradition to which I have
always tried to attend even before
the meal was served in the gen-
erous fi re station building on Cove
Avenue.
I remember back to when the fi re
I
and police stations were located near
each other on Washington and Elm
downtown in the 1960-70s when I
was reporting for the daily Observer
and the E.O. Review weekly
newspapers.
I also remember some of the fi re
department employees like Lois
Thurber, Ted Clausen, Ray Snider,
Bob Wickam, Roland Shaw, Bruce
Weimer, the Cornfords. In the police
department the names of Warren
Miller, Bill Grimm, David Florea,
Dave Lester, Bob Price. Oh, so
many more but names fl y from me.
The one I remember best, though,
was my sister, Betty (Swart) Alex-
ander, who became La Grande’s fi rst
female police offi cer. It was at that
time that I was covering the city
council meetings up a steep narrow
staircase above the two departments,
the water department between.
The breakfasts were held in the
crowded fi re station space with a
variety of tables and folding chairs
and fl ies sometimes became unwel-
come guests, but the camaraderie of
the annual visitors warmed the inte-
rior with its own charm of greetings
and close quarters.
CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVES
REPRESENTATIVES
GOVERNOR
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Bobby Levy, District 58
900 Court St. NE, H-376
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@state.or.us
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SENATOR
Greg Smith, District 57
900 Court St. NE, H-482
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1457
Rep.GregSmith@state.or.us
Bill Hansell, District 29
900 Court St. NE, S-415
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@state.or.us
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But, this isn’t my column and the
words are fewer and many names
escape me. The years intervene. The
new fi re department was built on
Cove Avenue, and the old fi re sta-
tion became a museum. The old
IOOF hall across the street became a
parking lot; the police station moved
up on the hill; the Observer crew
moved to Fifth Street. The Presby-
terian Church still stands by and the
post offi ce still sorts and delivers
mail while my memory hops back
and forth between Crazy Days
and the fi re department’s call to
breakfast.
I would like to see in-depth his-
torical articles in The Observer
about volunteer fi refi ghter members
and the Union County’s Search and
Rescue group. Who, what, where,
when, why and how?
Thank you, La Grande Fire
Department. It was a good breakfast,
as usual.
———
Dorothy Swart Fleshman, of
La Grande, began writing for The
Observer in 1944. She continued to
contribute into the 21st century with
her “Dory’s Diary” column.
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