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CapitalPress.com
Friday, April 15, 2022
Water
Talent Irrigation District faces short season
By HOLLY DILLEMUTH
For the Capital Press
TALENT, Ore. — Water
deliveries are “more than
likely” for patrons of the
Talent Irrigation District in
Southern Oregon this sea-
son, but with the potential for
a much shorter period then
usual, according to Mike
Winters, president of the dis-
trict board of directors.
The district has 13,155
acre-feet in storage, but due
to the unprecedented mega-
drought, has yet to decide
on water deliveries for this
season.
About one dozen patrons
fi lled the small meeting room
and spilled out into the hall-
way in the district offi ce in
Talent on April 5.
There to share their con-
cerns and ask questions about
the drought and its impact,
all attendees were given the
opportunity to share their
thoughts on the upcoming
irrigation season. Some aired
concerns about how to keep
their farming and orchard
operations going this spring
and summer.
“More than likely we’ll
be able to turn it on, it’ll just
be a (for a) restricted amount
of time,” Winters told Capi-
tal Press following the meet-
ing. “It’s the worst drought in
1,200 years, is what they’re
saying … on the West Coast
or across the Midwest, too.
“If the decision is to open
it up for 25 or 30 days, what-
ever the number ends up
being … it’s going to be a rat
race,” Winters added later in
the meeting.
TID is 3,300 acre-feet
below the total storage on
hand at this time last year,
Wanda Derry, district man-
ager, said. In 2021, that was
about 15,000 acre-feet on
April 1. According to a chart
on the district website, in an
average year there would be
more than 80,000 acre-feet of
water on hand.
Derry said it usually takes
between 50,000 and 55,000
acre-feet to run a full irriga-
tion season.
The district is fed by
three reservoirs: Hyatt Lake,
Howard Prairie Lake, and
Emigrant, all of which are
extremely low for this time
of year. Levels were at 14, 11
and 12% of capacity, respec-
tively, as of April 5.
“This rain helped,” Derry
said. About a half-inch of
rain fell on the area April 4.
“We gained like 350 acre-
feet in all three reservoirs
(combined) from yesterday
to today, but we still need it
to keep coming.”
The district hopes more
Yakima irrigators
face small cut in
water supply
Junior water-right hold-
ers could still receive their
full allotments, depend-
Yakima River Basin ing on the spring weather,
irrigators with junior water the reclamation bureau pro-
rights will receive 94% of jected. On the other hand,
their full allotments this year, allotments could fall as low
the U.S. Bureau of Reclama- as 77% if conditions worsen,
tion forecast April 7.
according to the bureau.
The forecast was down
Currently, the reservoirs
slightly from last month and are up and look good. On
could change again by early April 7, they were 89% full
May, said Chris Lynch, the and held 132% of the aver-
agency’s river operations age volume of water for the
engineer.
date.
“We still have quite a bit
However, the snow-
ahead of us to determine packs that will melt and run
what the pro-rationing rates into the reservoirs are below
will be this summer,” he average. The Upper Yakima
said.
Basin snowpack was 81%
The bureau manages of normal, while the Naches
fi ve reservoirs and a sys- Basin snowpack was 83% of
tem that supplies water to normal on April 7.
irrigate about 464,000 acres
If the snowpack melts
in south-central Washing- early, the reservoirs could
ton. Senior water-right hold- peak sooner in June than
ers will receive full allot- usual and start falling, a set-
ments. Irrigators with junior back for the summer irriga-
rights are cut back equally in tion season.
water-short years.
The bureau based its out-
In March, the fi rst fore- look April 7 on conditions
cast of the season, the bureau as of April 1. Snow and fell
predicted 96% of full allot- in the region in early April.
ments for junior water-right The reservoirs had received
holders.
more than half their usual
Roza Irrigation District rainfall for the month by
Manager Scott Revell said April 7.
Thursday’s forecast pres-
Lynch said precipitation
ents no problems for the dis- has been fi ckle in the past
trict’s irrigators. “If we’re in several months. Although
the 90s, we’re fi ne,” he said. the fi rst week of April was
promising, the rain and
snow could shut off , he said.
AG EDUCATION
Revell said he expects
PUBLISHING
MAY 6, 2022 the early April rain and snow
to improve the outlook. “I
A guide to the
think that will bump it up a
universities, colleges,
little bit,” he said.
community colleges,
By DON JENKINS
Capital Press
trade schools etc. that
have programs available
for students that are
interested in pursuing
careers related to
agriculture.
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PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 819
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/18/2022. The sale will be held
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PREMIER TOWING & RECOVERY
305 JEFFERSON ST SILVERTON, OR
2015 TOYT TUNDRA PK
VIN = 5TFDW5F1XFX454219
Amount due on lien $3950.00
Reputed owner(s) ROBERT E SNOW
MARKE HERRALL
TOYOTA MOTOR CREDIT CORP
Holly Dillemuth/For the Capital Press
Talent Irrigation District board members, from left, Jeff
Hogan, Jeff Bohn and TID board President Mike Winters
at a board meeting April 5.
water accumulates this
month before a vote is taken
to consider whether and
when to start deliveries.
Irrigators speak out
Winters and fellow district
board members Jeff Hogan
and Jeff Bohn, along with
Derry and assistant manager
Bo Bergren, heard from a
room full of attendees on the
prospective impact of having
no water at all this summer,
or not enough to satisfy their
crops.
One patron, the term the
district uses for its custom-
ers, asked about the option of
keeping some water now and
saving the rest for next year,
but wondered about losing
water to evaporation in the
meantime.
“I’m not a scientist, but the
weather plays into it,” Win-
ters responded. “It depends
how many 90-degree days
and 100-degree days (we
have).”
The patron said, “if it’s
going to go anyways (to
evaporation), then you might
as well run the canals.” Win-
ters responded affi rmatively.
Other patrons expressed
concern about patrons who
they believe have taken more
water than they were allowed
in prior years.
The district empha-
sized its ditch riders, who
patrol water usage, are not
tasked with enforcing water
theft, which they anticipate.
The area watermaster, who
works for the Oregon Water
Resources Department, is
tasked with handling such sit-
uations, along with the Jack-
son County Sheriff ’s Offi ce.
“You’re going to still
deal with people that can
come out there with a water
truck and throw a hose in the
canal,” Winters said. “You
still deal with people …
that’ll cut off the chains on
the headgates and turn it on.
This is kind of new territory
because in the past, there’s
been some short years … by
being short, that was whether
you turned the water off on
Oct. 5 or whether you turned
it off maybe second week of
September.
“There hasn’t ever been a
time where we’ve dealt with
25 to 30 days of water and
you’re trying to meter it out
to all these folks and the dif-
ferent crops that they grow,”
Winters added.
“And so it’s like a feeding
frenzy when you turn those
canals on and then you’ve
got people who are going to
want to grab all the water
they can … you’re going to
deal with theft.”
Patrons are asked to call
the district offi ce if they see
excess water being used,
and TID will pass along the
report to the watermaster’s
offi ce.
John Casad of Talent
shared his concerns about
whether the district would
turn on, then turn off , then
turn on the water supply
as it did in 2021, as well as
whether the district might
store water for next year.
“If you’ve got it, use it,
and we’ll deal with next
year when next year comes,”
Casad said. “I think we
should plan for next year to
be dry, too.”
Matt Borman, orchard
operations manager of Bear
Creek Orchards in Medford,
shared concerns about the
impact of another dry year
on pear crops.
Borman said the orchards
navigated 2021 in “survival
mode,” with the loss of the
majority of the pear crop.
“If the canal was piped
and we had a little water
throughout the season, that
would be ideal,” he said.
“Unless you’re talking four,
fi ve, six weeks of water, I’m
not sure the survival equation
changes drastically.”
Winters told Ashland.
news following the meeting
that he and board members
would be processing patron
comments in coming days
and weeks.
“The point of asking those
questions is to try to get a
‘fl avor’ because there’s such
a wide diversity of crops
from hay and cow people
that want water in May and
June,” Winters said.
California drought deepens
as wet season is anything but
By KATHLEEN RONAYNE
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — Cal-
ifornia is experiencing one of
the driest starts to spring in
decades, data showed Friday,
and absent a heavy dose of
April and May showers the
state’s drought will deepen
and that could lead to stricter
rules on water use and
another devastating wildfi re
season.
New readings showed the
water in California’s moun-
tain snowpack sat at 38% of
average. That’s the lowest
mark since the end of the last
drought in 2015; only twice
since 1988 has the level been
lower.
State offi cials highlighted
the severity of the dismal
water numbers as they stood
at a snow measuring station
south of Lake Tahoe, where
the landscape included more
grass than snow. At the deep-
est point measured there,
California Water Resources Board
Aerial view of the intertie constructed by the state De-
partment of Water Resources between the Delta-Men-
dota Canal and the Aqueduct near Tracy, Calif. State of-
fi cials say winter precipitation has been less than usual.
there was just 2.5 inches of
snow.
“You need no more evi-
dence than standing here on
this very dry landscape to
understand some of the chal-
lenges we’re facing here
in California,” said Karla
Nemeth, director of the Cal-
ifornia Department of Water
Resources. “All Californians
need to do their part.”
Nearly all of Califor-
nia and much of the U.S.
West is in severe to extreme
drought, according to the
U.S. Drought Monitor. Last
July, California Gov. Gavin
Newsom asked people to cut
their water use by 15% com-
pared to 2020 levels, but so
far consumption is down just
6%. State reservoirs are fi lled
far below normal levels.
About a third of Califor-
nia’s water supply comes
from melted snow that trick-
les into rivers and reser-
voirs. April 1 is when the
snowpack typically is at its
peak and the date is used
as a benchmark to predict
the state’s water supply in
the drier, hotter spring and
summer months. The next
few weeks will be critical to
understanding how much of
the melting snow is ending
up in state reservoirs instead
of evaporating or seeping
into parched ground.
The nearly 11 inches
worth of water sitting in snow
in the Sierra Nevada along
California’s eastern edge
is the lowest reading since
the depth of the last drought
seven years ago, when Cali-
fornia ended winter with just
5% of the normal water lev-
els in the mountains, accord-
ing to the department.
Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer recharge total lower than usual
Idaho’s eff orts to recharge
the Eastern Snake Plain Aqui-
fer have fallen short of the
annual target this year.
About 158,293 acre-feet
of water was added to the
aquifer between Oct. 20 and
April 4. The goal is 250,000
acre-feet.
Wesley Hipke, who man-
ages the recharge program
for the Idaho Water Resource
Board, said the annual aver-
age recharge is now about
248,000 acre-feet.
The region’s snowpack
was about average in 2020-
21, but water supplies dwin-
dled quickly amid prolonged
dry, hot weather.
The state and cooperating
agencies started the recharge
eff ort in 2014. They had two
dry years followed by four wet
years. This year is predicted to
be dry, as was last year.
“This last year it went
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/18/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2019 GMC SIERRA PK
VIN = 3GTU9AEF1KG289933
Amount due on lien $1395.00
Reputed owner(s)
WEST COAST FEED AND SEED LLC
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/18/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2013 BMW 328 4DR
VIN = WBA3B5G56DNS04779
Amount due on lien $1395.00
Reputed owner(s)
CHRISTIAN & LUCIE MACIOCCO
BMW BANK OF NORTH AMERICA
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
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LEGAL
TO: ALL OREGON TALL FESCUE GROWERS
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held
pursuant to ORS 576.416 (5), on Thursday, May 26, 2022, at
6:00 p.m., at the Cascade Grill Restaurant, 110 Opal St. NE,
Albany, Oregon, upon a proposed budget for operation of the
Oregon Tall Fescue Commission during the fiscal year July 1,
2022 through June 30, 2023. At this hearing any producer of
Oregon-grown Tall Fescue seed has a right to be heard with
respect to the proposed budget, a copy of which is available
for public inspection, under reasonable circumstances, in the
office of each County Extension Agent in Oregon. For further
information, contact the Tall Fescue Commission business
office, P.O. Box 3366, Salem, Oregon 97302, telephone 503-
364-2944. The meeting location is accessible to persons with
disabilities. Please make any requests for an interpreter for
the hearing impaired or for other accommodation for persons
with disabilities at least 48 hours before the meeting by
contacting the Commission office at 503-364-2944.
NOTICE OF FINE FESCUE COMMISSION BUDGET HEARING
TO: ALL OREGON FINE FESCUE GROWERS
Notice is hereby given that a public hearing will be held pursuant to
ORS 576.416 (5), on Monday, May 9, 2022, at 7:00 a.m., at West Salem
Roth’s Events Center, Founder’s Room “O,” 1130 Wallace Road, Salem,
Oregon, and via Zoom, upon a proposed budget for operation of the
Fine Fescue Commission during the fiscal year July 1, 2022 through
June 30, 2023. At this hearing any producer of Oregon-grown Fine
Fescue or Highland Bentgrass seed has a right to be heard with
respect to the proposed budget, a copy of which is available for public
inspection, under reasonable circumstances, in the office of each
County Extension Agent in Oregon. For further information, contact
the Fine Fescue Commission business office, P.O. Box 3366, Salem,
Oregon 97302, telephone 503-364-2944. The meeting location is
accessible to persons with disabilities. Please make any requests for
an interpreter for the hearing impaired or for other accommodation
for persons with disabilities at least 48 hours before the meeting by
contacting the Commission office at 503-364-2944.
down, and what’s predict-
able is that it probably will
go down this year,” Hipke
said. In the aquifer that lies
beneath much of eastern and
south-central Idaho, “Mother
Nature is by far the biggest
player.”
With recharge, “we are
increasing what would’ve
been there if we hadn’t done
anything,” Hipke said.
Recharging more that the
annual target when water sup-
plies are higher helps the aqui-
fer during low-water years.
A goal is to build more
recharge capacity to take fur-
ther advantage of high-water
years, Hipke said. The board
has added nearly 4,200 acre-
feet of daily capacity since
2014.
In
low-water
years,
recharge helps keep the aqui-
fer from falling farther behind.
All water added back can help
increase availability.
Drought years illustrate
“why we recharge as much
as we can during those wet
years,” Hipke said.
Of the 1.98 million acre-
feet put into the aquifer
since 2014, about 1.2 million
remains, he said.
LEGAL
PURSUANT TO ORS
CHAPTER 87
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/25/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
COPART OF WASHINGTON INC
2885 NATIONAL WAY WOODBURN, OR
2021
VIN = 4T9AT1215MH049153
Amount due on lien $1995.00
Reputed owner(s)
JUSTIN STONE
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CHAPTER 819
Notice is hereby given that the
following vehicle will be sold,
for cash to the highest bidder, on
04/27/2022. The sale will be held
at 10:00am by
PREMIER TOWING & RECOVERY
305 JEFFERSON ST SILVERTON, OR
2016 MERZ 4DR
VIN = S5SWF4JB2GU121087
Amount due on lien $3712.00
Reputed owner(s)
PAUL JOSEPH RUGGLES
ONPOINT COMM CU
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Notice of Oregon Strawberry Commission
Public Budget Hearing
The Oregon Strawberry Commission will hold a public hearing
to approve the proposed 2022-2023 fiscal budget. The hearing
starts at 11:00 a.m. May 3, 2022 and will be held via Zoom Video
Conferencing. Any person wishing to comment on the budget
is welcome to do so either orally or in writing. A copy of the
proposed budget is available for public inspection at www.
oregon-strawberries.org. Contact oregonstrawberries@gmail.
com by 5:00pm May 2, 2022 to request a link for the video
meeting and/or to submit a written comment. Please include
your name and farm in your emailed requests.
