A6 THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, AUGUST 21, 2022
Water
Continued from A1
But people living near the
canal — mostly residents of
Deschutes River Woods and
Woodside Ranch — are fight-
ing the piping plan in order to
retain some seepage. Save Ar-
nold Canal, a community-led
grassroots movement, believes
seepage will keep the ground
saturated in the months when
water is available. Seepage
is needed to protect the mi-
cro-habitat that runs along the
canal, they say.
Save Arnold Canal has a
website to promote alterna-
tives to piping and a lawyer,
too. Instead of a pipe, the
group wants the canal lined
with semi-permeable concrete
to conserve most of the water,
but also allow around 30% to
seep into the ground to charge
the shallow aquifer.
“Everyone wants to con-
serve water for the sake of the
Deschutes River. But what will
be lost when Arnold Irrigation
pipes their main canal? Twelve
miles of animal habitat, thou-
sands of mature ponderosa
pines, and scores of functional
wells,” said Geoff Reynolds, a
group supporter.
Alan Keyes, another resi-
dent in the area, worries most
about the fate of mule deer
and other wildlife that occupy
his neighborhood. Cutting
off the water flow will perma-
nently disrupt the local habitat
and drive the animals away,
he said.
“Wildlife share our unique
environment and contrib-
ute to its character,” said
Keyes. “Drive them away and
you further chip away at the
uniqueness of our area.”
Compromise solution sought
Mark Elling, president and
board member of Save Ar-
nold Canal, says residents in
the area are concerned about
property values, community
aesthetics, and the local eco-
system. But he adds that an
open canal instead of a pipe
offers benefits across the De-
schutes Basin, including wild-
life habitat, accessible water
for fighting wildfires, and
groundwater.
“We think for everyone’s
sake, whether it’s keeping wa-
ter in the reservoir for threat-
ened species habitat in the
winter time or transferring
water to North Unit in Ma-
dras, we think there are other
ways to achieve that, which
don’t have the collateral dam-
age of the pipeline,” said El-
ling, whose property backs up
to the canal.
Elling wants Arnold Irriga-
tion District to consider lin-
ing the walls of the canal with
shotcrete, a form of concrete,
instead of enclosing the canal
in a high-density polyethylene
pipe. Shotcrete will be cheaper
compared to piping, he be-
lieves, even if it needs to be
replaced.
A shotcrete-lined canal
can also be made permeable
to allow some water to seep
into the soil but also conserve
more water than the current
canal, which is mostly un-
lined.
“Our group is advocating
for the more commonly ap-
plied non-membrane style of
shotcrete in at least a three-
inch layer,” said Elling. “By
avoiding the membrane there’s
still some amount of seepage
to do less damage to trees and
wells, and it’s much cheaper
without the membrane.”
The geomembrane men-
tioned by Elling is basically a
giant plastic sheet used as a
waterproof barrier that can be
installed underneath a layer
of shotcrete. It would reduce
leakage into the soil to small
amounts — which is good
for water conservation — but
does not achieve the Save Ar-
nold Canal group goal of al-
lowing 30% seepage to sustain
the canal-side ecosystem.
Steve Johnson, district man-
ager for Arnold Irrigation
District, says simply lining the
bed of the canal with shot-
crete, with or without a mem-
brane, would require more
maintenance than the piping
option. Funds for any repairs
aren’t guaranteed, he said. Pip-
ing saves 100% of the water
from both seepage and evapo-
ration, he said.
As for the green aesthet-
ics that the seepage provides,
Johnson notes for much of the
year the idyllic flowing stream
running behind people’s
homes is nonexistent. Cer-
tainly, during the past three
years of drought, the district
had to turn off the water at re-
cord early dates.
“Their water feature only
has water in it for three and
half months, and it’s empty for
eight and a half,” Johnson said.
“How attractive is that ditch
for eight and half months of
the year when it doesn’t have
any water in it?”
Threatened species
While farmers will benefit
from the proposed pipe and
more water later in the irriga-
tion season, environmental-
ists and ecologists say they are
pleased with the anticipated
benefits for the Deschutes
and the aquatic species that
are trying to eke out an exis-
tence in the diminished river.
Energy use will also be low-
ered because the pressurized
pipe eliminates the need for
pumps.
The piping project has the
backing of the Coalition for
the Deschutes, Central Ore-
gon LandWatch, and the De-
schutes River Conservancy, at
least compared to lining op-
tions that require more main-
tenance and less water conser-
vation.
Up to 10,446 acre-feet
of water could be available
during the winter months
if the piping project moves
ahead. An acre-foot is the
amount of water than can fill
up one acre of ground with
one foot of water. This will be
accomplished through an ex-
change with North Unit Irri-
gation District, and will also
provide North Unit farmers
with more water during the ir-
rigation season.
Support by biologists and
ecologists for piping comes as
no surprise given the tendency
among local environmental
nonprofits to back projects
that increase the level of the
local rivers at any cost.
Oregon Department of Fish
and Wildlife says piping is
safer for wildlife. Rather than
a safe corridor, the canals are
seen as a hazard that can trap
deer in both winter and sum-
mer, especially if the canal is
lined with concrete. As for the
argument that the canals pro-
vide drinking water, ODFW
field biologist Andrew Walch
said mule deer and other an-
imals will simply find water
elsewhere.
“There are usually irri-
gated fields, ponds, and yards
nearby that provide sources of
water,” Walch said. “It just may
shift the distribution and pat-
terns of wildlife that folks are
used to seeing on their prop-
erty.”
U.S. Fish & Wildlife also
has clear motivations to back
the piping plan. The agency is
tasked with protecting threat-
ened species such as the Or-
egon spotted frog and bull
trout. Closing canals support
CLOCK SERVICE & REPAIR
A small sec-
tion of Arnold
Irrigation Dis-
trict’s main ca-
nal lined with
cement near
Bend.
Ryan Brennecke/
The Bulletin
the goals laid out in the De-
schutes Basin Habitat Conser-
vation Plan, approved by U.S.
Fish & Wildlife in 2020. By
not adhering to the conserva-
tion plan, irrigation districts
risk losing their “incidental
take” permit which allows
them to function for the life of
the 30-year agreement.
For residents in the area,
the pipe’s purported benefits
for rivers offer cold comfort
when their community is on
the precipice of drastic change.
Their grievances echo com-
plaints lodged by several pa-
trons of Tumalo Irrigation,
who filed a lawsuit in 2020
over the impacts a piping proj-
ect caused in their commu-
nity. That suit could portend
what may happen in Arnold.
Brian Sheets, the agriculture
and water rights lawyer who
represents the Save Arnold
Canal group, says the group
is open to discussing a variety
of water conservation options
but piping isn’t one of them
due to “environmental consid-
erations” and the impacts on
the local ecosystems.
“Piping will be taking water
away from quite a few trees. It
will be taking water away from
well recharges. It will be tak-
ing water away from riparian
habitat that goes through the
area,” said Sheets, who is based
in Ontario, Oregon. “We don’t
believe that Arnold Irrigation
District has taken into account
all the different alternatives
that can be used to mitigate
their losses and have a win-
win situation for everybody.”
Cadillac Desert
Deschutes County Forester
Ed Keith — who serves as a
liaison between federal, state,
and local agencies to both
manage forests and prevent
fires — agrees with the Save
Arnold Canal group that tree
loss will likely occur.
But Keith, the county for-
ester since 2012, says the trees
along the canal are growing
at unsustainable levels. If they
can survive without the wa-
ter from the canals, they will,
he said.
“Otherwise, they shouldn’t
be there to begin with. We live
in a desert,” said Keith.
Instead of maintaining the
canal’s artificial environment,
Keith said the priority should
be on minimizing impacts on
fish and wildlife in the De-
schutes.
He described a host of com-
monly cited negative impacts
including uncommonly high
flows in the summer, uncom-
monly low flows in the winter,
increased sedimentation, and
the resultant negative impacts
to fish habitat and water qual-
ity.
“The Cadillac Desert can’t
keep running forever,” said
Keith, referring to the 1986
book by Marc Reisner, which
chronicles the history of ir-
rigation in arid parts of the
American West.
Keith also threw cold wa-
ter on the idea that the sea-
sonal waterway needs to be
preserved for the sake of trees
that are growing beyond their
natural range.
“It seems to me that these
people are expecting per-
sonal benefits from canals that
happen to run through their
properties by expecting them
to continue to operate with a
design more than a century
old, at no cost to them, and se-
vere negative cost to the public
resources,” said Keith. “These
include water, fish, and wild-
life, and the agricultural lands
that depend on the efficient
delivery of water.”
Save Arnold Canal may not
have garnered widespread
backing from Bend’s environ-
mental groups and agencies
but that has not prevented
its supporters from backing
down.
Keyes, one of the neigh-
borhood residents, concludes
that the district just isn’t listen-
ing to what residents have to
say. He calls the district’s plan
“short-sighted” and in total
disregard of the long-term im-
pact on his community.
“If AID’s piping proceeds
as proposed, it will leave Bend
area residents, visitors, and
future generations, looking
around and asking, what hap-
pened to the Bend we used
to love?” said Keyes. “But by
then, it will be too late.”
█
Reporter: 541-617-7818,
mkohn@bendbulletin.com
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