A ‘good’ water year in Central Oregon comes with murky political forecast

As a longtime Oregon water manager, Jeremy Giffin has a lot of experience telling people things they don’t want to hear.

“I’ve been giving a water outlook talk for about 30 years now and I have to say for about 20 of those, it was really bad news,” Giffin said at a recent town hall meeting of Central Oregon irrigators in Redmond.

This year, he had a much rosier forecast to share with the landowners and farmers who will once again begin taking water out of the Deschutes River system April 1.

Giffin headlined a March 19 meet-up of leaders from most of the eight irrigation districts that collectively divert more than 90% of the Deschutes River’s flow during the summer.

Over the last decade, persistent drought and recently implemented rules to protect endangered species have led to cutbacks on water available for landowners. Even without irrigation diversions, in 2022 the river dwindled to its lowest natural flow since state tracking began in 1938.

A snowy, wet winter promises landowners and farmers some reprieve this growing season.

“We’ve been waiting a lot of years for this,” Giffin said. “The last time we were in this good of shape, I had to go back 17 years.”

But as some people with water rights celebrate the improved conditions, they’re still weathering political uncertainty. Federal cutbacks have stalled spending for water infrastructure projects, such as piping irrigation canals. Long delays could cause a chain reaction that jeopardizes Jefferson County farms with junior water rights.

DOGE’s impact on Oregon water

Since 2018, irrigation districts have worked together to net about $100 million in funding for projects to conserve water, “and there’s another $80 million sort of in the wings,” said ShanRea Hawkins, a spokesperson for the districts.

Much of that money is aimed at replacing century-old irrigation ditches with large pipes. The mission is to stop water from seeping back into the ground or evaporating before it reaches landowners with the most senior water rights.

Water saved this way would then be passed on to people with junior water rights – the Jefferson County farmers. They are up against a ticking clock due to the threat of enforcement of the federal Endangered Species Act.

Through a federal plan finalized in 2020 during the last Trump administration, Central Oregon irrigators and the City of Prineville agreed to slowly ramp up how much water they leave in the river to benefit spotted frogs and fish.

The habitat conservation plan’s next big milestone is 2028. If irrigators miss that mark, it could mean much less water goes to Jefferson County farmers in the North Unit Irrigation District.

Sweeping federal cuts by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency could slow down irrigation projects that would free up conserved water for those farms.

“I have a $15 million grant that I can’t even get on the website to start requesting funds to be repaid. So, we haven’t literally started the project yet because we can’t draw funds,” said Craig Horrell, managing director for Central Oregon Irrigation District.

COID has some of the most powerful water rights in the basin. It’s a key player in the complex conservation plan intended to pass water to North Unit farmers.

He and other irrigation managers shared other examples of not knowing where major projects currently stand or how long they may be delayed. Still, Horrell said he’s staying positive.

“Whether you’re a ‘D’ or an ‘R,’ whatever side of the aisle you’re on, these projects still matter and are good. We believe that we can get a lot of funding even with this administration in the future. It’s just taking time to figure out who to talk to,” he said.

‘Believe in Donald Trump’

In the town hall crowd, one Jefferson County farmer wasn’t too concerned about the delays.

Gary Harris farms 600 acres in the North Unit Irrigation District. He’s hopeful his pick for president can upend the Endangered Species Act, and by extension, the politics of water in Central Oregon.

“I believe in Donald Trump. I believe in the golden years for America,” Harris said.

At nearly 80, he’s a well-established leader in the region’s agricultural community who proudly calls himself “the oldest farmer in Jefferson County.”

He worried younger farmers won’t get the same opportunities he’s had. Harris wasn’t the only irrigator in the crowd to wonder if Trump could succeed in rolling back the Endangered Species Act.

“He asked for it in the first term,” Harris said, “He just didn’t get the job done.”

Harris believes the Endangered Species Act has been misused to become a “blanket policy” targeting rural communities. But changes to the law could also dampen the political appetite for piping projects by removing pressure on irrigators to change their practices.

“The Endangered Species Act was intended to save the bald eagle, the grizzly bear, the wolf, and we’ve turned it into an act which is saving every species in the world,” he said, quipping, “I’ve got 30,000 species of bacteria in my gut. I could lose five of ‘em and I wouldn’t know the difference.”

During a period for questions at the town hall meeting, someone asked an attorney for the irrigation districts, David Filippi, if they still need to follow federal rules protecting species.

“My advice to the districts and to the City of Prineville, and I will say it publicly, is that until the Endangered Species Act is actually repealed, we need to continue to comply with it,” Filippi said.