Area water outlook shifts
By Larry Meyer - Argus Observer
Sunday, March 18, 2007 1:07 AM PDT
NYSSA - What a difference a year can make.
As the spring of 2006 dawned, area irrigation and county emergency officials were concerned about flooding.
At the same time, farmers could not get into their fields because of high water.
Fast-forward 12 months and the situation — not to mention the water outlook — is very different.
Now, some farmers are asking that the irrigation season be started early and snowpack for the Owyhee and Malheur River Drainages is the lowest in the state.
In a March Oregon basin report, the Natural Resources Conservation Service stated, “that since the beginning of the water precipitation year, this basin has been 84 percent of average, the lowest in the state.”
Snowpack in the Owyhee and Malheur river basins, as of March 1, was 65 percent of normal, up from 54 percent on Feb. 1, according to the conservation service report.
However, because of the large amount of water still in storage when the irrigation water was shut off in October, reserves in local reservoirs remains above average.
As of Friday, Owyhee Reservoir was about 80 percent full, Warmsprings Reservoir was more than 60 percent full and Beulah Reservoir was at more than 70 percent full. Bully Creek Reservoir was also about 80 percent full.
Water flows on the Owyhee River peaked at 2,077 cubic feet per second at Rome recently. However, water flows continued on a downward trend to a point Friday where they were measured at just above 1,000 cfs.
“One thing that would change the dynamics is rain,” Owyhee Irrigation District Manager Jay Chamberlin said. With unusually warm temperatures the past few weeks, farmers have been busy planting, and depending on the soils, some fields are getting dry while some fields are still wet.
“We’re getting a lot of pressure to turn (irrigation water) on early,” Chamberlin said. The Owyhee Irrigation District Board will meet with members of the South Board of Irrigation, which oversees delivery of water in Homedale and Marsing areas, Tuesday, Chamberlin said, and the irrigation start up date will be discussed. One issue is how soon the system can be ready, he said.
With about 160,000 acre feet needed to fill the reservoir, he is pretty sure that will happen. Stream flow forecasts call for 330,000 acre feet to come down the Owyhee River by the end of June.
“We don’t have to spill to fill,” he said. “That is more than what is needed to fill.”
Another concern driving the discussion is early warm weather and the possibility of a frost later on, which could cause a lot of agriculture damage.
“I think this is much to soon,” Chamberlin said of the warm weather. He said he hears there is going to be a lot of corn planted this year.
“It’s going to put a lot of pressure on the system,” Chamberlin said of the expected boost in corn production.
