Here's some more background reading on the Abert situation.
First here's a link to Hillary Rosner's article in High Country News
on "Oregon's desiccating lakes": http://tinyurl.com/z7amqd3
If you're not a HCN subscriber, you may need to sign up for a "free
trial" to read the whole article.
Next, here's a blog post by OSU water resources professor Michael
Campana on the same topic back in 2014: http://tinyurl.com/zwlqdh4
Campana brings up an issue that wasn't mentioned either in the
Oregonian's 2014 coverage, or in the current HCN article. Namely in 1991
state and federal agencies authorized a new impoundment by a private
developer, at the end of the Chewaucan River, which further restricted
flows into Abert.
It's arguable whether the 1991 impoundment was the straw that broke the
camel's back, but it certainly didn't help the situation.
Melissa brings up the idea of water rights reform. I agree that the
Byzantine, "first come, first served" system of water rights that
prevails in the West is archaic and in need of an overhaul.
One of the best illustrations here in the Willamette Valley is the
so-called "city" of Adair Village, a bedroom community of 850 souls
which holds a 1940s right to withdraw enough water from the Willamette
River for a community of 50,000 (the size of Camp Adair during World War
II).
Right now I can't imagine a clear path to successful water rights
reform, due to the complexity of the legal and political issues. But at
the very least our state water resources departments could get more
ambitious about measuring actual use, so that future allocations will be
informed by data.
--
Joel Geier
Camp Adair area north of Corvallis
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