Howard

SALEM — As much of Oregon faces another year of drought, water experts say farmers and ranchers should be aware of all the tools available to them under the state’s water laws.

At a seminar Tuesday, March 31, Elizabeth Howard, Oregon water law attorney, and Lindsay Thane, natural resources attorney, both of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt, spoke about nine tools for farmers through the state Water Resources Department, or OWRD.

“There are tools available to water users, especially in drought years,” said Thane.

• Drought transfers: If Oregon’s governor issues a drought declaration for a county, water users in that county can then access emergency water use tools, one of which is a “drought transfer.”

According to Thane, a farmer can apply for an expedited, short-term drought transfer of their water right to change its type of use, place of use or location of the point of diversion.

• Temporary emergency water use permits: This tool is also only available to drought-declared counties.

According to Thane, if an existing surface water right doesn’t have enough water during drought — for example, a stream dries up — then the farmer can apply for an emergency permit to temporarily tap into groundwater.

These expedited applications should take 10 days to process.

• Temporary transfers: A temporary transfer allows farmers to move water to areas of critical need.

Applicants need not come from a drought-declared county.

A farmer can change the place of use, point of diversion or type of use of a certified water right and can move water on their own property or temporarily transfer to another farmer.

Unlike the first two tools, a temporary transfer takes longer to apply for and process.

“This isn’t a particularly speedy process most of the time,” said Thane.

Howard said this tool “is really good to think about for long-term planning.”

• Agriculture water use transfers: Howard said an agriculture water use transfer can be useful during hot and dry years.

The tool enables a farmer with an existing irrigation water right to use that right for purposes other than irrigation — “incidental agricultural uses” including dust control, keeping farm animals cool or giving drinking water to livestock within limitations.

• Limited licenses: A limited license is a short-term tool for a farmer who does not have water right.

According to Howard, a farmer can apply for a limited water license to establish a crop for which further irrigation won’t be required, such as a vineyard or hazelnut orchard, or to mitigate the impacts of drought when water is needed “to avoid irreparable damage to the user’s crop.”

• Exempt water uses: Howard said it’s also useful for farmers to be aware of exempt water uses in Oregon — opportunities to use water within limitations without applying for a permit.

Farms may qualify for the surface water stock water exemption, commercial and industrial uses exemption and domestic water rights exemption.

• Conserved water rights: A conserved water right allows a farmer to shrink a water right temporarily and move the balance to other places, such as to in-stream flows that benefit fish.

• New water right: A farmer can also apply for a new water right, but these are difficult to get.

“It’s pretty much impossible to get a surface water right in Oregon right now because basically all the water has been allocated,” said Howard.

Thane said getting a new groundwater right is more plausible, but OWRD has labeled some parts of Oregon as “groundwater restricted areas” where new wells can’t be drilled.

• Stored water right: The final tool is called a stored water right, enabling a farmer to create a pond or reservoir.

For this tool, said Howard, a farmer needs two rights — the right to store water and the right to remove water from a reservoir or pond for a specific purpose. The right to store water is separate from the right to use the stored water.