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Committee hears support for temporary leasing of irrigation rights to restore Walla Walla streamflows
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Summary
A May 5 public hearing on Senate Bill 761 focused on a proposal to allow eligible districts in the Walla Walla Basin to lease existing irrigation water rights temporarily for in-stream use; supporters including local irrigators and the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation urged the committee to advance the measure.
The Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources, and Water Committee on May 5 heard testimony on Senate Bill 761, which would authorize the Oregon Water Resources Department to approve, through 2030, applications by eligible districts in the Walla Walla Basin to lease all or a portion of existing irrigation water rights for temporary conversion to in-stream use.
Supporters including Senator Todd Nash, Representative Bobbie Levy, April Snell of the Oregon Water Resources Congress, Travis Crum of the Walla Walla River Irrigation District, and a representative of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation described the measure as a locally developed, collaborative tool to return water to streams while protecting agriculture and water-rights holders. Committee staff said the bill implements criteria and safeguards to protect property rights and local decision-making.
Senator Nash and Representative Levy said the bill builds on earlier work, including legislation enacted last year (sponsored in part by Senator Hansel and Representative Levy) that set up a framework for cooperative management across the Oregon–Washington state line. Testimony noted that the Confederated Tribes have leveraged federal funding for the basin and that Washington has committed funds to the effort; witnesses described the Walla Walla Water 2050 strategic plan as the basin’s locally developed roadmap.
Travis Crum, district manager of the Walla Walla River Irrigation District, said participating irrigators have adjusted practices for decades and that the bill would allow districts to reduce diversions at headgates and leave water in the stream without the current requirement that the water follow farmland — a constraint that complicated crediting for perennial crops such as orchards and vineyards.
Anton Quiono, speaking for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR), said salmon and the basin’s fisheries are central to tribal treaty rights and cultural life and that cooperative, cross‑state management is necessary to restore flows and fisheries. Proponents asked the committee to support the bill and accompanying funding; no final committee vote on the measure was recorded in the excerpt.
The hearing record in the transcript shows a public hearing and multiple proponent witnesses; the excerpt does not include opponent testimony or a committee decision on the bill in this session.
