Senate Natural Resources committee hears SB 427, a proposal to bar water-right transfers that diminish streamflow

The Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Wildfire met Feb. 25 for a public hearing on Senate Bill 427, which would prohibit approval of proposed water-right transfers that diminish streamflow for applications filed or changes proposed on or after Jan. 1, 2026. The committee heard a 10-minute agency orientation followed by testimony from conservation groups, municipal and agricultural water suppliers, and other stakeholders; no committee vote was taken at the hearing.

The Oregon Water Resources Department (WRD) provided a ten-minute technical briefing on the existing transfer process, describing transfers as the statutory mechanism to change a water right’s point of diversion, place of use or type of use and explaining the department’s current review criteria: application completeness (including land-use approvals when required), demonstration of continuing beneficial use (forfeiture considerations), and protections against injury and enlargement of other water rights. WRD staff described how injury is evaluated (for example, whether moving a diversion would reduce return flows that downstream users rely on) and how enlargement is prevented (for example, by limiting the quantity transferred so the right does not effectively increase). WRD staff noted the agency can condition transfers — including requiring fish screens at a new point of diversion if requested by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) —…