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Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative reports consensus‑building progress; county grant supports planning
Summary
The Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative, facilitated by the Deschutes River Conservancy and COIC, told commissioners it is drafting a comprehensive basin water‑management plan expected by the end of 2025. The county provided $15,000 in 2024 to support the collaborative’s work.
The Deschutes Basin Water Collaborative updated Deschutes County commissioners on progress toward a comprehensive water‑management plan focused on the upper Deschutes Basin and on efforts to balance instream flows, irrigated agriculture and community water supplies.
Jim Bond, program director at the Deschutes River Conservancy, told the board the collaborative includes more than 45 stakeholders — cities, irrigation districts, tribes, state and federal agencies, conservation groups and agricultural interests — and that the planning effort seeks consensus on strategies and an implementation pathway. The county approved a $15,000 award in June 2024 to help the collaborative’s work; Bond said that county funding complements other sources including the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, Oregon Community Foundation and Bureau of Reclamation planning grants.
Bond said the plan follows Oregon Water Resources Department place‑based planning guidance and will include: a description of process and stakeholders; basin characterization and context; a catalog of water‑management issues; a set of strategies and tools; and an implementation chapter. He said the collaborative has drafted the first four chapters and is now focused on the implementation chapter, which he expects will take the better part of the year to complete; the collaborative’s target is a final plan by the end of 2025.
Commissioners asked about the collaborative’s role relative to existing organizations such as the Deschutes River Conservancy. Bond said DRC staff provide facilitation and technical work while the collaborative’s structure is intended to bring a broader set of stakeholders together for consensus building and to accelerate implementation of previously identified opportunities such as irrigation efficiency and flow restoration.
Bond presented historical data showing streamflow and restored flows in the basin over two decades, and said the collaborative hopes to expand those gains by aligning funding, policy and on‑the‑ground projects across jurisdictions.
The board received the update; no formal action was required at the meeting.
