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Water‑rule changes under OWRD '5‑12' process worry developers, cities over rolling municipal allotments
Summary
County officials raised questions July 16 about how proposed OWRD rulemaking would calculate municipal allotments, warning that a rolling 110% of historical peak use could raise municipal baselines and reduce water available for other users.
Harney County Court discussed the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) rulemaking commonly referred to in the meeting as "5‑12" and expressed concerns about how municipal allocations are calculated under the proposed approach.
Staff summarized the draft approach described in OWRD materials: municipal allotments would be calculated as 110% of a city's historical highest annual usage over a reference period. "It would be a 110% of their highest usage in, I wanna say, the last 6 years," staff said, describing how an allotment could roll forward if a city sets a new peak year. Commissioners and city representatives said that rolling baselines could cause municipal allotments to increase each year if usage grows, which in turn could reduce water available to other users and complicate long‑range planning.
A developer interested in a large new housing project asked how the proposed regulations would affect municipal water availability for new builds. County officials said they will provide developers and the public with links to OWRD materials and noted that OWRD will hold public hearings; county staff urged affected parties to attend and submit written comments.
Ending: The court advised interested developers to review OWRD materials and said it will circulate public‑meeting dates and the county’s drafted questions for OWRD; commissioners also indicated the court will consider submitting formal comments through the public‑comment process before the August deadline.
