Carolyn Seppert, central region manager for the Oregon Water Resources Department, told the Deschutes County Board of Commissioners on Nov. 3 that the state is starting a campaign to collect static groundwater-level reports from permit holders.

"What we are here for today is just to inform you of a statewide effort on static water level reporting," Seppert said, explaining that roughly 3,600 water-right permits statewide include a condition requiring periodic static-level measurements.

The department said the reporting condition dates back primarily to permits issued in the 1990s and that many permit holders have not been complying. "We are beginning to send notices out to those who have not been complying with this condition," Seppert said, adding that the central region (Crook, Jefferson and Deschutes counties) has relatively few affected permits. OWRD staff said they last saw about 23 permits in the Tri-County area flagged to receive notices now, while roughly 110 permits in the Tri-County region carry the reporting condition in total.

OWRD staff said measurements are typically taken in March or April and that reporting schedules vary by permit (some require annual reports, others at longer intervals). Seppert listed the kinds of professionals authorized to take and certify those measurements: "Certified water master examiner, geologist, professional engineer, licensed well constructor, or licensed pump and [installer]," and emphasized that measurement is a condition on the permit that remains the responsibility of the permit holder.

On enforcement, Seppert said the department will first send notices and follow-up; "Starting next year, if we do not get compliance ... we would start doing, going along with our enforcement procedures that might include civil penalties." She said the department is vetting data locally and will mail notices to noncompliant permit holders over the next one to two months.

Commissioners also used the briefing to ask about related legislation and programs. OWRD staff described the proposed Deschutes Basin water bank timeline: tribal approval of the bank charter and Water Resources Commission review are prerequisites, and the department said the earliest operating season under current expectations would be 2027. Seppert described two bank mechanisms under consideration—fallowing (moving the water from fallowed acres to other uses including instream flows) and a later "split rate, split duty" option—and outlined next steps, including public review, Water Resources Commission approval, submission of an annual operating plan by Jan. 1 of the year the bank would operate, and final operating-plan vetting by March 1 before the irrigation season.

County commissioners raised questions about recent statutory changes affecting extensions of time for permits and an expansion of exempt well uses. OWRD staff explained that some legislation will impose tighter limits on open-ended permit extensions; they also summarized changes to exempt-well allowances, noting that Oregon’s historic domestic-exempt allowance (15,000 gallons per day) remains, commercial/industrial exempt uses historically totaled 5,000 gpd and that recent changes allow up to 3,000 gpd of the commercial allocation to be used for commercial gardens (with a separate half-acre landscape allowance). Staff cautioned the board that the half-acre landscape use historically did not have a fixed flow-rate allocation and is harder to quantify without metering.

The department said it will continue outreach and stood ready to answer county-specific questions. "And just, doing it annually is gonna be good for everybody to understand the basin," Seppert said. She encouraged permit holders to check permit conditions and prepare for the spring measurement window.

No formal action was taken by the board on the briefing; OWRD described planned outreach and potentially escalating enforcement if reporting does not improve.