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State water officials brief county on reservoir reallocation, groundwater rules and grant programs
Summary
District 22 Watermaster Joel and Senior Water Adviser Alyssa Mickin told commissioners that late‑summer flows were stronger than recent years, explained a large batch of in‑stream rights filings, outlined grant programs (WARF, feasibility grants), and described federal coordination around Willamette Valley Project reallocation and EIS work.
Joel (District 22 Watermaster) and Alyssa Mickin, senior water adviser with the Oregon Water Resources Department, briefed the board on recent water conditions, state programs and federal processes affecting the Willamette Basin.
Joel said the past water year was unusually favorable, with late‑summer showers and higher streamflows that reduced the need for regulatory curtailment. He said District 22 covers the majority of Benton County and noted that monitoring and measurement continue to be important as the agency decides whether to begin regulation in drier years.
Mickin described her role as a basin‑level coordinator and summarized state activity: Oregon has been tracking Army Corps of Engineers work on the Willamette Valley Project reservoirs and options for reallocating stored water among fish and wildlife, future irrigation and municipal/industrial uses. She said the Army Corps’ reallocation was approved by Congress as part of the Water Resources Development Act but that additional federal steps (rights transfers, EIS, biological opinions) remain before stored water can be put to new uses.
Mickin highlighted several grant and assistance programs available to local governments and private well owners: the WARF (Water Abandonment and Repair and Replacement Fund) to help low‑ and moderate‑income homeowners replace failing wells, feasibility study grants for reuse and storage projects, and a water projects grants/loans program. She also noted new groundwater allocation rules adopted by the state water resources commission that aim to manage groundwater more sustainably and said the Integrated Water Resources Strategy is being updated with public meetings planned.
Commissioners asked how new in‑stream water rights filings (submitted in batches by Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife) might affect local watermasters’ work; Joel and Mickin said the filings are geographically extensive and will increase monitoring needs. Commissioners also pressed for better communication between federal reservoir operators and local water and drinking‑water providers after recent deep drawdowns at Green Peter and Lookout Point reservoirs.
Mickin offered to provide county staff with mailing‑list and grant contacts and to follow up on specific monitoring or mailing‑list requests.
