Public comments sought on Arnold Irrigation’s $42 million, 13.2-mile canal piping project

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Federal officials on Wednesday released for public comment the draft plan for a more than 13-mile, $47 million canal piping project by the Arnold Irrigation District, designed to "improve irrigation efficiencies and promote water savings," part of an environmental planning process that began back in March 2018.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service said in a news release (in full below) that it has reviewed the potential impacts of the Arnold Irrigation District Infrastructure Modernization Project and released a Draft Watershed Plan-Environmental Assessment (Draft Plan-EA) on Tuesday, with details of the estimated $47.2 million project, to include $27.8 million in federal funding.

The irrigation district proposes to pipe 13.2 miles of the district-owned Main Canal from the diversion on the Deschutes River to Horse Butte Road (12.2 miles of open canal and 1 mile of open flume).

The NRCS said the proposed project would improve water conservation in district-owned infrastructure, improve water supply management and delivery reliability to District patrons, improve public safety, and enhance streamflow in the Deschutes River.

By converting the open-ditch irrigation canal into a buried, closed-pipe system, the proposed Arnold Irrigation District Infrastructure Modernization Project would reduce water loss from seepage, saving an estimated 32.5 cubic feet per second of water or 10,526 acre-feet annually.

Water saved from the proposed project would be passed to North Unit Irrigation District during the irrigation season for agriculture.

In return, North Unit Irrigation District would release an equal volume of water into the Deschutes River from Wickiup Reservoir during the winter for instream flows. The project would help meet the needs of farmers in Jefferson County while also increasing critical streamflow during the winter months in the upper Deschutes River.

The Deschutes Basin Board of Control is the lead project sponsor with Arnold Irrigation District as a co-sponsor. Funding and technical support is provided from NRCS, the Energy Trust of Oregon, and Farmers Conservation Alliance.

NRCS, the District, and Farmers Conservation Alliance will host a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, June 23, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. to discuss the Draft Plan-EA and answer questions about the project. Due to COVID-19 public event restrictions, the meeting will be held virtually using Zoom. Register for the meeting and view the Draft Plan-EA at oregonwatershedplans.org  . A recording of the meeting will be available afterward at the same website. A printed copy of the Draft Plan-EA is also available at the Deschutes Public Library (601 N.W. Wall St, Bend, OR 97703).

Public comments on the Draft Plan-EA may be submitted from June 8, 2021 through July 8, 2021. Comments may be emailed to arnold.id.comments@gmail.com, submitted online at oregonwatershedplans.org  , submitted via phone at (541) 716-6085, or mailed to: Farmers Conservation Alliance, 102 State Street, Hood River, OR 97031.

After the public comment period, NRCS will evaluate the comments and incorporate them into a Final Plan-EA. If NRCS issues a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the project and authorizes the Final Plan-EA, the project can move into final design and construction.

The project may be partially funded through the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention program, administered by NRCS and authorized by Public Law 83-566.

Through this program, NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to local organizations (project sponsors) for planning and carrying out watershed projects that help solve natural resource and related economic problems in a specific watershed. These issues can include watershed protection, flood prevention, erosion and sediment control, water supply, water quality, fish and wildlife habitat enhancement, and wetlands creation. The authorized purpose for the proposed project is Agricultural Water Management.

For more information about this and other irrigation modernization projects in Oregon, visit oregonwatershedplans.org      or visit the NRCS Oregon public notice webpage.