State helps fund Tumalo Irrigation canal piping

The Oregon Water Resources Commission has approved $5.3 million in grant funding for conservation projects across the state, including a Tumalo Irrigation District canal-piping project.

The Capital Press reported Monday that the panel took the action during its meeting last Thursday and Friday in Salem.

Most of the projects focus on improving water conveyance system, such as replacing open canals with pipes, as well as improving the function of water storage and diversion structures.

The Central Oregon project will install six miles of pipe to replace a Tumalo Irrigation District canal, with conserved water to be dedicated to in-stream flows on the Deschutes River. The grant will fund $1.3 million of the $6.7 million project cost.

The latest grants mark the third cycle from Oregon’s water supply development fund, which lawmakers created in 2013 and became operational three years later.

This round of grants leaves about $8.5 million in the fund, but lawmakers likely will be asked to allocate more money to it during the 2019 session.