Feds seek comments on Lone Pine Irrigation District’s 10-mile canal piping project

Includes new Crooked River crossing; estimated to save 2,100 acre-feet of water

TERREBONNE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- The Lone Pine Irrigation District east of Terrebonne plans to replace nearly 10 miles of open irrigation canals with pressurized, buried pipe, the latest project in the region designed to improve irrigation efficiencies and promote water savings, federal officials said Tuesday, releasing the plan for a 30-day comment period.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) said it has reviewed the potential impacts of the Lone Pine Irrigation District Infrastructure Modernization Project and released a Draft Watershed Plan-Environmental Assessment (Draft Plan-EA) Tuesday.

The NRCS said the Lone Pine Irrigation District proposes to realign the district’s conveyance system to achieve optimal efficiency of water delivery and reduce costs, construct a new river crossing at the Crooked River and enter the district from the southern boundary, install 10.9 miles of pressurized buried pipe, and decommission 9.7 miles of open canal.

"The proposed project would improve irrigation water management and delivery, reduce district operations and maintenance costs, and enhance streamflow in the Deschutes River," the agency said in its announcement.

By converting open-ditch irrigation canals into underground, closed-pipe systems, the proposed Lone Pine Irrigation District Infrastructure Modernization Project would eliminate water losses from seepage and end spills, saving an estimated 2,103 acre-feet of water annually.

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

The Lone Pine Irrigation District, formed in 1920, has also been known as the Crook County Improvement District #1. It has 20 patrons and irrigates 2,369 acres, located seven miles east of Terrebonne in "a beautiful valley of sandy-loam soil that produces grain, grass hay, alfalfa hay, numerous seed crops, field corn, potatoes, and mint," according to information posted by the DBBC. 

NRCS, the District, and FCA will host a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, May 5, from 6-7 p.m. to discuss the Draft Plan-EA and answer questions about the project. You can register for the meeting and view the Draft Plan-EA at www.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 Redmond Branch (827 SW Deschutes Ave, Redmond, OR 97756).

Public comments on the Draft Plan-EA may be submitted through May 20. Comments may be emailed to lonepinecomments@gmail.com, submitted online at www.oregonwatershedplans.org , 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 www.oregonwatershedplans.org      or visit the NRCS Oregon public notice webpage at https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/or/newsroom/pnotice/.