Local officials are looking into ways to increase wintertime flows in the Upper Deschutes.
Irrigation districts and water managers are looking into ways to increase the wintertime flows in the Upper Deschutes.
Flows in that section of the river typically drop to a fraction of the natural flow in the winter due to water being diverted to resorvoirs. Now officials want to find a way to keep water flowing to farmers while also benefiting the fish.
The goal is to get the river flows to 300 cubic feet per second, a target set by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife; this week, it’s been below 100 cfs, and historically the flows have dropped to 20 cfs.
And any solution or effort to reach that target will involve a number of different groups cooperating on different approaches, said Tod Heisler, executive director of the Deschutes River Conservancy.
Read the full story at The Bulletin.
{biztweet}Upper Deschutes flow{/biztweet}
