Oregon drought forces cities to impose water use cutbacks

Oregon's drought, well underway and growing more dire by the day, has begun to hit municipal water supplies.

The scarcity is forcing cities to crack down on residents' water use with tactics that range from creative to compulsory.

In Lake Oswego, a water conservationist is making house calls to help residents craft watering plans that keeps plants alive with minimal irrigation.

In Ashland, city workers are carpeting street medians with artificial turf and offering cash incentives for residents who swap their lawns for drought-hardy landscapes.

"We're really focused on making the long-term changes that will help us in the future," said Julie Smitherman, Ashland's water conservation specialist.

Things are more dire in Oakridge and Junction City. In both cities, it's now illegal to water lawns and gardens outside of approved dates and times.

All told, 11 cities and towns across the state have imposed some form of water conservation, from simply asking residents to exercise restraint to threatening $300 fines for anyone who turns on the hose without permission.

The situation is similar in Washington, where Seattle, Everett and Tacoma have activated water shortage plans, and in Vancouver, B.C., where residents are forbidden from watering plants or washing cars.

The directive to reduce use isn't limited to cities. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown on Tuesday ordered all state agencies to clamp down on water use in an effort to reduce the state government's water budget by 15 percent over the next five years.

Brown has declared drought emergencies in 23 of Oregon's 36 counties, a move that grants the state water department greater authority to regulate water rights and qualifies farmers and ranchers for federal assistance.

The specter of climate change makes this year's water shortage more than a passing crisis, Brown warned. Rather, the conditions we now categorize as drought are becoming "the new normal."

"Now is the time to get ahead of our water resource challenges," she said.

Translation: Oregonians should start viewing water conservation as a permanent responsibility rather than a short-term nuisance.

Diana Enright of the Oregon Water Resources Department said the agency is sharpening its focus on long-term water conservation, given the strong evidence that Oregon's days of abundant snowpack and comfortable summers are numbered.

"West of the Cascades, we see Oregon - and the rest of the country sees Oregon - as a rainy place," Enright said. "If it's not that rainy, snowy place anymore, what does that new world look like?"

In the Portland metro area, only Lake Oswego has formally asked residents to curtail their use. The city's water conservation coordinator, Kevin McCaleb, wants residents to aim for a 10 percent reduction.

Lake Oswego is one of seven municipal entities that take water from the Clackamas River. McCaleb said the city isn't in danger of running out of water this summer, but cutting use is "just responsible," given that fish are dying in the Clackamas and elsewhere as streamflows dwindle and the water warms.

"Just because it's in the river doesn't mean we need to use it all," he said.

The Bull Run reservoir, which supplies Portland's municipal water, is 3 billion gallons short of its average July supply. To make up the difference, water managers have begun pumping groundwater from wells near the Columbia River. About 40 percent of Portlanders' water is coming from underground, city water chief David Shaff said.

Portland Water Bureau officials expect to avoid citywide cutbacks this year, but brown lawns throughout the city indicate some residents are making self-imposed sacrifices.

"We have a system that has the capability to provide all the water our customers want," Shaff said. "We would just like them to use it carefully and wisely."

Fountains in Portland city parks remain operational, and the city has no plans to turn off the Benson Bubblers, free-flowing drinking fountains that sate thirsty downtown pedestrians.

For all the emphasis on lawns and faucets, even widespread household conservation can only make a small dent in the state's overall water use. Municipal use makes up just 6 percent of Oregon's water footprint.

Agriculture and industry share a combined 91 percent of the state's total water use.

Intel, for instance, is by far Washington County's biggest water user. The company's Ronler Acres plant used 520 million gallons in the first three months of this year -more than 14,000 times the average American's annual use.

Hillsboro has no plans to ask residents or businesses to cut back this year - the reservoirs that provide the city's water are faring just fine, city water spokeswoman Tacy Steele said.

If the reservoirs ran low, Intel would be asked to help conserve. Hillsboro's water curtailment plan requires industrial users to share the burden in times of shortage.

For irrigators, cutbacks become a fact of life during drought. With streamflows at or near record lows across the state, there isn't enough water to go around in Oregon's overstressed surface water system.

Surface water irrigators along the Klamath Basin's Sprague River have been told to turn off their spigots. Anyone else in the basin with water rights obtained after 1905 has been regulated off to save water for senior water users.

Three irrigation districts - two in Hood River and one in Corbett - have asked or ordered their members to use less.

Those who get their water from a private well aren't getting off easy, either.

Shallow household wells have been known to go dry in drought, particularly if they're located in areas where widespread overpumping is lowering the water table.

Washington water scientist Sasha Richey, whose research on the world's emptying aquifers gained international attention this summer, warned voluntary curtailment might not be enough in future years.

That's already the case in California, where the state's governor has ordered a 25 percent reduction in water use.

Oregon is not there yet, said Enright, of the state water agency.

"Whether the state ever gets to that point, I don't think anyone knows at this time," she said, but crafting water use plans that account for a dryer future "is a discussion we need to start having now."

-- Kelly House

khouse@oregonian.com
503-221-8178
@Kelly_M_House

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