Jefferson County farmers, ranchers, and local officials are raising concerns about a major regional irrigation project they say could quietly drain one of the area's most critical resources — the underground aquifer that supplies drinking water to rural households and communities across the county.
The Central Oregon Irrigation District (COID) has secured $66.9 million to pipe 18.5 miles of the Pilot Butte Canal between Bend and Redmond. The project's goal is water efficiency: eliminating seepage along the open canal's earthen bed so more water reaches irrigators. But that same seepage has spent decades slowly recharging the aquifer beneath the region.
Big Investment, Unresolved Questions
COID's Pilot Butte Canal Modernization Project draws from a broad funding base — $25 million from the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service Regional Conservation Partnership Program, $21 million from Inflation Reduction Act funding, $5.9 million from the state of Oregon, and additional district resources. COID General Manager Craig Horrell confirmed the district has already spent $42 million on piping that has been installed.
The efficiency argument is straightforward: piped canals lose little to none of the water that open canals bleed into the soil. But therein lies the tension. That lost water has long been an unintentional but real contributor to regional groundwater levels.
Jefferson County Voices Concerns
Jefferson County Commissioner Seth Taylor joined local farmers and ranchers in raising concerns at a Redmond City Council meeting earlier this month. The backdrop is stark: data cited by the Oregon League of Conservation Voters suggests farm income in Jefferson County has fallen roughly 80% over the past decade, with water scarcity playing a significant role in that decline. As of early October, approximately 87% of Oregon remained under some form of drought designation.
North Unit Irrigation District, which delivers water to thousands of acres of farmland across Jefferson County, is also participating in basin-wide groundwater discussions.
Redmond Chooses Collaboration Over Courts
The city of Redmond, which relies heavily on groundwater for its municipal supply, had weighed a legal challenge to the project's environmental impact statement. This week, Mayor Ed Fitch sent a letter to irrigation district officials indicating the city would instead pursue a collaborative approach — potentially directing winter water releases from the Deschutes River to areas where it can seep underground and replenish the aquifer.
ShanRae Hawkins, a COID spokesperson, confirmed there is no active legal dispute between the district and the city. Regional partners now involved in discussions include the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, the Deschutes River Conservancy, and representatives from both Deschutes and Jefferson counties.
The Oregon Water Resources Department noted that no formal application for a groundwater recharge program has yet been filed, and feasibility analysis has not begun. For Jefferson County's agricultural communities, that timeline remains a concern — the canal piping is already underway, while the recharge solution is still on the drawing board.