Morrow County asks for drought declaration
Morrow County is joining the line to ask Oregon Gov. Kate Brown for an emergency drought declaration, as farmers and ranchers deal with oppressively dry conditions.
The county court signed off on its request May 6, which will be considered when the state Drought Council and Water Availability Committee meet in Salem on Thursday.
Requests have also been submitted by Umatilla, Grant, Deschutes and Josephine counties. Gov. Brown has already declared drought in Baker, Crook, Harney, Klamath, Lake, Malheur and Wheeler counties.
“We all consider this drought situation important, not only to our individual counties but also to the region,” said Morrow County Judge Terry Tallman.
Across the region, snowpack is all but gone in the Umatilla, Willow and John Day basins. Water releases from McKay Creek Reservoir near Pendleton began about two months earlier than usual, and the reservoir itself is just 71 percent full. Cold Springs Reservoir in Hermiston is even lower, at 51 percent full.
In southern Morrow County, regulators are on the verge of imposing restrictions from Willow Creek. Ken Thiemann, district watermaster based in Condon, said the creek is flowing at 6 cubic feet per second above Willow Creek Dam near Heppner, well short of the average 26 cubic feet per second.
The reservoir is also about two feet lower now than it was at this time a year ago, Thiemann said. Such depleted water supplies pose a threat for ranchers who rely on irrigation to support their pastures and livestock, according to the county’s drought resolution.
Meanwhile, dryland wheat farmers are suffering a lack of rain to produce a solid yield on this year’s crop. The National Weather Service reports precipitation in Heppner has been below normal every month since January, and is down 1.93 inches overall for the calendar year. That’s already 15 percent of the area’s average annual rainfall.
County Commissioner Don Russell said he drives from Boardman to Heppner about five times every month, and he can see a difference in this year’s wheat stands.
“I’ve noticed the wheat crop looks pretty stressed,” Russell said. “It’s shorter than normal, and not as green as it should be.”
Several farmers talked to the county court about pursuing a drought declaration, Russell said, to help them through a potentially difficult year. If approved, the declaration could allow the Oregon Water Resources Department to issue temporary water rights and transfers where necessary.
The OWRD has said drought is “unavoidable” in the John Day River basin and likely in the Umatilla basin, given this year’s extreme lack of snow in the mountains to recharge streams.
As of May 5, the U.S. Drought Monitor has all of Umatilla, Morrow, Union, Gilliam and Sherman counties listed in severe drought. Umatilla and Morrow counties already qualify for federal drought assistance since they are contiguous with Grant County, where the Department of Agriculture has identified disaster conditions.
“Morrow County is no exception to our neighbors. We’re very dry,” Russell said. “Unless we get some very late rain, it’s going to be a very dry summer and dry fall.”
The Drought Council and Water Availability Committee will make its recommendations following review Thursday. The governor has the final say in whether to declare a local drought emergency.