The Oregon Water Resources Commission received staff guidance and public comment on a number of issues during a May 30 meeting in Burns, Or, including an aggressive budget proposal by the Water Resources Department for the 2009-2011 biennium. The overwhelming focus of the budget proposal was on the $50 million dollars the Department proposed for […]
Water Resources Commission Convenes in Burns Read More »
The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) committed to initiate a rulemaking to address concerns by well drillers and contractors over potential liability for well alterations under current OWRD policy. OWRD’s historic policy allowed well alterations without automatically requiring that the entire well be brought up to current construction standards. However, recent Department policy now requires
OWRD Agrees to Address Well Alteration Concerns Read More »
Retired Reclamation Commissioner John Keyes passing is sad news. I first “engaged” Reclamation with John at the helm in the Boise Regional office in 1992 when working for the Teel Irrigation District. We were dealing with issues surrounding “water spreading” then making headlines in the Umatilla Project by Water Watch of Oregon. Over the years,
Remebering John Keyes Read More »
The recent draining of Roslyn Lake could pose potential problems for nearby homeowners that have relied on leaks from the lake to augment their shallow wells. The manmade lake was scheduled to be drained for some time as a necessary step in decommissioning Marmot Dam on the Sandy River. PGE warned 22 homeowners that their
Draining Roslyn Lake Threatens to Dry up Local Wells Read More »
    The Oregon Water Resources Congress (OWRC), the Washington State Water Resources Association (WSWRA) , and the Idaho Water Users Association (IWUA) met in Spokane Washington on May 16, 2008 for the first of three Tri-State Meetings to be held this year.     OWRC, WSWRA, and IWUA are all organizations which promote the protection and use
Focusing on the soon to be launched adjudication in north Idaho, water and real estate lawyers gathered in Coeur d”Alene, Idaho May 15 and 16, 2008. As in other McCarran adjudications in which we are involved, issues expected to be included will be federal including Indian, Forest Service and Reclamation issues; instream including hydro, water
Northern Idaho Adjudication Read More »
The Federal Court made its decision on the jurisdictional question by sending the case back to Lyon County District Court last week. See http://www.kesq.com/Global/story.asp?S=8229832 for more information. Interestingly, many farmers have still not received water that is due to them as insufficient flows continue in the Truckee-Carson Canal. Crops are being stressed and damaged. Many
TCID Flood Issues: Part 2 Read More »
Storage capacity is obviously an important aspect of any municipal or domestic water supplier’s system. Increased storage capacity does any number of things for a water provider, including reducing the strain on equipment during summer peak demand times, increasing a water provider’s day-to-day flexibility, and providing for water during times of emergency. We recently attended
In the aftermath of the January 2008 flood after the Truckee-Carson Canal break, many lawsuits have been filed. These suits have been filed in both state and federal courts in Nevada and present many questions as to which Court holds jurisdiction to hear these issues. Proper jurisdiction depends on the parties to the lawsuit as
State or Federal Jurisdiction over TCID Flood Issues? Read More »
Guest post by James Carver I’ve worked for over thirty years in the field of water law in the office of the State Engineer and the Water Resources Department. During those years I served as head of the Water Rights Division and later as Deputy State Engineer under Chris Wheeler. I also presided over administrative
Recollections of A Native Oregonian Read More »
While irrigation districts formed under ORS 545 have no specific authority to accept municipal storm water or to convey that water, many irrigation districts have allowed near by cities to use their irrigation ditches and agricultural drains for storm water runoff. As urbanization continues to increase, the demand on the districts’ canals has reached new
Urban Storm Water in District Canals Read More »
An historic agreement has been reached in a dispute over water in the Rio Grande Project. It has taken 29 years in a process stagnated by several lawsuits to prepare an operating agreement negotiated between the Bureau of Reclamation, Elephant Butte Irrigation District (EBID), and the El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1. No
Rio Grande Project Agreement Reached Read More »
Armenia’s Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) has suggested that new operator contracts with Yerevan Water require provisions requiring audit controls. Given some commentator’s thoughts on the management failures of the present agreements this request is not surprising. Providing contract requirements for audits is not uncommon. However, determining what audit level is appropriate for a domestic
Auditing Management Contracts Read More »
The government of Armenia is inaugurating a new president on Wednesday, April 9, at 2 in the afternoon. Large crowds are expected in the downtown area in connection with the official events, which will include a military procession through Freedom Square and evening festivities at Republic Square. It is not expected that much dramatic change
Elections and Water Code Revisions Read More »
Armenia’s current water code requires a water system use permit (WSUP) without exception for any system of facilities. The WSUP is issued by the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC). It has been suggested municipalities and small community water associations that own and operate their own domestic water delivery system should be exempt from the requirement
Water Facilities Permitting in Armenia Read More »
Development of public owner-private operator contracts in the water sector is largely a reflection of the extent of private sector participation. International literature on the subject generally describes the various forms of these Private Sector Participation Contracts (“PSP contracts”) as (1) Service contracts; (2) Management contracts; (3) Leasing contracts; (4) BOT type contracts; (5) Concessions;
Private Participation Contracts for Water Section Read More »
In Armenia, domestic water supply and sewer services are supplied either by local municipalities or State owned stock companies. There are five State owned stock companies in Armenia, the State owns 100% of the shares in Armenian Water, Nor Akung and Yerevan. The State owns 51% of the stock in Lori and Shirak while the
“Ownership” of Water Facilities in Armenia Read More »
The final topic of discussion on the OWRC conference call addressed changing start card fees for constructing wells. Start card fees, fees paid along with the notification of new well construction, partially fund the OWRD staff payroll. The fee is currently $125.00. OWRD is concerned that the fee is no longer sufficient to sustain the
OWRD Legislative Concepts: Part 5 Read More »
Personal service means just what it says! On March 28, 2008, in United States v. Alpine Land and Reservoir Co., Judge Lloyd D. George reaffirmed that only those 281 individual water right holders who returned their acknowledgement of service must defend the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe’s suit challenging the existence of their water rights. The
Many Newland Farmers See End in Sight Read More »
Like most former soviet countries, Armenia continues to confront law and regulation of its natural resources from the top down. USAID through PA Consulting requested my consulting assistance approximately 16 months ago to assist it in redrafting and de-centralizing the approach to water management. I am currently on my fourth “mission.” Many important laws and
Current Armenian Water Issues Read More »
