A product of OWRD’s Integrated Water Resources Strategy, the Harney Community-Based Water Planning (CBWP) Collaborative is undertaking a place-based approach to water resources planning. This group of farmers, ranchers, business-people, government officials, tribal members, landowners, conservationists and other interests have been working together to gather information, identify strategies, and determine in-stream and out-of-stream water resources needs to help develop solutions that will meet those needs now and into the future.
For more general information, click this link: https://harneyswaterfuture.com/
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Summary of CBWP Endeavors from 2016-2021
2016:
- The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) established the Greater Harney Valley Groundwater Area of Concern (GHVGAC) through Division 512 Basin Program Rules based on observed declines in groundwater levels
2017:
- The Harney County Watershed Council and Harney County Court received an OWRD Grant for Community-Based Water Planning (CBWP) as part of OWRD’s pilot place-based planning program. OWRD identified the following planning steps to follow:
- Step 1: Build a Collaborative
- Step 2: Describe the basin’s water resource conditions
- Step 3: Characterize the basin’s current and future water needs
- Step 4: Develop recommended strategies for addressing critical water resource issues
- Step 5: Plan Adoption and Implementation
- Stakeholders gathered to identify various water issues facing the Harney-Malheur Lakes Basin and the CBWP Collaborative formed
- The CBWP Collaborative defined their vision and broad objectives and drafted Working Agreements
- To achieve the CBWP Collaborative’s broad objectives, the Coordinating Committee formed
2018:
- The Coordinating Committee selected the Harney Basin as the CBWP Collaborative’s main area of focus
- The following Working Groups were established to work on Planning Steps 2-3:
- Agriculture Working Group
- Introduced the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) to the CBWP Collaborative to explore how it might help reduce groundwater irrigation in the Harney Basin
- Consensus was achieved by the CBWP Collaborative on the recommendation that OWEB convene an interagency team to develop a proposal for a groundwater Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) in the Harney Basin
- Domestic Well/Municipal
- Identified that existing qualitative data did not capture what rural domestic well users were experiencing with their wells
- The group suggested that the CBWP Collaborative fundraise to develop a survey that would answer such data gaps
- Ecological Working Group
- Vegetation Management Working Group
- Agriculture Working Group
- CBWP Consultants introduced the concept of market-based incentives for reducing groundwater use
2019:
- The CBWP Collaborative held its first “summit” in January 2019 to collectively begin Planning Step 4. During the summit CBWP Collaborative members drafted a list of known critical water resource issues in the Harney Basin, developed and organized 49 one-pagers to address those issues across ground, surface, and ground-surface water concerns, and achieved consensus for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and CBWP consultants to fundraise for research on water shares/markets
- Throughout the rest of the year:
- Working Groups continued to work on Planning Steps 2-3
- CBWP Collaborative members learned about voluntary agreements
- CBWP Collaborative members achieved consensus on the recommendation to secure funding to help provide financial assistance for smart-meter installation
- CBWP Collaborative members began turning the one-pagers (developed at the summit) into strategies with objectives and recommended actions (aka strategy building)
- An OWEB Stakeholder Engagement Grant was awarded for designing and implementing a domestic well user questionnaire
- This questionnaire was sent out to domestic well users and completed in December 2019
2020:
- CBWP Collaborative members analyzed the results from the domestic well questionnaire and drafted additional one-pagers to assuage accompanying water resource issues not identified during the January 2019 summit
- The CBWP Collaborative held its second summit in March 2020 to continue strategy building. During the summit, CBWP Collaborative members also heard from Anderson Perry & Associates on a feasibility study that assessed alternatives for domestic water supply and agreed that a legislative concept be developed to establish a fund for domestic well users to cost share the remediation of loss of groundwater for domestic purposes caused by groundwater level declines. Consensus to submit that legislative concept to the Water Resources Commission was achieved in October 2020 with actual submission in September 2020 and edits in December 2020.
- CBWP Project Staff worked with a communications specialist and launched Harneyswaterfuture.com to connect with the broader community and provide information on CBWP Collaborative endeavors. Materials on the website were influenced by the Coordinating Committee and the Irrigator Group, which formed in early 2020 with hopes to develop outreach materials to irrigators in the Harney Basin that are not involved with the CBWP Collaborative
- In April 2020, all CBWP undertakings moved to a virtual platform in response to COVID-19. During virtual meetings, CBWP Collaborative members learned about the hydrology, geology, and groundwater budget in the Harney Basin, received TA Request deliverables from OWRD on groundwater level declines and groundwater use for irrigation, and successfully advocated for the Harney Basin to be a “use case” for the OpenET platform.
- A Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Water Market Feasibility Study was issued. After review, Aspect Consulting was selected to conduct the study.
- Both the Ecological and Vegetation Management Working Groups finished their reports on Steps 2-3
2021:
- Completed Groundwater Workflow (i.e. finished drafting groundwater strategies)
- Completed Groundwater Steps 2 + 3
- Helped get HB 3092 (and others) passed
- Developed sub-area profiles
- Engaged with Aspect Consulting on Groundwater Market Feasibility Study
- Achieved consensus on supporting CREP proposal
- Heard and interpreted results of DEQ Groundwater Quality report
- Refined and achieved consensus on Issues List
- Refined and achieved consensus on Strategy List
2022:
- Completed Drafts 1-5 of the Groundwater Plan
- Went through an iterative, collaborative editing process of the Groundwater Plan
- Achieved Collaborative consensus on the Groundwater Plan
- Went through the Interagency Review for the Groundwater Plan with few required improvements
- Presented Groundwater Plan and County Court
- Launched Surface Water Phase
- Established the following Working Groups for Surface Water phase:
- Vegetation Management
- Ecological
- Surface Water Management
- Surface water-Groundwater Interaction
2023:
- Received support on the Final Draft of the Groundwater Plan from the Interagency Review Team
- Presented Groundwater Plan to Water Resources Commission
- Achieved Collaborative consensus on all Surface Water Working Group Step 2 and 3 reports, thus completing Step 2 and 3
- Achieved consensus on Critical Surface Water Resource Issues List
- Began developing draft solutions to address critical issues
- Began drafting the Surface Water Plan
2024:
- Completed drafting and achieved consensus on solutions/strategies to address critical surface water resource issues
- Went through an iterative, collaborative editing process of the Surface Water Plan
- Completed Drafts 1-4 of the Groundwater Plan
- Achieved Collaborative consensus on the Surface Water Plan
