This page includes draft planning documents for the Harney Community-Based Water Planning’s (CBWP) water planning process. These documents are ‘living’ and will be updated overtime. The CBWP is currently focusing on issues primarily related to groundwater management (Phase 1), and will then turn its focus to issues related to surface water management and issues related to both surface water and groundwater (Phase 2). The planning steps for this process include:
- Step 1 – Build a Collaborative [ongoing]
- 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 – Implementation
The CBWP is currently finishing Steps 2-3, and those draft informational materials will be available on the website when ready. The CBWP has begun Step 4, and will use the draft Step 2-3 information to inform the development of recommended strategies.
Planning Steps 2-3: Basin Information
Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems
- DRAFT Background Information on Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems- For Discussion Purposes Only (Do Not Cite)
- Note: These draft documents were prepared for the CBWP Collaborative’s consideration and discussion, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
- DRAFT Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems, Summary of Conditions, Do Not Cite– last updated on March 11, 2020
- DRAFT Groundwater-Dependent Ecosystems, Summary of Water Needs, Do Not Cite- last updated on March 11, 2020
- DRAFT Key Takeaways: Groundwater-Dependent (3-pager), Do Not Cite- last updated on March 11, 2020
- Note: These draft documents were prepared for the CBWP Collaborative’s consideration and discussion, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Rural Domestic Wells
- DRAFT Background Information on Rural Domestic Wells- For Discussion Purposes Only (Do Not Cite)
- Note: These draft documents were prepared for the CBWP Collaborative’s consideration and discussion, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
- DRAFT Full Length: Rural Domestic Well Information (11-Pager), Do Not Cite– last updated on January 29, 2020
- DRAFT Key Takeaways: Rural Domestic Well Information (2 Pager), Do Not Cite– last updated on January 29, 2020
- Note: These draft documents were prepared for the CBWP Collaborative’s consideration and discussion, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
- Final Questionnaire Results: Rural Domestic Wells – uploaded Dec 23, 2019
- This questionnaire was co-designed by CBWP participants and the Oregon State University (OSU) Survey Research Center (SRC). The OSU SRC implemented the mailed questionnaire in the summer of 2019, conducted the analysis, and summarized the results. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gain a better understanding of what domestic well users in the basin have experienced with their well-water quantity and quality. Another goal of the questionnaire was to help raise awareness of and engagement in the CBWP’s work. There was an impressive response rate of approximately 46%. This questionnaire was made possible with grant support from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.
- DRAFT Key Takeaways of Questionnaire Results (3.5 Pager)– last updated on January 29, 2020: There are no figures or charts in this document, simply concise information on what was learned from the Questionnaire. If you’d like more detail, refer to the Results Summary Report posted above.
- This questionnaire was co-designed by CBWP participants and the Oregon State University (OSU) Survey Research Center (SRC). The OSU SRC implemented the mailed questionnaire in the summer of 2019, conducted the analysis, and summarized the results. The purpose of the questionnaire was to gain a better understanding of what domestic well users in the basin have experienced with their well-water quantity and quality. Another goal of the questionnaire was to help raise awareness of and engagement in the CBWP’s work. There was an impressive response rate of approximately 46%. This questionnaire was made possible with grant support from the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board.
Groundwater Irrigation
- DRAFT Background Information on Groundwater Irrigation- For Discussion Purposes Only (Do Not Cite)
- Note: These draft documents were prepared for the CBWP Collaborative’s consideration and discussion, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
- DRAFT Key Takeaways: Groundwater Irrigation Information (3-pager), Do Not Cite– last updated on July 5, 2019
- DRAFT Full Length: Groundwater Irrigation Information (9-pager), Do Not Cite– last updated on July 5, 2019
- Note: These draft documents were prepared for the CBWP Collaborative’s consideration and discussion, and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Other Information
Other information about the Harney Basin and its water resource conditions are currently being drafted and will be posted when ready. There will be information on a variety of topics, including: municipal and domestic well use; ecosystems; and natural vegetation.
- Climate- Future Climate Projections for Harney County: A Report to the Oregon Department of Landscape Conservation and Development– August 2018
- Prepared by the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute
Planning Step 4: Strategy-Building
General Documents
- DRAFT Critical Water Resource Issues List – last revised June 14, 2019
- Note: this list is a living document that will continue to be revised and updated
- Submitted One-Pagers – 73 Recommended Strategies – last updated March 12, 2020
- Note: these one-pagers were submitted by individual CBWP participants as ideas for possible recommended strategies to help address critical water resource issues; they are numbered in no particular order, and the CBWP has yet to determine which of these proposals to include in its water plan. There is still opportunity to submit ideas for addressing surface water issues, or issues that are related to both groundwater and surface water. The period for submitting one-pagers with ideas to help address issues related to ‘groundwater ONLY’ is closed, and the CBWP is currently focusing on those received.
- Harney Water Plan Elements & Phase 1 Workflow (PowerPoint Slides)– last updated July 13, 2020
- Update!: The Workflow for Phase 1 (see Slide 13) was re-sequenced at the Collaborative meeting on January 29, 2020, so that the next area of focus for developing proposed strategies would be the “domestic well bin.” Editorial edits were made to the Workflow on March 11, 2020 for clear communication at the March Summit. Edits were made to the workflow on March 19, 2020 to reflect progress during March Summit. The design of the workflow was edited on May 27, 2020 for clearer communication and to reflect process changes that have been implemented by the Collaborative. Further minor updates were made on June 16, 2020 and again on July 13, 2o2o.
- Note: At the June 17, 2019 meeting, Collaborative participants gave a ‘thumbs up’ on the proposed Workflow for Phase 1 (see Slide 9). The Collaborative will begin working on strategies to help reduce agricultural groundwater use, and then will follow the arrows through to the other ‘categories’ when ready. The Collaborative will move through the Workflow once — it’s not a repeating loop; however, there will be flexibility in moving forward knowing that something in one category might need to be revisited in the future.
Phase 1 Documents/Presentations – Issues Related Primarily to
Groundwater Management
The following information may be helpful to CBWP participants as the group discusses potential strategies related to local groundwater governance.
- Water Districts– to date the CBWP has discussed water districts under the context of groundwater only
- Information on districts from April Snell (Executive Director, Water Resources Congress), who gave a presentation to the Agriculture Working Group on March 22, 2019
- Note: Information about districts is also provided in Michelle Smith’s PowerPoint Slides (see below)
- Voluntary Agreements (Oregon Revised Statute 537.745)- to date the CBWP has discussed Voluntary Agreements under the context of groundwater only
- Issue Overview and Q&A– last updated on June 10, 2019
- Note: this document was prepared by the University of Oregon Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center for the CBWP’s information
- Presentation on Voluntary Agreements & Water Districts by Michelle Smith (University of Oregon Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center)- presented to the CBWP at its meeting on May 14, 2019
- Issue Overview and Q&A– last updated on June 10, 2019
- Groundwater Statutes and Rules
- Presentation on Groundwater Statutes and Rules by Justin Iverson (OWRD)- presented to the CBWP at its meeting on September 23, 2020.
The following information may be helpful to CBWP participants as the group discusses potential strategies related to groundwater management
- A Tour of Harney Basin Hydrology
- Presentation on Harney Basin geology, groundwater flow directions, and groundwater elevations by Stephen Gingerich (USGS)- presented to the CBWP at its meeting on October 28, 2020
- Harney Basin Groundwater Budget
- Presentation on the groundwater budget as informed by the groundwater study by Amanda Garcia (USGS)-presented to the CBWP at its meeting on November 17, 2020
More materials to be shared as ready.
Phase 2 Documents – Issues Related to Surface Water
Management and Related to Both Surface Water and
Groundwater
No materials to be shared at this time.
