During the period of
maximum diversion, the court's diversion allowance
converts to a maximum of 13.42 gpm/acre diverted and
7.6 gpm/acre delivered at the farm. The full amount
is generally diverted with some exceptions for weather.
The majority of the
rights are taken directly from the Deschutes River
at a diversion dam located near the north end of Bend.
That same dam is also the diversion point for two
other irrigation districts, Central Oregon and North
Unit. There is a louver type fish screen at the Swalley
diversion.
There are no upstream
storage rights for Swalley. There are a few diversions
directly from the river above and below the main point
of diversion at the dam, but these are limited in
both number and amount of water.
From the diversion
dam, water enters a pipe and is carried across Highway
97 and behind the Bend River Mall, a large shopping
mall. The flow then emerges to the surface where it
is measured at a State measuring station (station
number 14-0700.00) on the main canal, before any diversions.
The data from the station can be accessed via the
internet (http://www.wrd.state.or.us/cgi-bin/choose_gage.pl?huc=17070301)
The average diversion rates per month are illustrated
in Figure 1 and in Table 1. River diversions are required
to be metered and are reported annually to OWRD, they
can be accessed by the internet at the following address
(http://deschutes.wrd.state.or.us/apps/wr/wu_reporting/wu_report.asp)
Figure
2: Diversions per month in Acre Feet 1966-2000
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Lands and Crops
The southerly portion of the service area has
significant areas of Scabland with 3 to 12 percent
slopes. Throughout this area are pockets of Deschutes
loamy sand, with 0 to 3 percent slopes. The loamy
sand is the primary irrigated soil. Loamy sand is
light colored soil from pumiceous material with moderately
coarse textured subsoils. Soil depths vary from 2
to 3.5 feet.
Noted for low water
holding capacity, the drainage through the surface
soil, subsoil, and underlying material is rapid. The
ease of irrigation is rated as low. The natural fertility
is low, but there is only a slight hazard of erosion
under irrigation. The soil is easily worked. Due to
the high porosity of the ground, flood irrigation
is marginal, and evaporation from the soil is substantial.
Most of this area has been converted from flood irrigation
to sprinkler irrigation in recent years.
The northerly portion
of the service area also has some areas of Scabland
with 0-3 percent slopes and areas of rough stony land
with Agency and Deschutes soil materials having 12-60
percent slopes. Of the irrigated soils, much is the
same Deschutes loamy sand, 0-3 percent slope, as exists
in the south area. The variations in the irrigated
areas are primarily of slope, to 7 percent; and in
the sub soils which vary from gravely, to stony, to
cobby, to semi-cemented sandy material; and in the
depth of the top soil, which may be quite shallow
in some areas. The drainage is moderate to somewhat
rapid except in the semi-cemented sub soils where
the drainage will be slow, but very rapid below. This
northerly area has a more moderate climate, but not
significantly. (USDA - SCS, Soil Survey Deschutes
Area Oregon)
SID’s crops consist
of nearly all pasture grass with small areas of lawn.
“There is approximately 4,200 irrigated acres of which
approximately 42 are alfalfa. The remaining irrigated
acres consists mostly of grass but also includes oats,
shrubs, pine trees, and acres that are unknown as
to what is being irrigated. For this reason, it would
be very reasonable to design for a crop distribution
of one hundred percent grass.” (BoR, 2000) According
to the BoR’s Agrimet database, estimated crop water
use for irrigation year 2000 is distributed as follows:
pasture grass, 28.4”; lawn, 34.5”; alfalfa, 41.5.”
Peak use in 2000 was as follows: pasture grass, .24”;
lawn, .29”; alfalfa, .36” (Agrimet)
On-Farm Irrigation
Management
At the time of this drafting, Swalley has about
730 deliveries. Most deliveries are 2 to 10 acres,
some even smaller with the average delivery at 6 acres.
Only about 45 deliveries exceed 20 acres of total
rights. Of these, 3 exceed 150 acres and the remainder
is less than 100 acres of rights.
Sprinkler irrigation
is by far the major type of application, probably
accounting for better than 70% of all applications.
Flood irrigation is difficult due to the porous soils
identified earlier.
The last point of measurement
is at the individual point of delivery, usually the
property line. Diversions are mainly of the wheeled
gate type, or a valve into a pipe. A measuring weir
is usually located just past the gate. Since the delivery
is constant during the main flow season, staff makes
only occasional checks of individual diversions.
Increasingly it seems
problems are occurring with the individual deliveries
from private ditches. This is attributable to smaller
deliveries and lack of ability on the part of the
District to provide much more than advice and counsel
to individual users on a private ditch.
Although the District’s
authority is limited beyond its point of delivery
the District recognizes the importance of on-farm
conservation practices. It has encouraged the application
of energy audits by users. An education effort on
noxious weed control has been done via newsletters
and joint programs with other organizations.
Swalley participates
in funding the AGRIMET area weather reporting system.
This facility is located in the Powell Butte area,
northeasterly of the district.
One
of the most obvious on-farm conservation programs
would be the use of flexible delivery scheduling,
including price rate structure to encourage efficient
use. However, at this time the district does not have
sufficient infrastructure to provide either such service
or the related monitoring which would be required.
As Swalley continues to upgrade its facilities this
option will be reevaluated.
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Weather
The climate has a significant role in determination
of the agriculture in the area. The altitude in the
area will average about 3,600 feet above sea level.
Further, Bend is in the rain shadow of the Cascade
Mountains, which are just to the west.
Average annual precipitation
is 12.04 inches. The yearly average for snowfall is
33.8 inches. (Hatton, p. 4) "About two-thirds of the
precipitation occurs from October through March at
all of the weather stations in Central Oregon. A secondary
maximum of precipitation occurs in May and June,
partly attributed to thunderstorm activity or upper
level low-pressure systems. (Hatton, p. 6) Although
this past winter was a good water-producing year,
the majority of the past 10 years have been years
of drought in the Central Oregon area.
Bend records frost
over half the year, an average of 185 days. (Hatton,
p.4) During the summer and fall months temperature
swings of 50 degrees Fahrenheit are not uncommon.
That is, 80+ during the day and near freezing at night.
In fact, a quick scan of the record low temperatures
for Bend show only two months with some calendar days
historically above freezing, July and August. There
are 3 days in late July showing a record low of 33
degrees. Early August shows a record low of 2 days
at 33 degrees and 2 more with 34 degrees.
Although such temperatures
limit the types of crops, these same cold nighttime
temperature patterns limit insects and crop disease.
The area is known for the healthy livestock and crops,
particularly root and seed crops.
The most significant
impact of cold weather occurs during the winter months.
The District attempts to turn on the system at the
stock run level (53 cfs) for a period of about 4 days
at intervals of approximately once a month. This is
to allow users to fill stock ponds and cisterns. During
the 1992-93 winter, the cold temperatures allowed
only one run, the weekend after Thanksgiving in November.
The weather also limited maintenance work scheduled
on the ditches. Of particular importance, this is
the hardest use of the ditches in terms of erosion.
District Operations
The main irrigation season is during the summer
flow, described in the System Description section.
This is a set flow and is delivered to all users in
proportion to their number of irrigated acres. During
rainy periods the flow may be reduced or it may be
reduced during harvest periods. Since Swalley has
no storage capacity, any reduction in the diversion
is lost to the District and remains in the river to
be used by a junior water right holder.
In addition to the
primary summer irrigation flow, the District also
runs winter flows. These winter flows are for purposes
of filling stock ponds and storage cisterns. Winter
flows are scheduled approximately once a month, weather
permitting. The flow is at the 54 cfs level and usually
lasts for 4 days. During marginal (cold) weather these
runs can present numerous problems with ice build
up, flooding, and slow flows.
Water Pricing
and Accounting
Customers are billed once a year for a
flat rate and a per acre charge. At this time the
charges are as follows: base rate $269, per acre charge
$16.15. Bills are mailed out in February and due in
the office on April 1.
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WATER
CONSERVATION ELEMENT
Conservation Goals
SID is on course to pipe the entire network
of canals and laterals, provide pressurized water
to its customers, put all the conserved water back
into the Middle Deschutes river, put meters on all
deliveries and eventually bill as a demand system.
Water Measurement
and Reporting Program
In compliance with OAR 690, Division 85,
Swalley has a measuring station (#14-0700.00) on the
main canal, before any diversions. The data from the
station is uploaded to the Bureau of Reclamation’s
GOES satellite and can be accessed via the internet
at the following address: (http://www.wrd.state.or.us/cgi-bin/choose_gage.pl?huc=17070301)
The average diversion rates per month are illustrated
in Figure 1 and in Table 1. River diversions are required
to be metered and are reported annually to OWRD, they
can be accessed by the internet at the following address:
(http://deschutes.wrd.state.or.us/apps/wr/wu_reporting/wu_report.asp)
Existing Water Management
Measures and Programs
Over the last few years SID has been on
an aggressive field maintenance program and flow data
collection project. SID has been utilizing a plethora
of heavy equipment rental stores. This has allowed
SID to use more efficient and effective equipment
to clean and repair its infrastructure. SID has also
upgraded and replaced much of its infrastructure at
the same time, making water distribution become more
equitable and efficient.
Several years ago,
SID received a grant from OWRD and the Bureau of Reclamation
(BoR) for improving water measurement. SID used this
money to build large broad-crested flumes and install
portable galvanized measuring flumes. At the same
time, SID installed water level monitoring devices
as well as radio telemetry on each site. This technology
allowed SID to monitor its entire system with less
labor involved. Not only does this save the district
money in the form of time, but also more efficient
by putting water exactly where it is needed on a real-time
basis.
Radio telemetry and
increasing the number water level measuring stations
will always be a priority for SID. The next phase
is to integrate the telemetry with SID’s mapping and
accounting system. The third phase is to give field
employees the power to utilize all existing information
at their fingertips. SID’s telemetry system is tied
into a local area network at the district office in
Tumalo. The flow information gets automatically uploaded
to the web-site and into the mapping system. The mapping
system is linked into the accounting system. All of
this would allow for the field employees to have this
information in the field using a durable hand-held
computer. The field staff could ask questions about
flows, ownership, gate numbers, etc. They could also
update and interact with the information then integrate
that with the database in Tumalo for the benefit of
office staff.
Another grant, given
to SID by the BoR, allowed SID to purchase a Global
Positioning System field unit. This technology allowed
accurate location of SID’s canals, headgates, measuring
stations, and other infrastructure. This information
has been integrated into the mapping system with the
water rights and County tax lot information. In the
future, SID may use this information to estimate prospective
locations for piping and other improvements.
Short and Long Term
Goals
Swalley, in the last 6 years, has accomplished most
of its short-term conservation goals. Some of those
goals included upgrading headgates, replacing weirs,
establishing a GIS, installing new measuring stations,
establishing a radio telemetry system, and educating
its customers on irrigation practices. Swalley continues
to maintain and improve these implemented goals. Using
the information and improved knowledge of these goals
has enabled Swalley to look forward.
Just recently, Swalley’s
engineers and consultants have looked at many options
for conserving water, such as lining, piping, reducing
demand, etc. At this time, piping the entire distribution
system appears to reap the most rewards for all. The
piping will create a known amount of saved water for
mitigation, will provide better service to Swalley
customers due to pressurization, and put water back
in the Middle Deschutes.
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LONG RANGE
WATER SUPPLY
SID has the most
significant water right adjudicated from the Deschutes
River dated at 1899. This means that Swalley can provide
a very dependable water right for its beneficial uses.
According to the Oregon Water Resources Department
(OWRD), the Deschutes River has been fully appropriated
and cannot provide for future uses accruing from the
current rate of growth in the Bend/Redmond area. To
compound the problem, the OWRD has instituted a moratorium
on new ground water uses for municipalities, commercial,
and agriculture. This means that the community must
look at maximizing efficiencies for existing water
rights. These efficiencies can be achieved in many
different ways. As always, cost is a significant factor
and most of the options for better efficiency are
very expensive. However, this situation can be a benefit
to SID and its customers if studied and implemented
properly.
In previous versions
of Swalley’s conservation plan, it was merely a guess
at what would happen to Swalley in the long term.
However, several factors in recent years has made
Swalley’s planning process clearer: the USGS ground
water study is near completion, the OWRD moratorium
on water right applications, the City of Bend’s annexation
into Swalley’s area, the development of the Ground
Water Mitigation Strategy, increased desire to improve
streamflows below Bend with senior water rights. All
of these factors have contributed to the increased
value of Swalley’s senior water right. This has created
a need for better planning and communication with
others. Swalley, in the last few years, has spent
a significant amount of money to strategize, plan,
and develop proposals that would satisfy Swalley and
other consumptive demands in the area, including instream
demands.
Swalley’s
Changing Environment
Urbanization is the social and physical movement
of people into areas that were traditionally undeveloped
or agriculturally based. For SID, this means a shift
in the types of land use within its boundaries from
agriculture to residential, industrial, and commercial.
The result of the land use shift is a loss in customer
base, more easement conflicts, increased awareness
of beneficial use violations, increased role of administration
costs, and changing attitudes toward the district’s
role in the social environment. There are perhaps
dozens of affects that could be quantified as well.
