In April of this year, Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) and U.S. Geological Survey USGS released a new groundwater study for the Harney Basin. This is the first comprehensive study of the entire basin since the early 1960s. The study — which contains historical and current data that was gathered and analyzed during the last five years — will help inform future decisions and management.

During the last 10 years, groundwater development increased substantially within the Harney Basin, due to expansion of crop irrigation. As demand for groundwater use in the basin increased, groundwater levels declined. After concerns were raised, in May of 2016, OWRD formed a Rules Advisory Committee to review the Basin Rules, and stopped issuing groundwater permits for additional development. An “Area of Concern” was designated regarding the use of groundwater. 

At that time, OWRD, USGS, and basin stakeholders agreed that additional information about the groundwater system was needed in order to understand the ability of the system to sustain existing uses, and to determine whether accommodation could be made for additional development.

Over the course of five years, scientists from USGS, personnel from OWRD, and local citizens participated in the study. An advisory committee of local citizens and members of the Community Based Water Planning Collaborative participated in an Advisory Committee that met quarterly with the scientists to understand the study as it was being conducted. 

During this five-year period, local residents, landowners, and business owners as well as the Harney County Court, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Burns Paiute Tribe, The Nature Conservancy, and the Harney County Watershed Council contributed local knowledge, comments, questions, and suggestions to the study. Assistance was provided to facilitate access to private property to gather the most complete data set possible. Having the ability to measure wells and springs for static groundwater measurements on a regular basis gave this study greater credibility.

The study includes the rates and distribution of groundwater recharge and discharge throughout the region. Groundwater discharge in the lowlands (bottom of the basin) — of which more than half is pumped from wells — exceeds the estimated groundwater recharge to the lowlands by about 110,000 acre-feet per year. 

Smaller amounts of groundwater are consumed by native plants and discharged to streams and springs.  The imbalance results of this use mean that we are using groundwater from storage, and therefore creating groundwater level declines that are being recorded around the basin.

One of the requirements of changing the Basin Rules in 2016 included the directive that these rules would be revisited within one year of the study’s publication. The study was published in April 2022, so the Basin Rules must be reviewed (and possibly revised) by April 2023. 

OWRD plans to provide public informational meetings to discuss the findings of the study sometime in September. Following those meetings, OWRD will continue to engage with residents, local partners, and the Community Based Water Planning Collaborative to discuss actions that can be taken to achieve reasonably stable groundwater levels.  

The full study report is available on the Harney County Watershed Council website and on the OWRD website. Information regarding the Groundwater Study Advisory Committee and the work of the Community Based Water Planning Collaborative can also be found on the watershed council’s website. You can also find it on the OWRD website by looking at the Malheur Lakes Basin pages.

Look for updates regarding meeting dates and times on the Harney County Watershed Council website and Facebook page.

Consider joining the Community Based Water Planning Collaborative as it moves forward to discuss the surface water portion of the plan. The collaborative meets monthly, usually during the last week of the month.

For more information, call the Harney County Watershed Council at 541-572-2000.