Oregon water regulators will spend all $25 million at their disposal on irrigation modernization grants, overruling experts who recommended funding only half the proposals.

The state’s Water Resources Commission voted unanimously to fund all 10 proposals submitted by irrigators after a three-hour discussion at its June 13 meeting in Bend, Ore.

The decision came after a representative of a statewide irrigation district organization urged the commission to take bold action to capitalize on federal matching funds, given the time constraints involved.

“Without a little help from the state, many of these projects will wither and die on the vine,” said April Snell, executive director of the Oregon Water Resources Congress, which represents irrigation districts.

Last month, a “technical review team” of government experts recommended spending $13.5 million on five applications, though lawmakers authorized $50 million for such projects last year.

Of the $50 million appropriated for irrigation modernization, $25 million is currently available for grants while the remaining money will be unlocked by government bond sales next year.

The review team recommended funding only the top five projects because the remaining applications didn’t demonstrate sufficient public benefits but could be improved before a future funding cycle.

However, Snell told the commission that all 10 of the projects have already met the “robust requirements” set out by three federal agencies that awarded funding to the proposals.

Securing grants from either the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Reclamation or the USDA is a prerequisite for obtaining the state irrigation modernization dollars.

“We want to be sure we are not creating something that’s unnecessarily complicated and duplicative of those federal programs,” Snell said.

Lawmakers passed the $50 million for irrigation modernization in 2023 to take advantage of “historic and limited” federal infrastructure legislation that probably won’t soon be repeated, she said.

“The likelihood of those funds happening again in the near term, like the next 10 years, is highly unlikely,” Snell said.

Federal infrastructure legislation passed in 2021 will invest about $1.2 trillion in a variety of projects, while an inflation-reduction bill approved in 2022 year directs another $370 billion toward energy security and climate resilience.

Meanwhile, irrigation districts are also pressed for time in obtaining materials and putting out bids for construction, which must occur between October and April to avoid disrupting water distribution, she said.

Projects that fail to win funding now may have to wait until the autumn of 2025 to start modernization work, if they’re even able to begin, Snell said. “The further the delay, that increases the chances these projects will not move forward at all.”

The 10 irrigation projects aim to upgrade canals, install pipelines, improve pumping efficiency and otherwise conserve water in Crook, Deschutes, Hood River, Jackson, Jefferson, Klamath and Malheur counties.

The commission’s funding decision was further complicated by a request from the Ochoco Irrigation District, which needed additional state dollars to supplement a past water supply grant.

Pumping stations and pipelines required by the irrigation district’s McKay Creek Water Rights Switch Project will cost more than originally anticipated and some matching funds for the proposal fell through, requiring an additional $7.5 million grant.

Asked if they’d be willing to accept a loan instead, representatives of the irrigation district said its existing debt would preclude borrowing more money, especially in light of thin profit margins and higher farm input expenses.

“We’re to the point now that we could be virtually shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Bruce Scanlon, the district’s manager.

Following negotiations that exceeded the allotted time by two hours, the commission took an unconventional approach to fulfilling the Ochoco Irrigation District’s request and funding all 10 grant proposals.

Nine of the grant proposals will receive money that’s currently available for the irrigation modernization program, while the lowest-scoring application has been provisionally approved to receive funding after the government bond sale next year.

The Ochoco Irrigation District will get most of its $7.5 million request now while a later component of its project will be provisionally funded with next year’s bond money.

The unorthodox funding arrangement is justifiable in light of the nation’s once-in-a-lifetime infrastructure investment, said Joe Moll, a commission member who heads a conservation nonprofit.

“It’s an extraordinary thing we did because there was an extraordinary amount of money from the federal government,” he said.