Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has declared a drought emergency in Jefferson County and directed state agencies to coordinate and prioritize assistance to the region.

It is Oregon’s first drought declaration this year.

More drought coverage

More drought coverage

More drought coverage

Western Innovator: Irrigation manager confronts drought

Northwest summer outlook cools off

Curtailment brings Idaho water woes to the surface

Editorial: West must get real about looming water crisis

Central Washington irrigators placed on half rations

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, Jefferson County has been drought-free since March 19, but the impacts of a multi-year drought have yet to improve throughout the Deschutes River Basin.

Jefferson County has experienced below average precipitation since 2018 and faces persistent drought, according to a news release.

Extreme conditions are expected to affect local growers and livestock, increase the potential for wildfires, shorten the growing season and decrease water supplies.

The drought declaration unlocks tools including assistance to local water users, and allows the state Water Resources Department to expedite review processes and reduce fee schedules.

Lower water allotments

This is the sixth year of reduced water allotments for local farmers, and some growers are letting nearly half of their acreage go fallow, said Josh Bailey, general manager of the North Unit Irrigation District.

“There’s simply not enough water to irrigate all their land,” Bailey added.

“Some generational farmers — there’s a few of them that sold and moved out of the district. There are tractor dealerships that have shut down operations here,” he said.

This year’s allotment is 1.15 acre-feet of water. A normal year’s allotment is about 2 acre-feet, though some farmers buy additional water, Bailey said.

The North Unit Irrigation District supplies water to 59,000 acres of farmland in Jefferson County and has about 950 accounts.

County, irrigation district seek help

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners requested a drought declaration from Kotek in a March 26 letter — the county itself had already formally declared a drought.

“There is the potential for the Jefferson County agricultural and livestock, natural resources, recreational, tourism and related economies to experience widespread and severe damage resulting from extreme weather conditions within the county,” commissioners wrote.

The North Unit Irrigation District also supported such a declaration.

“While this irrigation season is looking somewhat better regarding water supply, there remains little hope for many in Jefferson County after the years of drought and water supply shortages,” the district wrote in a March 27 letter to Kotek.

Mike Kirsch, chairman of the district’s board, said it was difficult to quantify the economic impact prolonged drought has caused in the region, but visual cues were easy to spot.

“Generational farms with ‘for sale’ signs, empty lots where farm equipment used to be sold, farm auctions selling off farm equipment and thousands of fallow acres,” he wrote.