REDMOND, OR -- The region's canals emptied last week. Central Oregon Irrigation Managing director Craig Horrell tells KBND News they had plenty of water through this summer. "We had a pretty normal irrigation season at Central Oregon Irrigation District, where North Unit did not because Wikiup Reservoir, their storage was not recovered and fully filled. ...they had an "okay" season. They're still recovering from a pretty massive drought for the last three out of five years." He sees some light at the end of a very dry tunnel, "We're recovering and cautiously optimistic that maybe with one more good year, maybe get back on track," says Horrell, adding, "One of the things we're finding here is droughts are longer and more severe and more frequent."
Central Oregon depends on a canal system built over a century ago. "This is why we're doing all of our modernization to make sure that we can accommodate for the next 100 years of these more frequently harsher conditions," Horrell says.
Maintenance begins now that irrigation season is over. "The day we shut water off in October, we start doing all our maintenance and construction and have to have it done by April 1st. We do all our construction in the winter time. We can't stop water delivery in the summer, so we have a six-month construction season," he says.
Cutting off the stream flow in the upper Deschutes also strands fish in pools in the river bed. The annual fish rescue took place over the weekend and continues Monday.
