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GPID fields 6 candidates By BETH QUINN A trio of challengers who vow to fight for guaranteed water availability seeks control of the embattled Grants Pass Irrigation District in next month's election. But even before a new board of directors is chosen, the state Water Resources Commission could cancel one of GPID's water rights, cutting the amount of water diverted from the Rogue River next year by a third. The commission meets in Grants Pass on Nov. 6 to consider a September ruling by a state hearings officer that GPID has failed to live up to a 1994 agreement providing the extra water in exchange for continued work toward removing Savage Rapids Dam, which federal resource managers call a fish-killer. Meanwhile, GPID's current board has moved forward with plans to install new screens to protect fish from the dam's turbines, soliciting and receiving bids that for a contract that has yet to be awarded. And six candidates are vying for three seats on the five-person board in a mail-in election that will be decided on Nov. 11. The candidates in District 2 agree that keeping water flowing is the most important issue facing the irrigation district but disagree on how to do that. "At this point, the dam is still the most economical way to get water to irrigating people," says incumbent Marjorie Spickler. Challenger Richard Michelson thinks the cheapest way to ensure future water supplies is accepting a Bureau of Reclamation offer to replace the aging dam with electric pumps. "We're going to end up having to comply with the law regardless of whether we like it or not," he says. "Fixing the dam or replacing the dam comes down to money. One's going to cost us more than the other." Candidates for the open District 3 seat also split on dam retention. "We're here to provide water to patrons. That perspective has been lost in the fight to save the dam," says candidate Judy Gove. "We can survive without the dam but we cannot survive without the water." Candidate Carl Stein favors dam retention as the most economical approach. "People that are trying to remove the dam probably couldn't afford to pay for the electricity that it would cost to run the pump through the irrigation season," he says. In District 5, both candidates pledged in written statements to work for continued delivery of affordable irrigation water but took different stances on federal environmental laws. "I will not `roll over' for the environmentalists and bureaucracies," wrote incumbent Don Greenwood. "We must not allow outsiders, who will never be affected by what they are trying to impose on us, to tell this community and its citizens what is best for us and how to conduct our affairs." Challenger Eric Larsen wants an end to legal wrangling. "I'll take action to free the GPID from costly legal battles," he wrote. "My first priority as a board member will be to work toward bringing GPID into compliance with the laws and regulations governing the take of water from an Oregon river." Ballots went out last week to almost 4,000 district patrons and are due back at GPID offices by 8 p.m. Nov. 10. Officials gather the next morning at 9 a.m. to tally the results. Public forum airs revocation of water right Residents and state officials each get a chance next week to discuss the possible revocation a water right that provides one-third of Grants Pass Irrigation District's water. On Nov. 5, Martha Pagel, director of the Oregon Water Resources Department, will host a public forum from 7 to 9 p.m. at Grants Pass City Council Chambers, 101 N.W. A St., to answer questions. By law, water commissioners cannot hear additional testimony once the public record on such cases is closed, as it was earlier this year. Water Resources Commission deliberations begin at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 6 at the Riverside Conference Center, 971 S.E. Sixth St., Grants Pass. Time has been reserved for public comment following the decision. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA