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43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 3, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 27, 2005 Jackson County watermaster Larry Menteer walks the unusually low banks of East Evans Creek where it meets up with Pleasant Creek. Most of the gravel in the foreground should be under water and he should be wearing hip waders. Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Low-water mark Drought in Southern Oregon called ‘inevitable,’ but the severity will depend on where you live By Mark Freeman Mail Tribune WIMER — Even after the past week’s rains, Larry Menteer needs just ankle boots to stroll through Evans Creek near the old Wimer Bridge, and that certainly won’t help his public image this summer. Normally during the last weekend in March, Evans Creek gurgles with the strong, cold and clear spring waters that are the fruits of the winter’s snowpack. But even after a hefty cloudburst the night before, the water-starved creek remains reduced to trickles. "Normally, when I walk across here, I need hip waders," says Menteer, Jackson County watermaster. "That rain we had may help, but I think it’s just prolonging the inevitable." The "inevitable" Menteer speaks of is drought, and where you are or what water source you rely on within the Rogue River basin likely will determine whether the summer water shortage leaves your land a little dry or distinctly parched. Advertisement Most of March has seen Rogue River basin tributaries flowing at or below previously recorded lows with the April 1 start of the irrigation season around the corner. If Evans Creek remains this low Friday and irrigators start flooding their fields, some of the creek’s water-users would have their irrigation shut off before it turns on. Under Oregon’s water-rights laws, properties with older established water rights get all their water from sources like Evans Creek before younger, "junior" rights legally get a drop. And Menteer is the man in charge of enforcing, through a process called "regulating," when and where streamflow may be diverted into irrigation water. "We haven’t even started the irrigation season, and Evans Creek already looks like it does in June or July," Menteer says. "July is when I start regulating Evans Creek. Hopefully, people won’t turn on April 1st. "I’ve actually had phone calls from users asking if they can turn on early because their land is so dry. They know the answer: ‘No.’ " The water resources department already has said "no" to Medford Irrigation District and Rogue River Valley Irrigation District patrons who lost their frost-control water (which some orchardists spray on freezing mornings to protect young fruit blossoms) after the South Fork of Little Butte Creek dipped beneath minimum in-stream flows. The frost-control water was allocated after in-stream flows, so the creek legally kept its water. The problems are less troublesome in southwestern Jackson County, where the Applegate River Basin’s snowpack is a hefty 70 percent of average. But the snowpack and streamflows decline rapidly toward the northeast portion of the county. Streams like Trail Creek and Elk Creek have flowed at less than their all-time recorded lows throughout most of March. And the snowpack for the Rogue/Umpqua basins has dipped to close to one- fourth of average. "You don’t like calling the drought too early," said Bruce Sund, the OWRD’s deputy regional manager in Grants Pass. "But at this point, it’s getting hard to catch up." Oregon basins statewide continue to fall behind in the water catch-up game, and the Oregon Drought Council is scheduled Tuesday to discuss whether to recommend Gov. Ted Kulongoski declare a statewide drought. Already four counties, including Klamath County, have requested drought status, says Dave Cassel, who chairs the council, which is comprised of 14 state and 11 federal agencies. Jackson County Commissioner C.W. Smith says local officials are monitoring the water conditions daily and have yet to decide whether to seek drought status. Drought status would streamline the process to tap into emergency water sources, such as emergency wells. The status also allows farmers or irrigation districts to apply for any federal grants to offset crop losses or water-conservation projects, like ditch lining or water purchases. "The water problems here are sort of spotty, and there’s really no benefit in announcing it earlier," Smith says. Under Oregon’s water-rights laws, surface water is doled out to irrigators on a first-in-time, first-in-right rule that grants full water use to lands with the oldest priority dates. The priority dates reflect the year during which the water right was granted. Lands with the oldest dates get all their irrigation water before younger farms with more recent priority dates. Cutbacks are made when water supplies do not meet demands. And one stroll through the gravel bed shows that demand will definitely outstrip supply this summer on Evans Creek. With flows one-third of normal, Menteer easily fords the trickling creek in short rubber boots. This week’s rains apparently soaked into the ground and didn’t run off into the creeks. "Those gravels should be under water now," he says. "This week’s rain is too little too late. But I guess every little bit helps." The creek has an in-stream water right of 2 cubic feet per second, which amounts to about 20 percent of this week’s flows at a gauge near the old Wimer Bridge. That water right, obtained by the Oregon Water Trust, has a priority date of 1896, Menteer says. So, lands with water rights granted after that will have to cease irrigation. "The ‘D’ word," Menteer says. "I truly believe we’re there." Reach reporter Mark Freeman at 776-4470, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions | Website Feedback Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers home equity loans helzberg Distance Education Diamonds Slippers Student Loans afsa teleconferencing Memory Foam Mattress w2 forms Tatoo Fasa Advertisement s