Document text
Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend September 21, 2005 JuDee Wells sees brown from her kitchen window in the Applegate because she is unable to water her pastureland. She blames a series of bureaucratic snafus in a project to remove dams from the Little Applegate River. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell THE WATER WAR Little Applegate dam project stalls, fueling ire between residents By DAMIAN MANN Mail Tribune What started as a $1.5 million effort to make the Little Applegate River more fish friendly has turned into a war over water. Neighbors have fought against neighbors, and now the fundamental reason for spending the money on the river — to get rid of dams that impede fish runs — is threatened. "It’s been brutal," said Michael Wisnovsky, owner of Valley View Winery. "A lot of neighbors are not talking to each other." In 1999, 41 landowners agreed to stop tapping into the Little Applegate through an irrigation ditch and start pumping water out of the Applegate River in a project funded by 15 state and federal grants. This would allow removal of two dams from the Little Applegate, clearing the way for spawning fish. Advertisement Four of the landowners have since balked and don’t want one of the dams removed because it allows water to flow down the irrigation ditch. The other dam, which was larger, has been razed in the project managed by the Applegate River Watershed Council. "They took a wonderful project and they screwed it up royally," said Jim Christopherson, who owns 70 acres near the end of the five-mile irrigation ditch. "What they’ve done is flushed $1.5 million down the toilet." Since most of the residents have cut their water allotment from the ditch because they are tapping into the Applegate River, the flow has been reduced. Citing evaporation, numerous leaks and the likelihood of landowners stealing water along the way, the 74-year-old Christopherson said that at his property, "The ditch is dry." Another resident, JuDee Wells, blames a series of bureaucratic snafus for leaving her without water for her pastureland for her 41 cows and racking up $51,000 in feed and other expenses. "I just don’t know what I’m going to do," said the 63-year-old Applegate resident, who has been a rancher here for 30 years. "I’m going to be exhausted by the time this is over." Daniel Newberry, executive director of the Applegate River Watershed Council, said, "People have been playing games with that ditch and games with that water since people first came to that valley." Newberry, who is also project manager, acknowledged the pumping station for Wells, Wisnovsky and other landowners was operational only recently, about a year behind schedule. However, Newberry disputed Wells’ monetary claims but added that there was an effort made to offset some of her feed costs. He said this is just one example of many problems that have plagued the project. "We had to run two pipes for one mile in the same trench because the neighbor refused to be in the same pipeline with the neighbor he couldn’t stand," he said. Another landowner, who isn’t part of the project, agreed to allow an easement for a pumping station, but fearing complaints about noise from his neighbor required a one-foot-thick concrete bunker be erected around the equipment. Still another landowner, who was going to get his own pumping station, backed out at the last minute. At the dam itself, where there is a gate that controls the flow to the irrigation ditch, Newberry said county Watermaster Larry Menteer has been called out four times to check the flow and to put a yellow tag warning people not to tamper with the valve. "They don’t respect that and they turn it," said Newberry, who didn’t know who specifically was opening the valve, which is set for four cubic feet per second. Newberry said many of the property owners are eager to remove the dam, and he’s heard a rumor that one even suggested dynamiting it. Wisnovsky said his vineyard has had its own difficulties with the project. Recently, the winery was forced to illegally pump water out of the Applegate River for about two weeks when a neighboring landowner backed out of an easement agreement at the last minute because he wanted more money. The winery and other landowners had to seek an easement over another property to get access to the river. Because the state approvals didn’t come through fast enough for the change in plans, Wisnovsky said the winery couldn’t wait any longer and began pumping to fill up its pond that supplies water to the vineyard. This particular problem, he said, is less than 1 percent of all the problems that have plagued this project. "They didn’t budget enough for the first systems," he said. "By the time they put in the systems, the budgeted amount was way over what they thought." Christopherson, who has balked at joining the project, said some of the pumping stations are more expensive because the watershed council installed better systems for some landowners than others. "The first systems had extras," he said. "We (other landowners) asked for it, but we didn’t get it." In addition, landowners are fuming at the cost for electricity that they will have to pay for pumping water. "I told them way back when that if they don’t have a power fund it’s a no-go," he said. Christopherson estimates that it cost him about $350 a year for ditch water versus $3,500 for the electricity for the pumps. Newberry said some pump operations required different systems to take into account higher elevations and the number of landowners using the same pipeline. He said Christopherson "has refused to cooperate and we don’t even know what kind of system he wants." To help property owners with the electricity costs, Newberry said there will be interest available annually from a power fund of about $350,000. He estimated that at current rates this fund would generate a little over $10,000 a year. Newberry, who worries that removal of the dam might eventually have to be settled in the courts, said that the property owners who participate now have a secure system that will boost their land values. For the rest, he said, "they’re just hurting themselves." For other property owners such as Wells, it was never a question of participating in the project. However, she said it has been difficult keeping up with the expenses as she converts to a sprinkler system and is forced to buy hay during the summer because the system wasn’t installed in time. Wells, who has even pleaded with Congressman Greg Walden’s office for help, said her pasturelands are ruined now and have become weed-invested, requiring reseeding and fertilization. In addition, she said she can’t keep up with the fence repairs and other maintenance that she does during the summer because she is so busy feeding her cows, which would normally be munching in the pasture. Wells operates the ranch mostly by herself with some help from family members who live next door. "This is the biggest mess, and I’m going down with this ship," she said. Reach reporter Damian Mann at 776-4476, or e-mail THE WATER WAR ">[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 www.bingo.com Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker dvd-r Distance Education Computer Security Ztech Media Hosting Sports Equipment Online Casino Reviews Student Loans tcg student loan consolidation Online Pharmacy online casino Myspace Home Equity Loans Windermere Van Vleet Rogue Valley Travel Reservationstogo Hotel Reservations Southern Oregon Loans Online Casino News Natto Kinase Nattokinase Casino Gambling Sites Budget Website Templates Investments & Loans Advertisement s