WaterWatch worked on over a dozen water bills in the 2007 Oregon legislature. The central bills are summarized below, with more information on these bills available here. With tremendous help from new lobbyist, Dave Moskowitz, along with our long time lobbyist Doug Myers, we pushed for needed reforms and fought bad bills.

Oregon Conservation Network Common Agenda

WaterWatch has served on the Steering Committee of the Oregon Conservation Network and the Priorities for a Healthy Oregon.

Summary of Important 2007 Water Legislation

More information on these bills available here.

HB 2564 Measurement
The original bill called for all water users to measure and report water use. A weaker, amended version passed out of the House Committee on Energy and the Environment and eventually died in the Ways and Means Committee. While we did not pass the bill this session, we built a strong coalition around the bill and did move the concept farther than in any prior session.

HB 2566 Exempt Wells
The original bill called for the elimination of a "loophole" in Oregon law that allows some groundwater uses to go forward without first obtaining a water right. This "loophole" allows new groundwater use without any review to understand or address impacts of the new use on other users, streamflows, fish or groundwater resources.

A weaker, amended version passed out of the House Committee on Energy and the Environment and died in the Ways and Means Committee very late in the session. We built an unprecedented coalition around the bill that should help in future efforts to move this legislative concept.

HB 3585/SB 483 (“Oasis”)
"Oasis" was a blatant water grab from the Columbia River that would have:

• directed Water Resources Department to issue permits to appropriate 500,000 acre-feet of additional water from the Columbia River during the summer months

• repealed any fish or flow protection standards that would get in the way of the new water withdrawal

"Oasis" sought to eliminate Oregon’s existing streamflow protections for the Columbia River in spite of huge investments and multi-state efforts to protect and restore flows needed by imperiled salmon and steelhead runs.

WaterWatch worked very hard throughout the session with a number of interests to kill this bill. After procedural wrangling, the proponents succeeded in moving the bill to the floor of the House, where it passed. Fortunately, the Senate leadership and a veto letter from the governor killed this blatant special interest water grab.

HB 2785
This bill streamlines procedures for certain small-scale hydropower projects on existing diversions or irrigation canals. WaterWatch amended the bill in several important ways, including:

• to require stringent review where public interest issues are raised

• to prevent locking in water diversions if the underlying beneficial use (usually agricultural) goes away

• protecting existing instream water rights from regulation in favor of the new hydropower use.

SB 838 A (RPS)
This bill established renewable portfolio standards (RPS) for electric utilities and electricity service suppliers, requiring utilities to procure a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources. WaterWatch supports most forms of renewable energy but proposed an amendment to add needed limits on new hydropower development.

Our suggested amendments would have made Oregon's RPS standards for new hydropower development comparable to those in neighboring states, and consistent with Oregon’s leadership role in river conservation. Unfortunately, the bill that was signed by the governor did not include these amendments leaving Oregon with the weakest new RPS hydropower standards in the region, inviting harmful new dam and diversion projects.

Water Resources Department Budget
WaterWatch, working with a coalition of water stakeholders, strongly supported full funding of the Department's proposed budget. We were successful in the Joint Ways and Means Committee in securing funding to pay for a measurement position, groundwater investigations and restoration of five field staff for water management across Oregon.

The budget included the Department's Water Supply and Conservation Initiative, which had five components: 

1. Assessment of existing and future water needs

2. Completion of a statewide inventory of potential storage sites

3. Statewide analysis of conservation opportunities;

4. Completion of a statewide investigation of basin yield estimates

5. Match funding for community-based and regional water supply planning. 

While WaterWatch generally supported these studies, we could not support a statewide investigation of basin yield estimates, without a concurrent assessment of peak, flushing and other ecological flow needs in each basin. The initiative received funding, but without the basin yield investigation.

SB 600
This bill tracked the Water Supply and Conservation Initiative but also called for study of withdrawals of water from the Columbia River. WaterWatch objected to this part of the bill, as current water availability rules and policies provide answers as to when water is available from the Columbia. We proposed substantial amendments at the public hearing on the bill. The bill eventually died in Committee.

SB 30
This bill addressed two proposals for destination resorts in the Metolius Basin. WaterWatch testified in favor of this bill and lobbied actively in support of the restrictions on destination resorts in the basin. The bill eventually died in Committee.

HB 3203
This bill would have created a fund to provide matching fund grants to entities proposing to study new water storage projects. We initially opposed the bill, but became neutral after securing important amendments. By the end of the session, WaterWatch supported the bill as part of a strategy to kill the Oasis legislation. The bill eventually died in the Ways and Means Committee.