ONTARIO, Ore.—There could be as much as 160,000 acre-feet of carryover water left in the Owyhee Reservoir when the 2016 irrigation season ends.
That’s less carryover water than would be expected during an average year but, due to extended drought conditions that broke this winter, much more than the reservoir has ended the irrigation season with since 2012.
The reservoir provides water to 118,000 acres of irrigated farmland in Eastern Oregon and part of southwestern Idaho.
“It feels a lot better,” than the last several years, Owyhee Irrigation District Manager Jay Chamberlin said about the 2016 water year. “I think overall it’s going to be a good season.”
In an average water year, the Owyhee system will end the season with about 350,000 to 400,000 acre-feet of water that farmers can bank on for the next year. During good water years, that number is as much as 500,000 acre-feet.
The reservoir can hold a maximum of 710,000 acre-feet of storage water for irrigators.
As of Aug. 9, there was 277,000 ace-feet of storage water left in the reservoir and about 3,000 acre-feet has been leaving the system each day.
Chamberlin said that based on current trends, there should be more than 100,000 acre-feet left at the end of the season.
Source: www.capitalpress.com