Cyruses sue for irrigation water

Keith and Connie Cyrus are suing the Squaw Creek Irrigation District for refusing to deliver water to the Cyrus farm several miles east of Sisters.

According to the lawsuit filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court on May 28, the dispute hinges on a 59-year-old contract between the Squaw Creek Irrigation District and successors to the Cloverdale Irrigation Company.

Among those who signed the agreement was R. J. Skelton. The Cyrus family eventually bought what had been the Skelton property.

The Cyruses say that under that agreement, dated January 2, 1940, Cloverdale users allowed use of its canal by SCID and SCID agreed to deliver their water with no water delivery charges. The Cloverdale canal was to take the place of a SCID canal that did not flow correctly because of elevation problems.

SCID attorney Gregory P. Lynch says that the 1940 agreement was with Skelton, the original owner of the Cyrus property, and did not go with the land.

The actual language of the agreement is not clear on the issue: "The Squaw Creek District has enlarged, or agrees to enlarge, the said Cloverdale Ditch to a capacity large enough to carry both the water now used by the Cloverdale Ditch and the Squaw Creek Irrigation District, and thereafter maintain and operate the same. They further agree to deliver to the individual water users under the Cloverdale Ditch, such water as they may be entitled to under their date of priority from Squaw Creek at their individual weirs upon or near their land thus eliminating any seepage loss to them."

No mention is made of water delivery charges. The document does specify that Cloverdale users would agree to pay their portion of canal maintenance.

However, this isn't the only issue. SCID lawyer Lynch said that in the 1992, Keith Cyrus requested to become a member of SCID, because there were certain advantages for irrigators in being a member of a water district.

When that occurred, a state law came into play that requires all users be charged equally for water delivery, Lynch said. SCID was then required to begin charging Cyrus for his water.

Matt Cyrus says that the law Lynch refers to contains a variety of exceptions. It allows, for instance, for contributions to be accepted in lieu of water delivery charges.

The use of the Cloverdale Ditch by SCID is one such contribution, Cyrus said. He says that the Water Master says that the law should not affect the contractual arrangement.

SCID had not charged the Cyruses for water delivery for several years after 1992, Matt Cyrus said. He also suggested that should SCID not honor the 1940 agreement, the Cloverdale Ditch might not be available to SCID.

In their lawsuit, the Cyruses ask the court to remove the lien and pay their attorney costs. They request a permanent injunction that would require SCID to supply water under the 1940 agreement.