Piping ditch has saved Squaw Creek water

Little by little, Squaw Creek is getting wetter.

Farmers are getting plenty of water this summer -- and taking less out of Squaw Creek -- since the Squaw Creek Irrigation District piped the Cloverdale Ditch.

According to SCID Manager Marc Thalacker, the piping is saving anywhere from four to six cubic feet per second (1,796 to 2,694 gallons per minute) of water that used to seep through the bottom of the ditch.

Three cubic feet per second (1,337 gallons per minute) are left to flow in Squaw Creek.

Though the district won't have definitive numbers on overall water loss until a cumulative study is completed at the end of the irrigation season, Thalacker was excited about the data obtained from spot checks.

"The (water) loss factor has come down from historically 45 to 55 percent down to about 28 percent," he said.

The $660,000 piping project was jointly funded by the Deschutes Resources Council and the Oregon Watershed Enhancement Board, with SCID members kicking in more than $300,000 in labor and equipment use.

The Cloverdale project covers just shy of three miles with some 15,840 feet of 24-inch high density polyurethane (HDP) pipe. The HDP is remarkable stuff. It is flexible enough to run easily through curves and the heat-welded joints are strong and easily applied.

According to Thalacker, conservation efforts are necessary in a modern political climate where fish habitat and riparian restoration are highly valued. Districts that don't get ahead of the curve face government enforcement actions to force conservation measures.

In the Sisters country, momentum is growing in an effort to restore steelhead runs to Squaw Creek. Water conservation has an incremental effect -- a couple of cfs here, a couple there. A great deal more water is required to get to the 40 or so cfs deemed required for viable habitat.

Some of that water could be obtained through the purchase or dedication of water rights. However, conservation will always be a linchpin of any effort to restore the creek.

SCID has become a partner with a variety of conservation groups and government agencies in taking on conservation efforts.

"When you look around at all the good conservation going on, it makes the Deschutes Basin unique from other areas," Thalacker said.

Not that it is easy. The district must constantly work to obtain grant funding for projects, and local farmers commit their time, expertise, equipment and fuel to getting the work done.

Another project is slated to begin in September to pipe the Fryrear Ditch, which serves 10 farms in the Cloverdale area. That project is expected to save about three cfs, which will be split between the farmers and the creek.

"Historically, the Fryrear Ditch has been very difficult to deliver (water) to everybody on," Thalacker said. "The water losses have been terrible on that ditch."

SCID is also working on funding to pipe the lower portion of the district from McKenzie Reservoir to Lower Bridge. According to Thalacker, that project could save enough water to put another six cfs back in Squaw Creek.